Marine Corp Base Hawaii Water Resiliency Project
Principle Investigator: Dr. Amir Haroon
Co-Investigators: Dr. Peter Kannberg, Prof. Dr. Xiaolong Geng, Dr. Donald Thomas
This research will open the door to a new understanding of Hawaiʻi’s freshwater future on windward Oʻahu. Although the former caldera and dike complex of the Koʻolau Volcano plays a central role in sustaining the island’s drinking-water supply, it has remained one of the least studied hydrologic regions for decades. Our project seeks to change that by combining advanced geophysical imaging with modern hydrogeologic analysis to generate insights that have not been attainable until now.
The work will refine our knowledge of the unconfined and confined aquifer systems that has the potential to feed communities along the windward coast, clarifying how freshwater is stored, transmitted, and replenished in this volcanically complex environment. In addition, it will investigate deeper, largely unknown freshwater-bearing layers beneath Kāneʻohe Bay to better understand potentially undiscovered subsurface resources and address the long-standing uncertainty over how much water is held within the volcanic rocks of this region.
Ultimately, the project will produce a comprehensive, data-driven conceptual and groundwater model that gives water managers a stronger scientific foundation for protecting, allocating, and planning for freshwater resources on Oʻahu’s windward side. By advancing the hydrogeologic picture of this critical region, the research directly supports efforts to strengthen water security and build long-term island resilience.
Development of Unexploded Ordnance Detection and Classification Technologies for Iron-Rich Volcanic Soil
US Army Engineer Research Development Center (ERDC)
Principle Investigators: Dr. Wayne Shiroma (PI), Co-PIs: Dr. John Allen, Dr. Daniel Drew, Dr. Amir Haroon, Dr. Victor Lubecke, Dr. Aaron Ohta, Dr. Erin Wallin
The State of Hawaiʻi is known to have significant amounts of UXO. At the former Waikoloa Maneuver Area (WMA) alone, which constitutes an area over 120,000 acres, one ordnance item has been detected for every day a contractor has worked there. Removal actions are ongoing, including in medium-to-high risk areas with easy accessibility by the public. The limitations of current UXO technology mean that the timeline for clearance, remediation, and returning it to Native Hawaiian peoples through the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) for homestead use, is very long. Delays are sure to have follow-on effects, like pushing back clearance of other UXO-filled areas in Hawaiʻi, including the culturally significant Mākua Valley site on Oʻahu. The objective of this research is to improve UXO detection and classification in iron-rich volcanic soil by developing novel and adapted state-of-the-art technologies operated either independently or as constituents of a larger data fusion-based architecture.
More than buried valleys: Do tunnel valleys serve as conduits for preferential freshened groundwater flow within the North Sea?
German Research Foundation: 524639242
Principle Investigator: Dr. Arne Lohrberg
Co-Investigators: Dr. Amir Haroon, Prof. Dr. Sebastian Krastel, Prof. Dr. Nils Moosdorf
The role of large subsurface landforms produced during glaciations of the Pleistocene is poorly understood with respect to groundwater flow. In particular, so-called tunnel valleys (TVs) formed beneath ice sheets acted as drainage systems of glacial melt water. Due to their mechanism of formation, the fill of buried TVs often consists of highly permeable sands and gravels in their lower part and fine-grained deposits at their top. Such a configuration promotes their role as preferential flow pathways for groundwater sealed from the Holocene saltwater above. This project aims to better understand the potential of TVs as preferential flow pathways of offshore freshened groundwater in the southeastern North Sea.
Gulf of Corinth Groundwater
RV Meteor Cruise – M196: GEOMAR, HCMR, University of Malta, HIGP
SMART Project
Principle Investigators: Dr. Marion Jegen, Dr. Thomas Müller, Dr. Amir Haroon
In many regions of known OFG occurrences, this lack of spatial understanding materializes from an insufficient database consisting of either point-scale information (e.g. deep boreholes) or spatial information (e.g. geophysical investigations). Few studies exist that effectively combine the point-scale ground-truthing data with regional measurements to adequately constrain the spatial extents of OFG.
Moreover, questions regarding OFG connectivity to its terrestrial counterpart remain largely unanswered. Here, we propose a marine hydrogeological survey at a newly-discovered OFG site within the Gulf of Corinth, Greece. The proposed cruise will acquire electromagnetic and geochemical data to derive the spatial extents of OFG in the region, and understand if this low-salinity anomaly is due to present-day recharge through karstic aquifer system or, alternatively, a remnant of past sea-level low stands.
Adriatic Sea Groundwater
ISMAR – CNR; University of Bologna; GEOMAR; HIGP
Principle Investigators: Dr. Claudio Pellegrini, Prof. Dr. Bruno Campo, Dr. Amir Haroon
Offshore freshened groundwater (OFG) and fresh submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) play significant roles in coastal hydrologic systems. Despite the importance of these offshore groundwater systems and their interactions with onshore systems along global coastlines, a lack of understanding persists due to limitations in geophysical methodologies. Controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) techniques are one promising noninvasive avenue for identifying and characterizing OFG and SGD. We introduce SWAN, a low-cost, modular, surface-towed hybrid time-frequency domain CSEM system capable of detecting OFG and SGD up to water depths of 100 m. A field test conducted in the central Adriatic Sea showcased the system’s capabilities at water depths ranging from several tens to approximately 160 m. SWAN’s ability to provide continuous measurements has proven effective in acquiring high-quality data while operating at towing speeds of 2.5 to 3 knots. The system’s data coverage allows for the detection of subsurface resistivity variations to depths of approximately 150–200 m below the seafloor.