GIS-based assessment and mapping of groundwater source potential in selected aquifers of the Western Carpathians

Using the frequency ratio (FR) statistical model can provide a simple geospatial assessment tool to calculate the probabilistic relationship between dependent and independent variables, including constructing multiple classification maps in a geographic information system (GIS) environment. A total of 10,465 springs were identified and mapped in the GIS environment during the research, including 5,302 in the Flysch Belt, 2,832 in the Crystalline complex, 351 in the Paleogene, and 1,980 in the Older Paleozoic. The effective factors - slope, aspect, plan curvature, elevation, topographic wetness index (TWI), stream power index (SPI), slope length (LS), lithology, distance to rivers, distance to ridge-lines, distance to faults, and distance to lithological borders - were derived from a spatial database. Using these effective factors, groundwater spring potential was calculated using a single model, and the results were plotted in ArcGIS. The final result indicated that the bivariate statistical index model (like FR) could be used as a simple tool in the assessment of groundwater spring potential.