Proposal for quality assessment method of groundwater chemistry for hydrochemical investigation

Mizuno, Takashi   ; Metcalfe, R.*; Iwatsuki, Teruki  ; Mie, Hideki*

Hydrochemical studies are generally conducted based on chemical data of groundwater samples. Various methodologies exist for obtaining samples and for assessing the quality of the collected sample. This study is aimed at establishing a methodology for quality assessment of chemical data obtained from groundwater samples using a method known as Evidence Support Logic. In this study, pH data of groundwater obtained from several boreholes were assessed using this method. The results showed that 23 out of 63 samples satisfied the applied quality criteria. When plotted, the data from the 23 samples show a constant value from top to bottom of investigation area when compared to a plot using data from all samples. These results indicate that the quality assessment method demonstrated by this study is applicable to groundwater studies and that by considering the sample quality it will be possible to develop a clearer interpretation of the deep underground geochemical environment.