Vulnerabilit y mapping of aquifer pollution of the Bagi basin in COP and PaPRIKa methods by using RS and GIS

Karst aquifers are one of the most important water resources on the global scale. Vulnerability assessment and hazard zonation mapping approach is important in the management of those resources. Sometimes, where thin soils cover the recharge conduits, the scattered and occasional vugs, the aquifers are vulnerable to contamination. The purpose of this study is to map the vulnerability of the Baji, Neishabour karst aquifer to surface contamination using the COP and PaPRIKa methods as management tools to preserve these resources. Appropriate parameters for both methods were developed, introduced into the GIS software, and the required map was drawn. According to the results obtained though employing the PaPRlka method, the region was delineated into very high, high and medium vulnerability classes; these classes covered 8.9, 63.8, and 27.2 percentages of the research domain. The results further indicate that the COP index for the study area ranged from 0.5 to 12. Based on the COP index, there are 4 vulnerability classes: high, medium, low, and very low, which covered 4.8, 50.0, 25.6, and 14.6 percentage of the area, respectively.