Ms. Hazelle Ko, a graduate student in the Environmental Sciences (EV) Program at the University of Guam, successfully defended her thesis on November 21, 2024.
Her thesis focuses on chloride trends in 9 wells located in the Yigo-Tumon Basin, and evaluated impacts of natural factors such as ENSO, rainfall and sea level, and well production rates on chloride concentrations.
In Ms. Ko’s thesis, she found that chloride concentrations in the wells studied have increased over 49 years, influenced by production rates, well design, and sea level changes leading to saltwater intrusion. While the last 10 years of the data suggest that trends may be reversing, the overall pattern still shows a long-term increase, highlighting the need for sustainable groundwater management and improved monitoring to protect the aquifer while meeting production demands.
Ms. Ko graduated with a BS in Natural Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh in December 2017. She started working with Dr. Yuming Wen on a project focusing on hydrological features and analysis in Finegayan Basin, Guam in October 2021. Later, she enrolled in the EV program in Fall 2022.
Ms. Ko has continued to work with Dr. Wen on projects focusing on patterns and trends of salinity levels in some basins in the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer (NGLA) for the last three years. She also worked with Dr. Wen on a project focusing on impacts of precipitation on salinity in Finegayan Basin funded by the Department of Homeland Security, June 1, 2022 – May 31, 2023. Based on Ms. Ko’s excellent performance, she was awarded Outstanding Graduate Award at the University of Guam in May 2023.
WERI celebrates Ms. Ko’s accomplishments and her completion of this major milestone! Congratulations!
Read more about Ms. Ko's accomplishments:
- WERI graduate students exemplify UOG excellence (WERI News, May 2023)
- WERI EV graduate student awarded Best Presentation at ICESD 2023 (WERI News, May 2023)
- WERI at NGWA’s Groundwater Week 2023 Conference (WERI News, Dec 2023)
- Thesis Defense by Hazelle Ko (UOG CNAS, Nov 2023)
