An Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) to Predict of Cadmium (Cd) Concentrations in the Filyos River, Turkey

Water quality is one of the main characteristics of a river system and prediction of water quality is the key factor in water resource management. Different physical, biological and chemical parameters including heavy metals can be used to assess river water quality. Evaluation of the water quality in the rivers is quite difficult and requires more time and effort because of the fact that many factors affect water quality. Traditional data processing methods are insufficient to solve this problem. Therefore, in this study, an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model was developed to predict the concentrations of cadmium (Cd) in the Filyos River, Turkey. For this purpose, water samples collected at 7 sampling locations in the river during December 2014-2015 were used to develop ANFIS model. The available data set was apportioned into two separate sections for training and testing the ANFIS model. Developed models aimed to use the least parameters to estimate Cd concentration. As a result, a relatively higher correlation (R2=0.91) was found between observed and modelled Cd concentrations. The results indicated that the ANFIS model gave reasonable estimates for the concentrations of Cd with a high degree accuracy and robustness. In conclusion, this paper suggests that ANFIS methodology produce very successful findings and has the ability to predict Cd concentration in water resources. The outcomes of this research provide more information, simulation, and prediction about heavy metal concentration in natural aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, ANFIS can be used in further researches on water quality monitoring.