| Quantifying groundwater recharge is of crucial importance for sustainable groundwater management. While many recharge quantification techniques have been devised, few provide spatially and temporally distributed estimates for regional-scale water resource assessments. In this study, a GIS-based and USGS-developed recharge quantification tool---the Soil Water Balance (SWB) model---was applied to produce fine-tuned recharge constraints and document spatial and temporal dynamics of recharge. SWB has, as of yet, been tested solely in coastal and continental temperate-humid climate zones. This study expands testing of SWB to a Mediterranean climate zone, focusing on Catalina Island, California. Catalina has experienced significant water supply issues due to a prolonged drought. Using available climate, land use/land cover and hydrology data, the SWB model yields annual recharge values for the time period 2008--2014 of 0.05 mm/year to over 82 mm/year. Results of this thesis provide information on spatial and temporal patterns of groundwater recharge on Catalina Island. |
