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Plenary Lecture
Modifications of groundwater regimes in a highly-urbanized coastal area in Hong Kong over the last century
Professor Jimmy JIAO
Department of Earth Sciences,
The University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong, SAR China
E-mail: jjiao@hku.hk
| Abstract:
Abstract: The original coastal landscape in Hong Kong was greatly
modified by large-scale land reclamation from sea and extensive constructions of high-rise buildings.
The historical groundwater information from a highly-urbanized coastal area in Hong Kong were
reviewed and compared with data collected recently to reveal the temporal changes of groundwater
regimes over the last century. It was found that the groundwater flow systems had been significantly
modified. The coastal springs and seeps had disappeared and the lower boundary of the seepage zone
had been moved uphill in the last century. Groundwater was found to be flowing upward along the
boundary of natural slopes and urbanized spaces. Artesian flows were commonly noted in the lower
urbanized spaces. Moreover, an overall increase in groundwater tables in a 10-year period was
observed in the urbanized spaces. The results appeared to suggest that the downhill groundwater
movement and submarine groundwater discharge might be inhibited by the extensive construction of
subsurface engineering structures and large-scale land reclamation from sea. The results present
here is of great reference value for other highly-urbanized coastal areas in the world.
Brief Biography of the Speaker:
Dr Jimmy Jiao obtained his BEng and MEng in Hydrogeology from China
University of Geosciences, China in 1983 and 1986 and PhD in Civil Engineering from the University
of Birmingham, UK in 1993. He worked as research associate in the University of Alabama, USA from
1994-1996. He joined the University of Hong Kong in 1997 and is currently an associate professor
in Hydrogeology. Dr Jiao is an associate editor of Ground Water and Hydrogeology Journal. Dr Jiao
was elected Fellow of the Geological Society of London and the Geological Society of America. He
has published over 90 academic papers.
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