Groundwater Level Complexity Analysis Based on Multifractal Characteristics: A Case Study in Baotu Spring Basin, China

Abstract

Abstract Groundwater resources are important natural resources that must be appropriately managed. Because groundwater level fluctuation typically exhibits non-stationarity, revealing its complex characteristics is of scientific and practical significance for understanding the response mechanism of the groundwater level to natural or human factors. Therefore, employing multifractal analysis to detect groundwater level variation irregularities is necessary. In this study, multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) was applied to study the multifractal characteristics of the groundwater level in the Baotu Spring Basin and further detect the complexity of groundwater level variation. The main results indicate that groundwater level variation in the Baotu Spring Basin exhibited multifractal characteristics, and multifractality originated from broad probability density function (PDF) and the long-range correlation of the hydrological series. The groundwater level fluctuations in wells 358 and 361 exhibited a high complexity, those in wells 287 and 268 were moderately complex, and the groundwater level fluctuations in wells 257 and 305 were characterized by a low complexity. The spatial variability of hydrogeological conditions resulted in spatial heterogeneity in the groundwater level complexity. This study could provide important reference value for the analysis of the nonlinear response mechanism of groundwater to its influencing factors and the development of hydrological models.