Spatial dependency of the groundwater uranium in the alluvial soil region of Gunnaur, India

Abstract

GIS based groundwater uranium and other physico-chemical parameters pH, electrical conductivity, oxidation reduction potential, temperature, chloride, fluoride, nitrate, sulphate, phosphate, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate were analyzed in the alluvial soil region of Gunnaur tehsil of India. A comprehensive study of spatial distribution, spatial autocorrelation, uranium speciation, bi-variate spatial correlation and multi-variate cluster variable analysis assessment were conducted in order to determine uranium linkages with other water parameters. The minimum, mean and maximum values of uranium concentration were found to be below detection level, 9.33 µg/L and 51.5 µg/L, respectively. 92.85% of the samples had uranium concentration below 30 µg/L, which was within WHO prescribed limit. Ca2UO2(CO3)3 was found as dominating uranium species. Spatial distribution and bi-variate analysis showed linkages between uranium with calcium and bicarbonates. Cluster analysis showed that pH, oxidation reduction potential and fluoride levels were the driving factors of uranium with a 43.3092 similarity level. © 2021, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary.