Dos Amantes Point on Guam’s northwest coast stands at 200 ft elevation. The limestone plateau rises to 600 ft at the north tip of the island.

Coconut Crab Cave, near Haputo Bay, is the site of a spectacular coastal spring, where freshwater discharges onto the adjacent reef.

Ongoing development of new production wells provides unique opportunities for graduate study and practical experience in island karst hydrogeology.

The northern aquifer is a composite island karst aquifer, composed of Miocene to Pleistocene limestone atop Oligocene volcanic basement.

Freshwater pool at the bottom of Jinapsan Cave. The cave has been instrumented since 2008 for studies of groundwater dynamics and Guam’s climate history in collaboration with University of Texas-Austin.

WERI’s close partnership with the USGS’s Pacific Islands Water Science Center, in Honolulu, provides internship opportunities and widens the scope of both applied and theoretical graduate research.

Haputo Bay, on Guam’s northwest coast, where converging groundwater flow from the northern aquifer has produced a deep embayment.

The fascinating karst features of Guam include this cenote, Tarague Well #4, which was once used for water supply by the Air Force.

The island of Guam provides a natural laboratory for the study of karst hydrogeology. Instruction takes advantage of the unique accessibility of karst features in the field.

The US Territory of Guam is the southernmost of the Mariana Islands, located in the west Pacific about 1500 miles east of Manila, and 1500 miles south of Tokyo. It has a warm tropical wet-dry climate and supports numerous coral reefs, particularly along its west coast on the Philippine Sea. The northern half is an uplifted limestone plateau. The southern half is a tropically weathered mountainous volcanic upland. (Photo: Mitch Warner; map: Danko Taboroši)

Graduate Research Opportunities in Coastal &

Island Karst Hydrogeology, University

of Guam, USA

The University of Guam’s Water & Environmental Research Institute is situated on Pago Bay, next to it’s sister institute, the UOG Marine Laboratory (bottom, center) beneath the main campus in the village of Mangilao, on Guam’s central eastern coast.

Contact Dr. John Jenson, WERI, at jjenson@uguamlive.uog.edu, or phone (671) 735-2689 during business hours. Guam time is GMT + 10 hours.

2015 Research

Assistantships in Karst

HydrogeologyDUTIES: Primary duties include (1) collecting quarterly samples of

groundwater from selected production wells, and monthly samples of

rainwater from WERI Meteorology & Hydrology Laboratory as part of WERI-

USGS study of aquifer processes using groundwater chemistry; (2)

Preparing samples for shipment to collaborating laboratory at University of

Texas-Austin; (3) Assisting in the interpretation of chemical signatures and

their relationships to geologic provenance and hydrologic processes; (4)

Assisting in mapping and documentation of coastal springs on the NW coast

of Guam during spring and summer f ield seasons.

Duties also include augmenting field research team to make monthly visits

to underground research caves: collect water samples, maintain

instrumentation, download and process electronic data. This involves

regular strenuous hiking, at least once a month, and meticulous work inside

the caves for an hour or two on each visit. It also involves pre- and post-

trip preparation of samples and analyses of samples, and thus require

careful adherence to laboratory QA/QC protocols, accurate record keeping

and data transcriptions, computer literacy, and the compilation and

organization of data spread sheets. Hours are flexible. Secondary duties

will include assisting other WERI researchers and research assistants with

related projects on an as-needed basis.

OPPORTUNITIES: Research described above can support graduate thesis

work in applied or theoretical karst hydrology. In addit ional to scientif ic

research, students frequently have opportunit ies for internships or

consult ing with local public agencies and private firms. For more

information on the academic program see the UOG Environmental Science

Program website at www.uog.edu/environmental-science (click “Visit EVSci

Program Page) and the website of the Water & Environmental Research

Institute of the Western Pacific at www.weriguam.org. Starting in 2015, there

will l ikely also be an opportunity to assist with and build thesis work around

the installation of new deep monitoring wells on northern Guam.

QUALIFICATIONS: Graduate student with science, engineering, or

mathematics background, and interest in hydrological research. GIS skills

helpful, but not mandatory. Must be totally reliable, well organized,

physically f it, have good field and laboratory skills, and the demonstrated

ability to work independently as well as on a team.

Founded in 1952, the University of Guam is a US Land Grant University accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, with an enrollment of about 4000, including students for from Guam, Micronesia, Asia, the US mainland, and Europe. Its 616-acre campus is located in the village of Mangilao, and overlooks the Pacific Ocean. For more information on its facilities and programs go to www.uog.edu.

The university’s Water & Environmental Research Institute of the Western Pacific is ranked in the top eight of the 54 Water Resources Research Institutes at the nation’s Land Grant Universities. It conducts basic and applied research in the sustainable development and management of freshwater resources on Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. For more, see www.weriguam.org.