GIS-based comparative assessment of groundwater potential zone using MIF and AHP techniques in Cooch Behar district, West Bengal

Abstract

Global warming, change in climate and rapid growth of population have put a huge strain on the world's groundwater resources. The use of excess groundwater has created a drop in the water table. Increased use of groundwater for agriculture in agro-based areas increases the demand for groundwater. The current study has been conducted in Cooch Behar, an agro-based remote district of North Bengal in the Indian state of West Bengal, where the use of high groundwater in agriculture has reduced groundwater levels. Comparative assessment of Multi-Influencing Factor (MIF) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) techniques has been used to create a perspective mapping of groundwater potential zone for the research region. Land use and land cover (LULC), rainfall, soil texture, geomorphology, lithology, drainage density, Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) have been used to create the map. The MIF and AHP techniques have been used for Groundwater Potential Zones (GPZ) mapping. Output GPZ has been classified into 5 classes, i.e., very poor, poor, moderate, good, and excellent. MIF technique shows that the groundwater potential classes are covering 9% (285 km2), 21% (67 km2), 30% (944 km2), 27% (837 km2) and 13% (410 km2) of the study area, respectively, whereas the output GPZ from AHP technique shows that the groundwater potential classes are covering 8% (271 km2), 15% (508 km2), 24% (813 km2), 33% (1118 km2) and 20% (677 km2), respectively. Finally, the maps have been verified using groundwater fluctuation data through Receivers Operating Characteristic curve (ROC). The MIF technique's Area Under Curve (AUC) score is 76.5%, while the AHP technique reveals 88.9% accuracy. Both techniques for assessing and monitoring GPZ have been accurate and reasonable. Thus, this type of research is reliable for a more appropriate framework for swiftly analyzing groundwater recharge and directing the location of artificial recharge structures and other groundwater management operations of agricultural-based areas.

Identification of Groundwater Potential Zones (GWPZ) Using Geospatial Techniques and AHP Method: a Case Study of the Boudinar Basin, Rif Belt (Morocco)

“…The AHP is a tool of information communication and signification [32]. This method has proven its efficiency in decision-making [33]. The AHP is used widely by many searchers worldwide [14, [32][33][34][35][36][37].…”

“…This method has proven its efficiency in decision-making [33]. The AHP is used widely by many searchers worldwide [14, [32][33][34][35][36][37]. Source: [32] The steps of the AHP technique are shown in Tables 3-6.…”

“…It is worth indicating that the consistency ratio (CR) should be less than 0.1 to consider the weights affected logically by the factors. The authors used the same parameter Elevation (altitude) [35], [38], [39] Soil [39], [40], [41] Distance from fault [3] Distance from river [3] Drainage density [9], [33], [41] Lineament density [23], [27], [40] Lithology [33], [35], [39] LULC [23], [26], [33] NDVI [3], [14], [33] Profile curvature [3]…”

“…Lithology is highly recommended for GWPZ to assess groundwater porosity and movement [33]. The lithological map (Fig.…”

“…6h) maps show that higher rates of vegetation are in the middle west and the south of the study area. The NDVI value range between −0.06 and 0.45, negative values indicate no vegetation cover and vice versa [33]. For the potential groundwater areas, higher NDVI values were given higher weights, and vice versa [42] (Tab.…”