A HYDROGEOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF HAWAII'S GROUNDWATER RESOURCES THROUGH THE 'IKE WAI PROJECT

'Ike Wai, a 5 year long NSF-funded EPSCOR project, will incorporate analysis of precipitation and groundwater chemistry in its effort to better understand Hawaii's hydrologic systems. As the focus areas of the project are the Pu'uloa (Pearl Harbor) and Hualalai aquifers, we will collect such data in these and the surrounding aquifer systems. As there is a link between oxygen and deuterium isotope values, along with the elevation of precipitation, rainwater chemistry will help us to identify the source of groundwater collected at a number of locations. The same isotope values, in addition to various other chemical species, can be used as natural tracers to improve groundwater flow paths. Preliminary plans for the groundwater and rainfall chemistry aspect of this large project will be presented.