Date of Award
2016
Document Type
Open Access Master's Report
Degree Name
Master of Science in Geology (MS)
Administrative Home Department
Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
Advisor 1
Dr. John Gierke
Committee Member 1
Dr. Alex Mayer
Committee Member 2
Dr. David Watkins
Abstract
Contact (seepage) springs are frequently the only source of potable drinking water for the Ngäbe people located in the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, Western Panama. Dry season flows drastically diminish and sometimes dry up, greatly affecting locals’ access to clean drinking water. This study uses MODFLOW 2005 to model two aquifer systems. One is a lab-created, idealized system, and the other is a small, steeply-sloping aquifer in the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé. Modeling the idealized aquifer demonstrated that MODFLOW 2005 has the capacity to model the dewatering of a steeply sloping aquifer. Modeling the field based aquifer demonstrated that a changing climate (increased temperature and decreased rainfall) will affect wet season discharge and have a small effect on late dry season discharge.
Recommended Citation
Mayer, Jordan, "SPRING DISCHARGE MODELING: A CASE STUDY IN THE COMARCA NGÄBE-BUGLÉ, WESTERN PANAMA", Open Access Master's Report, Michigan Technological University, 2016.