Assessment of groundwater quality based on Principal Component Analysis method

The main principle and calculating process of principal component analysis method (PCA) is discussed in detail, this method descents the dimension of variables by the aid of orthogonal transformation and variance contribution rates, and then determines the principal component and derives the comprehensive evaluation functions. On the basis of that, principal component analysis method is applied to evaluate groundwater quality in Xincheng of Yinchuan NW China. Seen from the evaluation results, the groundwater quality in the study area basically meets the requirement of the III level water, principal component analysis method is a feasible method to evaluate groundwater quality, which computes easily and rapidly, and the result is reasonable, objective and reliable.