Assessment of the water quality of Kłodnica River catchment using self-organizing maps

• Anthropogenic impact on surface waters is assessed.
• Advanced self-organizing maps enabled the discrimination of human pollution sources.
• Distinct anthropogenic pollution sources are proven with seasonal variation.

Risk assessment of industrial areas heavily polluted due to anthropogenic actions is of increasing concern worldwide. So is the case of Polish Silesia region where mostly heavy industry like smelters, mining, chemical industries as well as heat and electricity production facilities are being located. Such situation raises numerous questions about environmental state of local water bodies with special attention paid to the Kłodnica Catchment which is receiving waste waters from numerous industrial plants. The efforts have been undertaken to describe the situation (spatial and temporal distribution of pollution) in the area of interest with the help of self-organizing maps – modern non-parametric data mining method – yet still rarely applied in environmental studies where numerous input parameters have to be considered. As a result of studies clear distinction into 3 pollution groups could be obtained as well as the seasonal variation of pollution could be distinguished.

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