Comparison of Methods for Nitrate Interpolation in Wells in Aguascalientes, Mexico

The accuracy of interpolation models applied to groundwater depends, among other factors, on the interpolation method chosen. Therefore, it is necessary to compare different approaches. For this, different methods of interpolation of nitrate concentrations were contrasted in sixty-seven wells in an aquifer in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Four general interpolation methods were used in ArcGIS 10.5 to make the maps: IDW, Kriging, Natural Neighbor and Spline. In the modeling, only method type was varied. The input parameters (location, temporality, and nitrate concentration) were the same in the four interpolations; despite this, different maximum and minimum values were obtained for each interpolation method: for IDW, 0.2 to 22.0 mg/l, for Kriging, 3.5 to 16.5 mg/l, for Natural Neighbor, 0.3 to 21.7 mg/l and for Spline ？30.8 to 37.2 mg/l. Finally, an assessment of the maps obtained was conducted by comparing them with the Official Mexican Standard (OMS), where 24 of the 67 wells were found outside the 10 mg/l that the OMS establishes as maximum permissible limit for human consumption. Taking as a starting point the measured values of nitrates (0.25 to 22.12 mg/l), as well as the spatial distribution of the interpolated values, it was determined that the Krigging method best fitted the data measured in the wells within the studied aquifer.