CP-1994-06
Use of a geographic information system in site-specific ground-water modeling
El-Kadi, A.I., A.A. Oloufa, A.A. Eltahan, and H.U. Malik
Groundwater modeling is hindered, in general, by the lack of adequate information about the groundwater system and hence the need for an interactive and efficient system for data preparation and results analysis. Such a lack of information usually necessitates by the use of a tedious iterative methodology within a sensitive analysis scheme. This study facilitates modeling efforts by using the data-handling and graphical capabilities of a geographic information system (GIS) in site-specific, numerical modeling of groundwater resources. Data for the island of Oahu, Hawaii, are given to illustrate the approach. The modeling procedure is integrated with the GIS as an item in the main menu. A USGS model, known as MOC, is linked into the system and applied to a case study to illustrate the procedure. The linkage is generic in nature and can be extended to other models as well. The availability of a programming language in the GIS package facilitates pre- and post-processing efforts within custom-made dialogue boxes and pull-down menus. On-line help screens for modeling as well as data handling can also be designed.