Revolutionizing Groundwater Management with Geostatistics: Mapping Spatial Variations for Sustainability
Groundwater resources vary across space and time, but not randomly. Geostatistics helps analyze this variation by creating spatial maps using point observations. The variogram measures spatial correlation, and techniques like kriging are used for interpolation. Ordinary kriging, indicator kriging, and regression kriging are common methods. Cross-validation checks the accuracy of predictions, and sampling design optimization is crucial. Stochastic simulation processes are also important for groundwater resource management. This information is useful for students, researchers, and natural resources managers to understand and apply geostatistics in assessing groundwater resources.