{"id":{"repo_id":"buffalo","oai_identifier":"oai:ubir.buffalo.edu:10477/78531"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/buffalo/oai:ubir.buffalo.edu:10477/78531","repository":{"repo_id":"buffalo","name":"Buffalo","base_url":"https://ubir.buffalo.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Predicting Permeability and Water Quantity in Fractured Rock Aquifers of Northwestern Uganda with Applications for Refugee Populations","abstract":"M.S.","abstract_html":"M.S.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Frederiks, Ryan"],"institution":"State University of New York at Buffalo","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lowry, Christopher","Geology"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-10-26T02:54:56Z","date_published":"2018-10-26T02:54:56Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:05:12Z","subjects":["hydrologic sciences","geology"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10477/78531","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lowry, Christopher","Geology"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Frederiks, Ryan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2018-10-26T02:54:56Z","2018","2018-07-26 14:12:15"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["State University of New York at Buffalo"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Text","Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["hydrologic sciences","geology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10477/78531"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["M.S.","Managing groundwater resources is vital for ensuring the health of refugee populations in northwestern Uganda. To facilitate management of groundwater resources, it is necessary to quantify the spatial distribution of permeability and groundwater storage in the fractured crystalline bedrock aquifers of northern Uganda. In fractured rock aquifers, there is significant spatial variability in these parameters because fractures must be both connected and abundant for water to be extracted in usable quantities. Two conceptual models used explain the groundwater storage and permeability generating mechanisms were tested: permeability is determined by faults, which open up fractures in the bedrock, and permeability is determined by weathering, which occurs when water dissolves components of rock. In fault zones, the highest yield will likely be located in the damage zone, an area around the faults where fractures are created. Weathered zones are expected to be located in regions with shallow slopes where weathering rather than erosion is dominant, and in the oldest rock units. Permeability was investigated with eight inverse groundwater models using MODFLOW to match water level and flux measurements. These models made different assumptions about hydraulic conductivity distributions based on age, surface slopes, and faults to determine which conceptual model best matched the hydrologic data. Groundwater storage was evaluated with ordinary kriging of existing well yield data. These two maps were compared to determine the locations that are best for water supply wells. The two-layer heterogeneous basement model with erosion and the two-layer homogeneous model with normal faults were shown to have the best fit for these data. Findings indicate that rock age is a poor predictor of weathering extent as spatially and temporally varying rates of erosion prevent a clear trend between age and hydraulic conductivity. On a regional scale, normal faults appear to increase permeability. Adding reverse faults to the model greatly reduced its predictive capability indicating that they have minimal effect on hydraulic conductivity at the regional scale. Recharge was found to likely be overestimated in the literature. Further research is required to substantiate these findings due to model non-uniqueness and conflicting model results including adding transient data to the models, better estimates of recharge, and aquifer test data."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Predicting Permeability and Water Quantity in Fractured Rock Aquifers of Northwestern Uganda with Applications for Refugee Populations"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Lowry, Christopher","Geology"],"dc:creator":["Frederiks, Ryan"],"dc:date":["2018-10-26T02:54:56Z","2018","2018-07-26 14:12:15"],"dc:description":["M.S.","Managing groundwater resources is vital for ensuring the health of refugee populations in northwestern Uganda. To facilitate management of groundwater resources, it is necessary to quantify the spatial distribution of permeability and groundwater storage in the fractured crystalline bedrock aquifers of northern Uganda. In fractured rock aquifers, there is significant spatial variability in these parameters because fractures must be both connected and abundant for water to be extracted in usable quantities. Two conceptual models used explain the groundwater storage and permeability generating mechanisms were tested: permeability is determined by faults, which open up fractures in the bedrock, and permeability is determined by weathering, which occurs when water dissolves components of rock. In fault zones, the highest yield will likely be located in the damage zone, an area around the faults where fractures are created. Weathered zones are expected to be located in regions with shallow slopes where weathering rather than erosion is dominant, and in the oldest rock units. Permeability was investigated with eight inverse groundwater models using MODFLOW to match water level and flux measurements. These models made different assumptions about hydraulic conductivity distributions based on age, surface slopes, and faults to determine which conceptual model best matched the hydrologic data. Groundwater storage was evaluated with ordinary kriging of existing well yield data. These two maps were compared to determine the locations that are best for water supply wells. The two-layer heterogeneous basement model with erosion and the two-layer homogeneous model with normal faults were shown to have the best fit for these data. Findings indicate that rock age is a poor predictor of weathering extent as spatially and temporally varying rates of erosion prevent a clear trend between age and hydraulic conductivity. On a regional scale, normal faults appear to increase permeability. Adding reverse faults to the model greatly reduced its predictive capability indicating that they have minimal effect on hydraulic conductivity at the regional scale. Recharge was found to likely be overestimated in the literature. Further research is required to substantiate these findings due to model non-uniqueness and conflicting model results including adding transient data to the models, better estimates of recharge, and aquifer test data."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/10477/78531"],"dc:language":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["State University of New York at Buffalo"],"dc:rights":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."],"dc:subject":["hydrologic sciences","geology"],"dc:title":["Predicting Permeability and Water Quantity in Fractured Rock Aquifers of Northwestern Uganda with Applications for Refugee Populations"],"dc:type":["Text","Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:05:12Z"}