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Spatiotemporal geostatistical modeling of groundwater in arid region during dry and wet seasons: a case study The Experimental Station at Hadat Ash-Sham Farm, Saudi Arabia
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  • Jaka Satria Budiman,
  • Nassir Al-Amri,
  • Anis Chabaani,
  • Amro Elfeki
Jaka Satria Budiman
King Abdulaziz University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Nassir Al-Amri
King Abdulaziz University
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Anis Chabaani
King Abdulaziz University
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Amro Elfeki
King Abdulaziz University
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Abstract

Saudi Arabia lies in an arid region where groundwater has become main resource. Due to the increase of water demand; therefore, it is essential to understand groundwater dynamics for the best groundwater management practice in Saudi Arabia. In Hadat Ash-Sham Farm Experimental Station, Saudi Arabia, water table data from 11 wells and rainfall data were monitored for 16 months. These water table data is analyzed using the geostatistical method with ordinary Kriging technique, to generate the best water table spatial distribution map for each month and the expected flow direction. The cross-validation technique is used to evaluate the quality of the developed water table maps. The Kriging maps show two regimes: weak spatial dependence (WSD, the ratio of the nugget to sill >75%) and strong spatial dependence (SSD, the ratio of the nugget to sill <25%). The WSD regime happens during dry seasons, while the SSD happens during wet seasons. The SSD gives better results and better accuracy compared to WSD. The root-mean-square error (RMSE) of water table varies between 0.26 – 3.4 m in the case of SSD, while it varies between 0.51-4.8 m in the case of WSD. Water table maps show groundwater flow direction in the study area is from East to West and South-East to North-West during the wet season (SSD). This direction is parallel with the relative orientation of surface stream with higher elevation to the surface stream with lower elevation, where study area is between these surface streams. While during the dry season (WSD), there is no preferred direction since there is almost no flow.