Application of Remote Sensing and GIS for Ground Water Potential Zone investigation in Bulolo-Wau surrounding Gold Mine, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea

Abstract

Groundwater is one of the most valuable natural resources, which supports human health, economic development and ecological diversity. In the present study, an attempt has been made to evaluate groundwater potential of Bulolo-Wau surrounding, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea, using Geoinformatics technology. The thematic layers considered in this study are lithology, landform, drainage density, vegetation, hydro-geomorphic/hydrologic soils groups soil, land slope, altitude and Land use/Land cover, which were prepared using the Landsat ETM+, SRTM and conventional data. Analysis of groundwater potential zones shows that the very high groundwater potential zones constitute 3.47% of the study area. The regions were mainly north –west to south east diagonal direction. The hydrologic parameters-based groundwater potential zone map indicates 22.67% of the study area having high potential, 30.14% moderate potential and 29.92% low potential. This study also provides a methodological approach for an evaluation of the water resources in hard rock terrain and enables an opening of the scope for further development and management practices.