Water Resource Development in the Quaternary Ryukyu Limestone Regions of Japan: Application of the GIS to the Site Selection of Underground Dams

摘要

Based on the natural and social conditions as well as hydrogeological characteristics of the Ryukyu limestone, a major aquifer in the Ryukyu Islands, a conception of underground dam, was proposed in the early 1970s in order to develop ground water resources in the Quaternary Ryukyu limestone regions of Japan. The practice of nearly thirty years has shown that the underground dam is an environment-friendly and effective way for developing ground water in these regions. To further improve the technology associated with underground dam, the authors introduced related analytic methods. The application of the geographical information system technology to site selection of the underground dam is reported in this paper.