Multivariate Statistical Techniques for the Evaluation of Spatial and Temporal Variations in Groundwater Quality of Astaneh-Kouchesfan Plain, Sefīd-Rūd Basin, North of Iran

Astaneh-Kouchesfahan Plain is one of the most important water resource systems in Sefīd-Rūd Basin, north of Iran. In the study, Spatio-temporal distributions of groundwater quality were evaluated for 23 different stations in the plain using multivariate statistical techniques. After descriptive analysis, Multivariate Analysis of Variance technique (MANOVA) and Cluster analysis (CA) were performed to measure significant effects of spatial, seasonal and annual differences on mean concentration of key hydrochemical parameters of groundwater. The MANOVA results explain that the interaction of location on seasonal variables is significant to increase the hydrochemical variations. In addition, the results of cluster analysis show a 3- cluster dendogram which reflects variations in natural and human activities

Keywords:

Cluster Analysis , Groundwater quality , Hydrogeochemistry , Sefīd-Rūd Basin , Iran , Statistical analysis