Water resource development in the Quaternary Ryukyu limestone regions of Japan: Application of the GIS to the site selection of underground dams

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