You have entered the website of the Water and Environmental Research Institute of the Western Pacific (WERI) at the University of Guam. We are currently six faculty and five staff and our mission is to seek solutions through research, teaching and outreach programs, to issues and problems associated with the location, production, distribution and management of freshwater resources in Guam, the CNMI and the FSM.
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John Jenson Ph.D. Professor of Environmental Geology Phone: 671-735-2689 (fax 734-8890) (GMT+10 hrs) jjenson(weriguam)uguam.uog.edu?subject=Faculty - WeriGuam.org |
Development of a Comprehensive Hydrological Database of the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer. MS professional project by Vivianna Bendixson
In collaboration with the US Geologic Survey, WERI is constructing a comprehensive database that includes historical, graphical, and quantitative data on the complex Northern Guam Lens Aquifer (NGLA), which provides some 80% of Guam’s drinking water for its current population of about 200,000. Production is expected to expand over the next several years from the current 45 million gallons per day (mgd) to some 55 mgd or slightly more to support the planned movement of a US Marine Corps division from Okinawa to Guam. This project supports a collaborative three-year effort by the USGS Geological Survey and WERI to build a dynamic numerical model of the NGLA. (Funding source: US Geologic Survey; Guam Hydrologic Survey)
Comprehensive Analysis of Salinity Trends in the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer. MS professional project by Christine Simard MS professional project by Christine Simard, WERI Research Assistant
This project will compile and evaluate historical and current data from existing sources to support statistical and graphical analyses. Spatial relationships and trends will be identified by using GIS applications to display them on 2-D and 3-D maps of the aquifer and Guam’s groundwater production infrastructure. The data will thus be evaluated to determine not only the current distribution of relatively low- and high-chloride zones in the aquifer, but also the historical spatial and temporal trends in the relationships between chloride concentrations in Guam’s freshwater lens and production wells on the one hand, and spatial and historical trends in production rates and recharge on the other hand. (Funding source: US Geologic Survey; Guam Hydrologic Survey)
Holocene Hydrologic Variability across the Western Pacific Warm Pool Collaborative Project with University of Texas-Austin. WERI Research Assistants Christine Simard, Vivianna Bendixson, and Jacob Kanrad
This collaborative project involves field sample collection and laboratory analyses to generate hydrologic records from four sites in the West Pacific Warm Pool: Guam, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and the Philippines. Year-round in-situ study of a cave on Guam is providing an a prototype for other tropical cave studies of past climate. Collaborators include Drs. John Jenson and Mark Lander, at WERI, and Drs, Jay Banner, Jud Partin, Ben Hardt, Bayani Cardenas, Terry Quinn, and Fred Taylor, at the University of Texas-Austin. (Funding source: Guam Hydrologic Survey; National Science Foundation)
