Predicting Redox Conditions in Groundwater at a National Scale Using Random Forest Classification.

ABSTRACT: Redox conditions in groundwater may markedly affect the fate and transport of nutrients, volatile organic compounds, and trace metals, with significant implications for human health. While many local assessments of redox conditions have been made, the spatial variability of redox reaction rates makes the determination of redox conditions at regional or national scales problematic. In this study, redox conditions in groundwater were predicted for the contiguous United States using random forest classification by relating measured water quality data from over 30,000 wells to natural and anthropogenic factors. The model correctly predicted the oxic/suboxic classification for 78 and 79% of the samples in the out-of-bag and hold-out data sets, respectively. Variables describing geology, hydrolo

SUBMITTER: Tesoriero AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10956438 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature