INFLUENCE OF LOCAL AND LARGE SCALE HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL FACTORS ON INTERANNUAL GROWNDWATER NITRATE REGIME IN RURAL SETTLEMENT

Abstract

The study analyzes the spatial distribution of groundwater nitrate concentration in Siculeni, a rural settlement in Eastern Transylvania. The aim of the paper is to determine the factors influencing the inter-annual regime of groundwater nitrate concentration. In the analyze groundwater nitrate concentration and water table data are used from 23 sampling points and also precipitation data from Miercurea Ciuc meteorological station are processed. Based on combined cluster analyzes with geographical information system tools the role of point wise communal pollution sources on nitrate concentration are demonstrated, on the other hand the significant empirical relationship between precipitation and groundwater nitrate concentration is argued via introducing an intermediate variable, namely the groundwater table fluctuation. This emphasizes the fact that groundwater nitrate concentration is partly determined by communal local factors and also partly by large scale processes.

Keywords

• groundwater nitrate concentration
• water table variations
• precipitation