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Abstract
Today, over 2 billion people live in water-stressed or water-scarce countries. One possible way to mitigate water-related issues is through the exploration of untapped groundwater. Howbeit, spatially, not all groundwater is fresh; groundwater can sometimes be either brackish or saline. Here, groundwater in the form of brackish to saline can serve as an opportunity for hydrogeologists to study and further explore freshwater resources. This thesis develops an innovative way to identify the controlling mechanisms, occurrences, and origins of fresh groundwater surrounded by saline water within the Middle St. Johns watershed, Florida USA. In total eight conducive conditions for inland freshwater lens (IFL) formation were used as input parameters for inland freshwater lens potentiality mapping (IFLPM). High IFL potentiality is recognized in the southernmost part of the watershed deducing important formation mechanisms to recharge, confining layer thickness, elevation, precipitation, and lithology in the coastal aquifer system.