Articles | Volume 30, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1449-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1449-2026
Research article
 | 
20 Mar 2026
Research article |  | 20 Mar 2026

Impact of occurrence conditions on NO3-N source apportionment in groundwater: insights from PCA-APCS-MLR and MixSIAR methods

Yang Liu, Jian Luo, Yajie Wu, Ziyang Zhang, Xilai Zheng, and Tianyuan Zheng

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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).
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Cited articles

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The accurate identification of NO3--N pollution sources are pivotal to the assessment of groundwater pollution risks. However, current studies on NO3--N source apportionment simplifies complex multi-layer aquifer systems into single-layer models without accounting for the impact of occurrence conditions. In this study, we quantitatively identify distinct NO3--N pollution sources in unconfined and confined groundwater, highlighting the critical role of occurrence conditions for management.
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