GIS-based Analysis and Visualization of the Groundwater Changes in Minqin Oasis

Zhenghua Yang

Yanping Liu

LanZhou Geotechnical Investigation and Surveying

Institute 730030, China
e-mail: yang.zhh@126.com

GIS Department, Lanzhou Jiaotong University

Lanzhou 730070, China
e-mail: 870564628@qq.com

Haowen Yan*
GIS Department, Lanzhou Jiaotong University
Lanzhou 730070, China
e-mail: haowen2010@gmail.com
AbstractGroundwater depth refers to the distance from the
ground surface to the groundwater surface and groundwater

level refers to the elevation of the groundwater surface.

The changes of groundwater depth and groundwater level
are both the most directive reaction to the changes of the
groundwater resources. This paper combines the Ordinary
Kriging Interpolation method with the techniques from
geographic information systems to analyze the dynamic
changes of the groundwater depth and the groundwater
level in Minqin Oasis in Januarys between 1998 and 2010. The
results show that: (1) the groundwater depth is greater in the
south while it is less in the north. It has declined year by year
and the annual mean decline rate was 0.55m/a. The decline
range has been gradually decreasing from the southwest to the
northeast and the area with bigger groundwater depth has
been becoming bigger and bigger due to the increasing of
human activities in the Oasis. (2) The groundwater level is
higher in the southwest whereas lower in the northeast and it
has been continuously decreasing year by year. Meanwhile, the
area of low level region has been gradually expanding from the
northeast to the southwest.
Keywords-kriging interpolation; geographic information
system; groundwate; MinQin Oasis

I.

INTRODUCTION

Minqin Oasis in Gansu province is located in the

downstream of Shiyang River to the east of Hexi
Corridor[1]. It plays an extremely important role in hindering
the meeting and invading the south of Tengger Desert and
the Badain Jaran Desert. With the development of social
science and technology and the rapid development of
industry, agriculture in recent decades, the upstream and
midstream areas have brutally taken use of the surface water
resources. This has made the surface water into Minqin
Oasis be greatly reduced, resulting in the contradiction
between the water supply and the demand in the Oasis water
day by day: the quantity of the groundwater being used has
increased year by year; the overexploiting of the water is
being exacerbated, and the water level is declining greatly.

This work was supported by the Innovative

Team of the Ministry of Education (IRT0966)

The decline of the groundwater level has leaded to a sharp

rise in the salinity of the groundwater, and the vegetation is
degenerating and dying, and the process of the soil
salinization and desertification has speeded up. In deed, the
Oasis has begun to shrink. The unbalanced ecological system
in Minqin Oasis has triggered a series of ecological
environmental problems, and the extent and scope of the
hazards has expanded gradually, which has attracted the
attention of the researchers in the communities of geography
and environment home and abroad. Therefore, it is of great
importance to analyze the dynamic changing regular of the
groundwater in Minqin Oasis; because not only does it
provides scientific evidences for exploring and using the
ground water reasonably, but also it has great realistic
instructive functions on improving and protecting the local
groundwater sources.
This study uses the Ordinary Kriging interpolation
method in processing the data of groundwater depth during
1998 to 2010 for the purpose of getting the space-time
evolution law of the groundwater depth, aiming at providing
reliable evidences for reasonably managing and efficiently
utilizing the groundwater resources in the Oasis.
II.

STUDIED AREA

Minqin Oasis lies in the middle part of Minqin county

(10245'E-10355'E and 3820 'N-3910'N[2]). Red Cliff
Mountain and Agoura Hills are in the south of the Oasis, The
Oasis is surrounded by Tengger Desert and Badain Jaran
Desert from its east, west and north respectively. It is one of
the typical desert oases in China. In its south, the Oasis along
the Shiyang River is connected with Liangzhou District. The
most of agriculture and industry of the Minqin County
focuses on the Minqin oasis [3]. The whole area of oasis is
about 2,400 square kilometers [4], which accounts for about
15% the area of the whole county, including 13 townships
(Fig.1).

less in the northern part. There was a big

groundwater funnel (the No.1 funnel) at the joint of
Suwu Township, Dangba Township and Datan
Township, whose area was 91.13 square kilometers.
At the center of the No.1 funnel, the groundwater
depth was 17.06-18.77m. Meanwhile, at the junction
of Honshaliang Township and Quanshan Township,
there also formed a groundwater funnel (the No.2
funnel), at the centre of which the groundwater depth
was 14.22-15.72m. In 1998, the deepest groundwater
depth in oasis was 18.77m, and the shallowest was
5.64m, and the area where the groundwater depth
was lower than 15m has accounted for 73% of the
Oasis (Fig.3).

Figure1. The location of Minqin Oasis.

Minqin oasis is in the temperate continental desert

climate zone. It is hot in summer and cold in winter, and
sufficient in sunlight; however, the temperature difference
between day and night is very large. It is scarce of rainfall
but the evaporation is intensive. Because of the appropriate
climate conditions, it is especially suitable for the crops to
grow[5]. Strong winds, flying sand and sandstorms occur
frequently in spring.
III.

DATA USED IN THE STUDY

The data used in this study was collected from the Water
Affairs Bureau of Minqin County, including the positioning
coordinates of seventy monitoring wells and the average
observed values of the groundwater depth from the seventy
monitoring wells in Januarys from 1998 to 2010.The
coordinate system of the positioning data is Beijing Geodetic
Coordinate System 1954 and the elevation system is the
1985 National Height Datum. The projection of the data is
Gauss-Kruger Projection. The groundwater monitoring wells
in oasis is evenly distributed (Fig.2).

Figure2. The location of groundwater monitoring wells

in Minqin Oasis.

IV.

ANALYSIS OF THE GROUNDWATER DEPTH CHANGES

The Ordinary Kriging Interpolation method of

Geostatistical Analysis in ArcGIS [6]is used to interpolate
the average observed values of the groundwater depth in the
Januarys from 1998 to 2010, and the results are as follows:
In 1998, the average depth of the groundwater was
10.57m, which was greater in the southern part and

Figure3. The distribution map of the groundwater depth

in January, 1998.

In 2010, the mean groundwater depth in the Oasis

has declined to 17.15m. Because peoples living
standard has been improved, and the population has
increased greatly and the industry has developed
dramatically, the water consumption in the urban
area of the Oasis increased rapidly, and the center of
the No.1 funnel has been moved to the middle of the
county, located in the junction of Suwu Township
and Sanlei Township. At the center of the No.1
funnel, the groundwater depth was 28.62-31.43m. At
the same time, the center of the No.2 funnel has been
moved to Hongshaliang Township and its
groundwater depth was also 28.62-31.43m; In Xiqu
Township, there has been a funnel again (the No.3
funnel), and the groundwater depth of whose was
21.59-24.45m. In 2010, the deepest groundwater
depth was 31.43m in oasis, and the shallowest was
6.00m. The area where the groundwater depth was
above 15m has accounted for 86.03% of the Oasis.
As see from Fig.4, there will have been a confluent
trend between the No.1 funnel and the No.2 funnel.

Figure4. The distribution map of the groundwater depth

in January, 2010.

Figure6. The distribution map of the groundwater absolute elevation

in January, 1998.

From 1998 to 2010, the groundwater depth has

declined by 6.58m from the 10.57m to the 17.15m,
whose annual mean decline rate was 0.55m/a.
During the past 13 years, it can be seen from Fig.5
that the decline range of the groundwater depth was
relatively larger in the joint of Suwu Township,
Dongba Township, Shuangcike Township and Datan
Township in the south, where the groundwater depth
was during 9m and 10m; In the north, the decline
range of the groundwater depth was relatively
smaller at those places where the Tengger Desert
adjoins to Shoucheng Township and Donghu
Township respectively, and the groundwater depth
was during 4m and 5m.
Figure7. The distribution map of the groundwater absolute elevation
in January, 2010.

Figure5. The decline range of the groundwater depth between

1998 and 2010.

V.

ANALYSIS OF THE GROUNDWATER LEVER CHANGES

Converting the average observed values of the

groundwater depth in Minqin County in Januarys from 1998
to 2010 to the values of the groundwater level respectively,
and using the Ordinary Kriging Interpolation method of
Geostatistical Analysis in ArcGIS to interpolate the values of
the groundwater Level. The results have been shown as in
the Figure 6 and Figure 7.

As see from Fig.6 and Fig.7: overall, the oasis

groundwater level presented highly in the southwest, but
lowly in the northeast. In Xuebai Township, the groundwater
level was the highest, but in the Donghu Township and Xiqu
Township, it was the lowest. In 1998, the highest
groundwater level in oasis was 1405m and the lowest was
1302m, and the difference of them was 103m; In 2010, the
highest groundwater level in oasis was 1403m and the lowest
was 1289m, and the difference of them was 103m. All of
those are mainly related to the terrain of oasis. Over the past
13 years, the oasis groundwater level has been continuously
decreasing year by year. Meanwhile, the area of low level
region has been gradually expanding from the northeast to
the southwest.
In recent years, because of the excessive exploitation and
utilization of the groundwater in Oasis, the mineralization of
groundwater has rised continuously and the soil salinization
has become more and more serious. Those conditions are
particularly serious in Lake District which includes Xiqu
Township, Donghu Township and Shoucheng Township. At
present, the groundwater in the Lake District has not been
appropriate for the irrigation and drinking for the local and
there has been 30 thousand people immigrating to outside,
becoming the ecological refugees [7].

VI.

CONCLUSION

This paper uses Geostatistical Analysis method to

simulate the features of the temporal and space variations in
the groundwater depth and the groundwater level. The
results basically reflect the local actual situation. On the
whole, the spatial distribution of the groundwater depth and
the groundwater level in the Oasis were nonuniform. The
groundwater depth has declined dramatically from 1998 to
2010 and its decline range has been decreasing gradually
from the southwest to the northeast. From 1998 to 2010, the
oasis groundwater level has been continuously decreasing
year by year. The reasons for the results are as follows: it
mainly caused by the decrease of the quantity of the
upstream inflow and the excessive exploitation of the
groundwater resources in the Oasis. Therefore, the urgent
business for alleviating the crisis of the groundwater
resources in the Oasis is to increase the quantity of the
upstream and reduce the exploitation of the groundwater.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Yanping Liu thanks the Water Affairs Bureau of Minqin
County for providing the data used in the experiments.

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