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Groundwater contamination risk assessment in the region of Hersonissos, Crete

Vetsou Anna

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Summary

This thesis examines the assessment of the risk of groundwater pollution in the area of Hersonissos near Heraklion, Crete. A multi-criteria analysis was carried out using a Geographic Information Systems (GIS), taking into account fifteen different factors that may influence the path of pollutants from the source to the groundwater. For the spatial assessment of the risk of soil pollution in the study area, fifteen thematic raster maps were created, incorporating factors related to soil characteristics and human activities, such as: rainfall, land use, runoff accumulation, point sources of pollution, proximity to rivers, proximity to road networks, inhabited areas, ecological protection zones, soil salinity zones, artificial drainage, soil water capacity, soil depth, groundwater table depth, subsurface geological formations and subsurface flow velocity. The groundwater pollution risk for each of the above parameters was categorized as Very low (1), Low (2), Moderate (3), High (4) and Very high (5) using the Natural Breaks (Jenks) method. The thematic maps were linearly combined and weighted according to the influence of each parameter to produce the final soil pollution risk map. The final map shows the study area with only the low, moderate and high risk regions identified. Most of the area is characterized by a moderate risk, while the northern coastal zone and some isolated inland areas have a high risk. Finally, in the southern part of the area there are small low-risk regions.

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