Accomplishment and subjectivity of GIS-based DRASTIC groundwater vulnerability assessment method: a review

作者：Hamza S M; Ahsan A^*; Imteaz M A; Rahman A; Mohammad T A; Ghazali A H

来源：Environmental Earth Sciences, 2015, 73(7): 3063-3076.

DOI：10.1007/s12665-014-3601-2

• Vulnerability
• Sensitivity analysis
• DRASTIC index
• Quantile classification
• GIS

Groundwater vulnerability assessment is an important task in water resources and land management. The most sophisticated among the vulnerability assessment techniques is the GIS-based DRASTIC model. However, despite its popularity, it is marred with excessive subjectivity glitches; little research has been conducted to address the shortcomings associated with this method. This study investigates various issues regarding the application of the GIS-based DRASTIC model through a critical review of relevant literatures. It is revealed that all the DRASTIC parameters are equally significant irrespective of their assigned weights. On the contentious quantile classifications, however, a categorical classification defined by 'very low', 'low', 'medium', 'high', and 'very high' was suggested for standardization. Based on the studied literatures, it was established that 46 % of 977 million km(2) of land assessed globally fell within moderate to high vulnerability category-a land cover bigger than the cultivated lands obtainable in all the countries around the world except the United States, India, China, Russia, Brazil, Canada and Australia.

• 出版日期2015-4