Details zur Publikation

Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Zeitschriften
DOI 10.1016/j.gsd.2026.101594
Titel (primär) The role of secondary data in estimating groundwater levels in the Iberian Peninsula
Autor Ben-Salem, N.; Rouhani, A. ORCID logo ; Copty, N.K.; Varouchakis, E.A.; Gómez-Hernández, J.J.; Karatzas, G.P.; Rode, M. ORCID logo ; Jomaa, S.
Quelle Groundwater for Sustainable Development
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
Department ASAM
Band/Volume 33
Seite von art. 101594
Sprache englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Supplements Supplement 1
Keywords Multi-decadal analysis; Kriging; cokriging; Groundwater level; Geostatistics; Spatial variability; Iberian Peninsula
Abstract Mapping groundwater levels at the regional scale is often hindered by the lack of high-density direct head measurements. In this study, we explore the value of incorporating different secondary data with cokriging to assess the spatial variability of groundwater levels for the entire Iberian Peninsula, a region characterized by pronounced hydroclimatic variability and rising water demand. The analysis uses more than 60 years of groundwater level measurements from 3822 observation wells across the region, combined with readily available secondary data, including a digital elevation model, precipitation data, and hydrogeological information. Because of the time series length, the analysis was divided into four periods, each containing a different number of measurements. The performance of the geostatistical models was rigorously evaluated through cross-validation and statistical metrics. Results showed that for earlier periods, characterized by a limited number of observation wells, incorporating groundwater data from subsequent periods and hydrogeological information led to the most significant improvement in groundwater level mapping. Average annual precipitation data did not correlate with groundwater level data and had minimal impact on the interpolation, whereas digital elevation models had a mixed effect. Overall, the study underlines the value of incorporating secondary data through cokriging to map groundwater levels at a regional scale when in-situ data are scarce.
Ben-Salem, N., Rouhani, A., Copty, N.K., Varouchakis, E.A., Gómez-Hernández, J.J., Karatzas, G.P., Rode, M., Jomaa, S. (2026):
The role of secondary data in estimating groundwater levels in the Iberian Peninsula
Groundwater Sustain. Dev. 33 , art. 101594 10.1016/j.gsd.2026.101594