Spatial distribution characteristics and prediction of fluorine concentration in groundwater based on driving factors analysis

Excess fluoride (F⁻) in groundwater can be hazardous to human health. A total of 360 ground water samples was collected from northern Anhui, China, to study the levels, distribution, and source of F⁻. And on this basis, predicting the spatial distribution of F⁻ in a wider scale space. The range of F⁻ was 0.1–5.8 mg/L, with a mean value of 1.2 mg/L, and 26.4 % of the samples exceeded the acceptable level of 1.5 mg/L. Moreover, the water-rock interaction (fluorite dissolution) and cation alternate adsorption were considered to be two main driving factors of high F⁻ in groundwater. To further illustrate the spatial effects, the BME-RF model was established by combining the main environmental factors. The spatial distribution of F⁻ was quantitatively predicted, and the response to environmental variables was analyzed. The R² of BME-RF model reached 0.93, the prediction results showed that the region with 1.0–1.5 mg/L of F⁻ accounts for 47.2 % of the total area. The predicted F⁻ content of nearly 70 % of groundwater in this area has exceeded 1.0 mg/L, which was dominated by Na⁺ and HCO₃⁻ type. The spatial variability of F⁻ in the study area was mainly affected by hydrogeological conditions, and the vertical distribution characteristics were related to the spatial variation of slope, distance from runoff, and hydrochemical types. The results of the study provide new insights into the F⁻ concentration prediction in underground environment, especially in the borehole gap area.