PACN Monitoring Groundwater

Raikow, David

Long term groundwater-hydrology monitoring in American Memorial Park, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park, Hawaii. The Pacific Island Network (PACN) of the NPS oversees the I&M Program for parks on several islands in the tropical Pacific, including American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana archipelago, and Hawaii. In some of these parks, the condition of certain near-shore natural features, such as anchialine ponds, fish ponds, mangrove shorelines, and wetlands are closely associated with the availability and quality of groundwater, which, in turn, are affected by anthropogenic factors in and near the park, such as urbanization, industrialization, and increased groundwater withdrawals. Groundwater is also affected by cycles and long-term trends in climate and sea level, whether natural or anthropogenic. Ecosystems reliant on the quantity and quality of groundwater include some that provide habitat for rare, endangered or threatened organisms. Because of the association between groundwater and biological resources, the PACN has proposed groundwater monitoring in two parks that lie on the coast of Pacific islands: American Memorial Park (AMME) on Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park (KAHO) on the island of Hawaii.

PACN Monitoring Groundwater

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