Geology topics

Marvin M. Abbott

Publications and source records attributed to Marvin M. Abbott.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2010

Assessment of undiscovered natural gas resources of the Arkoma Basin province and geologically related areas

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean volumes of 38 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of undiscovered natural gas, 159 million barrels of natural gas liquid (MMBNGL), and no oil in accumulations of 0.5 million barrels (MMBO) or larger in the Arkoma Basin Province and related areas. More than 97 percent of the undiscovered gas occurs in continuous accumulations-70 percent in shale gas formations, 18 percent in a basin-centered accumulation with tight sandstone reservoirs, and 9 percent in coal beds. Less than 3 percent of the natural gas occurs in conventional accumulations.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2010

Gas storage in the Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippian Woodford Shale, Arbuckle Mountains, Oklahoma: how much of a role do the cherts play?

How gas is stored in shale-gas systems is a critical element in characterizing these potentially prolific, low-porosity/permeability reservoirs. An integrated mineralogic, geochemical, and porosity/permeability study is of the Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippian Woodford Shale, Arbuckle Mountains, southern Oklahoma, at locations previously described through detailed stratigraphic and spectral gamma surveys, was undertaken to provide insights into possible mechanisms by which natural gas might be stored in Woodford reservoirs in the adjacent Anadarko Basin. The outcrops in the Arbuckle Mountains are an ideal location to study the Woodford because here the formation is immature or marginally mature for oil generation (Comer and Hinch, 1987; Lewan, 1987), so deep burial and thermal maturation are much less pronounced than is the case for the Woodford in the basin, and as such the samples we studied are not overprinted by possible alterations resulting from deep burial and heating.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2008

Aquifer Tests and Characterization of Transmissivity, Ada-Vamoosa Aquifer on the Osage Reservation, Osage County, Oklahoma, 2006

The Ada-Vamoosa aquifer of northeastern Oklahoma is a sedimentary bedrock aquifer of Pennsylvanian age that crops out over 800 square miles of the Osage Reservation. The Osage Nation needed additional information regarding the production potential of the aquifer to aid them in future development planning. To address this need, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Osage Nation, conducted a study of aquifer properties in the Ada-Vamoosa aquifer. This report presents the results of the aquifer tests from 20 wells in the Ada-Vamoosa aquifer and one well in a minor aquifer east of the Ada-Vamoosa outcrop on the Osage Reservation. Well information for 17 of the 21 wells in this report was obtained from the Indian Health Service. Data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey during this investigation are pumping well data from four domestic wells collected during the summer of 2006. Transmissivity values were calculated from well pumping data or were estimated from specific capacity values depending on the reliability of the data. The estimated transmissivity values are 1.1 to 4.3 times greater than the calculated transmissivity values. The calculated and estimated transmissivity values range from 5 to 1,000 feet squared per day.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2007

Hydrology and subsurface transport of oil-field brine at the U.S. Geological Survey OSPER site "A", Osage County, Oklahoma

Spillage and improper disposal of saline produced water from oil wells has caused environmental damage at thousands of sites in the United States. In order to improve understanding of the fate and transport of contaminants at these sites, the U.S. Geological Survey carried out multidisciplinary investigations at two oil production sites near Skiatook Lake, Oklahoma. As a part of this effort, the hydrology and subsurface transport of brine at OSPER site “A”, a tank battery and pit complex that was abandoned in 1973, was investigated. Based on data from 41 new boreholes that were cored and completed with monitoring wells, a large (∼200 m × 200 m × 20 m) plume of saline ground water was mapped. The main dissolved species are Na and Cl, with TDS in the plume ranging as high as 30,000 mg/L. Analysis of the high barometric efficiency of the wells indicated a confined aquifer response. Well-slug tests indicated the hydraulic conductivity is low (0.3–7.0 cm/day). Simplified flow and transport modeling supports the following conceptual model: (1) prior to the produced water releases, recharge was generally low (∼1 cm/a); (2) in ∼60 a of oil production enough saline produced water in pits leaked into the subsurface to create the plume; (3) following abandonment of the site in 1973 and filling of Skiatook Reservoir in the mid-1980s, recharge and lateral flow of water through the plume returned to low values; (4) as a result, spreading of the brine plume caused by mixing with fresh ground water recharge, as well as natural attenuation, are very slow.

Oklahoma↗

USGS2007

Fate and groundwater impacts of produced water releases at OSPER "B" site, Osage County, Oklahoma

For the last 5 a, the authors have been investigating the transport, fate, natural attenuation and ecosystem impacts of inorganic and organic compounds in releases of produced water and associated hydrocarbons at the Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research (OSPER) “A” and “B” sites, located in NE Oklahoma. Approximately 1.0 ha of land at OSPER “B”, located within the active Branstetter lease, is visibly affected by salt scarring, tree kills, soil salinization, and brine and petroleum contamination. Site “B” includes an active production tank battery and adjacent large brine pit, two injection well sites, one with an adjacent small pit, and an abandoned brine pit and tank battery site. Oil production in this lease started in 1938, and currently there are 10 wells that produce 0.2–0.5 m 3 /d (1–3 bbl/d) oil, and 8–16 m 3 /d (50–100 bbl/d) brine. Geochemical data from nearby oil wells show that the produced water source is a Na–Ca–Cl brine (∼150,000 mg/L TDS), with high Mg, but low SO 4 and dissolved organic concentrations. Groundwater impacts are being investigated by detailed chemical analyses of water from repeated sampling of 41 boreholes, 1–71 m deep. The most important results at OSPER “B” are: (1) significant amounts of produced water from the two active brine pits percolate into the surficial rocks and flow towards the adjacent Skiatook reservoir, but only minor amounts of liquid petroleum leave the brine pits; (2) produced-water brine and minor dissolved organics have penetrated the thick (3–7 m) shale and siltstone units resulting in the formation of three interconnected plumes of high-salinity water (5000–30,000 mg/L TDS) that extend towards the Skiatook reservoir from the two active and one abandoned brine pits; and (3) groundwater from the deep section of only one well, BR-01 located 330 m upslope and west of the site, appear not to be impacted by petroleum operations.

Oklahoma↗

USGS2007

Geologic controls on movement of produced-water releases at US geological survey research Site A, Skiatook lake, Osage county, Oklahoma

Highly saline produced water was released from multiple sources during oil field operations from 1913 to 1973 at the USGS research Site A on Skiatook Lake in northeastern Oklahoma. Two pits, designed to hold produced water and oil, were major sources for release of these fluids at the site. Produced water spills from these and other features moved downslope following topography and downdip by percolating through permeable eolian sand and colluvium, underlying permeable sandstone, and, to a lesser extent, through shales and mudstones. Saline water penetrated progressively deeper units as it moved through the gently dipping bedrock to the north and NW. A large eroded salt scar north of the pits coincides with underlying fine-grained rocks that have retained substantial concentrations of salt, causing slow revegetation. Where not eroded, thick eolian sand or permeable sandstone bedrock is near the surface, and vegetation has been little affected or has reestablished itself after the introduced salt was flushed by precipitation. The extent of salt-contaminated bedrock extends well beyond existing surface salt scars. These results indicate that one of the legacies of surface salt spills can be a volume of subsurface salinization larger than the visible surface disturbance.

Oklahoma↗

USGS2007

Geochemical data from produced water contamination investigations: Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research (OSPER) sites, Osage County, Oklahoma

We report chemical and isotopic analyses of 345 water samples collected from the Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research (OSPER) project. Water samples were collected as part of an ongoing multi-year USGS investigation to study the transport, fate, natural attenuation, and ecosystem impacts of inorganic salts and organic compounds present in produced water releases at two oil and gas production sites from an aging petroleum field located in Osage County, in northeast Oklahoma. The water samples were collected primarily from monitoring wells and surface waters at the two research sites, OSPER A (legacy site) and OSPER B (active site), during the period March, 2001 to February, 2005. The data include produced water samples taken from seven active oil wells, one coal-bed methane well and two domestic groundwater wells in the vicinity of the OSPER sites.

Oklahoma↗

USGS2003

Overview of water resources in and near Wichita and Affiliated Tribes treaty lands in western Oklahoma

This report is an overview of water resources in and near the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes treaty lands in western Oklahoma. The tribal treaty lands are about 1,140 square miles and are bordered by the Canadian River on the north, the Washita River on the south, 98° west longitude on the east, and 98° 40' west longitude on the west. Seventy percent of the study area lies within the Washita River drainage basin and 30 percent of the area lies within the Canadian River drainage basin. March through June are months of greatest average streamflow, with 49 to 57 percent of the annual streamflow occurring in these four months. November through February, July, and August have the least average streamflow with only 26 to 36 percent of the annual streamflow occurring in these six months. Two streamflow-gaging stations, Canadian River at Bridgeport and Cobb Creek near Fort Cobb, indicated peak stream flows generally decrease with regulation. Two other streamflow-gaging stations, Washita River at Carnegie and Washita River at Anadarko, indicated a decrease in peak stream flows after regulation at less than the 100-year recurrence and an increase in peak stream flows greater than the 100-year recurrence. Canadian River at Bridgeport and Washita River at Carnegie had estimated annual low flows that generally increased with regulation. Cobb Creek near Fort Cobb had a decrease of estimated annual low flows after regulation. There are greater than 900 ground-water wells in the tribal treaty lands. Eighty percent of the wells are in Caddo County. The major aquifers in the study area are the Rush Springs Aquifer and portions of the Canadian River and Washita River valley alluvial aquifers. The Rush Springs Aquifer is used extensively for irrigation as well as industrial and municipal purposes, especially near population centers. The Canadian River and Washita River valley alluvial aquifers are not used extensively in the study area. Well yields from the Rush Springs Aquifer ranged from 11 to greater than 850 gallons per minute. The Rush Springs Aquifer is recharged by the infiltration of precipitation. The estimated recharge is about 1.80 inches per year evenly distributed over the outcrop of the aquifer in the study area. Principal factors affecting the water quality in the study area include geology, agricultural practices, and oil and gas production. Calcium, magnesium, sulfate, and bicarbonate are the dominant dissolved constituents in water in the study area. Interquartile dissolved-solids concentrations in surface-water samples in the study area generally were greater than interquartile concentrations in ground-water samples. Median dissolved-solids concentrations for ground-water samples from Canadian River, Ionine Creek, Spring Creek, and Washita River Basins, which ranged from 535 to 1,195 milligrams per liter exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Secondary Drinking Water Standard of 500 milligrams per liter. Interquartile sulfate concentrations in surface-water samples in the study area generally were greater than interquartile concentrations in ground-water samples. Median sulfate concentrations from ground-water samples in the Canadian River, Ionine Creek, and Spring Creek Basins, which ranged from 385 to 570 milligrams per liter, exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Secondary Drinking Water Standard of 250 milligrams per liter. Nitrite plus nitrate as nitrogen concentrations in surface-water samples in the study area generally were less than concentrations in ground-water samples. The median nitrite plus nitrate as nitrogen concentration in ground water was 9.8 milligrams per liter, suggesting almost one-half the ground-water samples exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Primary Drinking Water Standard (10 milligrams per liter). An estimated 100 million gallons of water per day were withdrawn from surface and ground water for all uses in counties of the study area during 1995. Fifty percent of water use was for irrigation, and about 83 percent of water withdrawn for irrigation was from ground water. Livestock use represented 14 percent of the total water withdrawn and was supplied by surface- and ground-water sources. Water-supply for domestic and commercial uses was 31 percent of the total withdrawn and was supplied by surface- and ground-water sources.

Oklahoma↗

USGS2003

Aquifer characteristics, water availability, and water quality of the Quaternary aquifer, Osage County, northeastern Oklahoma, 2001-2002

Additional sources of water are needed on the Osage Reservation for future growth and development. The Quaternary aquifer along the Arkansas River in the Osage Reservation may represent a substantial water resource, but limited amounts of hydrogeologic data were available for the aquifer. The study area is about 116 square miles of the Quaternary aquifer in the Arkansas River valley and the nearby upland areas along the Osage Reservation. The study area included the Arkansas River reach downstream from Kaw Lake near Ponca City, Oklahoma to upstream from Keystone Lake near Cleveland, Oklahoma. Electrical conductivity logs were produced for 103 test holes. Water levels were determined for 49 test holes, and 105 water samples were collected for water-quality field analyses at 46 test holes. Water-quality data included field measurements of specific conductance, pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and nitrate (nitrite plus nitrate as nitrogen). Sediment cores were extracted from 20 of the 103 test holes. The Quaternary aquifer consists of alluvial and terrace deposits of sand, silt, clay, and gravel. The measured thickness of the alluvium ranged from 13.7 to 49.8 feet. The measured thickness of the terrace sediments ranged from 7 to 93.8 feet. The saturated thickness of all sediments ranged from 0 to 38.2 feet with a median of 24.8 feet. The weighted-mean grain size for cores from the alluvium ranged from 3.69 to 0.64 f, (0.08- 0.64 millimeter), and ranged from 4.02 to 2.01 f (0.06-0.25 millimeter) for the cores from terrace deposits. The mean of the weighted-mean grain sizes for cores from the alluvium was 1.67 f (0.31 millimeter), and the terrace deposits was 2.73 f (0.15 millimeter). The hydraulic conductivity calculated from grain size of the alluvium ranged from 2.9 to 6,000 feet per day and of the terrace deposits ranged from 2.9 to 430 feet per day. The calculated transmissivity of the alluvium ranged from 2,000 to 26,000 feet squared per day with a median of 5,100 feet squared per day. Water in storage in the alluvium was estimated to be approximately 200,000 acre-feet. The amount of water annually recharging the aquifer was estimated to be approximately 4,800 acre-feet. Specific conductance for all water samples ranged from 161 to 6,650 microsiemens per centimeter. Median specific conductance for the alluvium was 683 microsiemens per centimeter and for the terrace deposits was 263 microsiemens per centimeter. Dissolved-solids concentrations, estimated from specific conductance, for water samples from the aquifer ranged from 88 to 3,658 milligrams per liter. Estimated median dissolved- solids concentration for the alluvium was 376 milligrams per liter and for the terrace deposits was 145 milligrams per liter. More than half of the samples from the Quaternary aquifer were estimated to contain less than 500 milligrams per liter dissolved solids. Field-screened nitrate concentrations for the sampling in December 2001-August 2002 ranged from 0 to 15 milligrams per liter. The field-screened nitrate concentrations for the second sampling in September 2002 were less than corresponding laboratory reported values.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗

USGS2002

Surface-water characteristics and quality on the Osage Reservation, Osage County, Oklahoma, 1999

Concern about the effects of early oil-industry practices of surface disposal of produced-brine water prompted an investigation of the surface-water quality on the Osage Reservation. About 38,600 oil wells have been drilled on the Osage Reservation since drilling began in 1896. The Osage Reservation comprises three major drainage basins. The Caney River Basin is in the northeast, the Bird Creek Basin is in the southeast, and the Salt Creek Basin in the west. Variations in streamflow on the Osage Reservation during a year primarily result from variations in the quantity and frequency of rainfall, evapotranspiration, and reservoir operations. Most streams do not flow during low rainfall periods in late summer, early fall, and in winter. Percent of mean annual discharge is largest during March through June, averaging 54 to 62 percent and smallest during December, January, July, and August, averaging only 14 to 21 percent. The basin areas of Caney River in the reservation (251 square miles), Salt Creek (273 square miles), and Sand Creek (227 square miles) are about the same and the basin areas of the Bird Creek Basin (418 square miles) and Homily Creek Basin (383 square miles) are similar in area. One hundred forty surface-water sites were sampled once during either February, March or August 1999. The surface-drainage areas, incremental basins, between sample sites along a stream, range in size from 0.26 to 123 square miles with a median of 8.6 square miles. Total number of oil wells upgradient of the samples sites is 31,432 or 80 percent of the total in the reservation. The total number of oil wells in the Caney River Basin in the reservation (2,975 wells), Salt Creek Basin (4,619 wells), and Sand Creek Basin (3,858 wells) are about the same and the total number of oil wells in the Bird Creek Basin (8,858 wells) and Hominy Creek Basin (7,842 wells) are similar. The number of oil wells per square mile in the incremental basins ranges for 0.86 to 154. Surface-water quality monitoring had been conducted previously at two sites included in this study. Dissolved chloride concentrations for the two samples collected during 1999 were equaled or exceeded at both sites by the historical data. There is no statistically significant difference between the distribution of the dissolved chloride concentrations from the surface water and nearby ground-water samples. The surface-water quality samples had significantly lesser concentrations of dissolved solids, sulfate, and nitrite plus nitrate as nitrogen than the ground-water samples. Chloride yield, reported in tons per day per square mile, is the chloride load divided by the basin area upstream of the sample site. The mean of the chloride yields for all the samples was 0.07 ton per day per square mile. Many sample locations where yields were greater than 0.07 ton per day per square mile were areas where dissolved chloride concentrations from surface-water samples were greater than 250 milligrams per liter in an earlier water-quality investigation. An investigation of possible relations between the surface-water quality data and the oil-well construction data for the incremental basins and for 1-mile radial distance upstream in the incremental basins was conducted. The oil-well data also were grouped by the time periods of activity into pre-1930, 1930 to 1970, and post-1970. These groups attempt to account for differences in industry drilling and producing practices associated with various periods. No statistically significant correlations were found between the surface-water quality data and the oil-well construction data.

Oklahoma↗

USGS2002

Statistical analysis of stream water-quality data and sampling network design near Oklahoma City, central Oklahoma, 1977-1999

Water-quality data collected from 1993-99 at five sites on Bluff, Deer, and Chisholm Creeks and from 1988-99 at five sites in the North Canadian River indicated that there were significant differences in constituent values among sites for water properties, major ions, trace elements, nutrients, turbidity, pesticides, and bacteria. Concentrations of dissolved solids and sulfate generally decreased as streams flowed through the Oklahoma City urban area. Concentrations of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, lindane, and 2,4-D, and frequencies of detection of pesticides increased in the North Canadian River as it flowed through the urban area. Volatile organic compounds were not detected in samples collected quarterly from 1988-90 at sites on the North Canadian River. Concentrations of some compounds, including dissolved oxygen, sulfate, chloride, ammonia, manganese, diazinon, dieldrin, and fecal coliform bacteria periodically exceeded Federal or state water-quality standards at some sites. Regression analyses were used to identify trends in constituent concentrations related to streamflow, season, and time. Trends for some constituents were indicated at all sites, but most trends were sitespecific. Seasonal trends were evident for several constituents: suspended solids, organic nitrogen, and biochemical oxygen demand were greatest during summer. Dissolved oxygen, ammonia, and nitrite plus nitrate-nitrogen were greatest during winter. Concentrations of dissolved oxygen, fluoride, sulfate, total suspended solids, iron, and manganese generally increased with time. Concentrations of chloride, nitrite plus nitrate-nitrogen, dissolved phosphorus, dissolved orthophosphate, biochemical oxygen demand, dieldrin, and lindane decreased with time. There was relatively little change in land use from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s due to relatively modest rates of population growth in the study area during that period. Most changes in water quality in these streams and rivers may be due to changes in chemical use and wastewater treatment practices. The sampling network was evaluated with respect to areal coverage, sampling frequency, and analytical schedules. Areal coverage could be expanded to include one additional watershed that is not part of the current network. A new sampling site on the North Canadian River might be useful because of expanding urbanization west of the city, but sampling at some other sites could be discontinued or reduced based on comparisons of data between the sites. Additional real-time or periodic monitoring for dissolved oxygen may be useful to prevent anoxic conditions in pools behind new low-water dams. The sampling schedules, both monthly and quarterly, are adequate to evaluate trends, but additional sampling during flow extremes may be needed to quantify loads and evaluate water-quality during flow extremes. Emerging water-quality issues may require sampling for volatile organic compounds, sulfide, total phosphorus, chlorophyll- a , Esherichia coli , and enterococci, as well as use of more sensitive laboratory analytical methods for determination of cadmium, mercury, lead, and silver.

Oklahoma↗

USGS2002

Environmental impacts of petroleum production: Fate of inorganic and organic chemicals in produced water from the Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research sites, Osage County, Oklahoma

About 15 scientists from the U. S. Geological Survey, other Federal agencies and academia are involved in a multidisciplinary investigation to study the transport, fate, and natural attenuation of inorganic salts, trace metals, radionuclides and organic compounds present in produced water, and their impacts on soil, surface and ground water and the local ecosystem at the Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research (OSPER) A and B sites, located in Osage County, OK. The Branstetter lease, OSPER B site, is typical of many aging petroleum fields in Osage County, which ranks among the top oil and gas producing counties in Oklahoma with close to 40,000 wells. Current production in Osage County is mainly from stripper wells (averaging ~2.8 bbls/d oil and >30 bbls/d brine) that are shallow, mostly 300-700 m in depth, and produce from several sandstones of Pennsylvanian age. About one hectare of land at the OSPER B site is affected by salt scarring, soil salinization and brine and petroleum contamination due to the leakage of produced water and associated hydrocarbons from two brine pits and due to accidental releases from active tank batteries. Eventually, the bulk of inorganic salts and some dissolved organic species in the released brine reach, directly or via the two local streams, the adjacent Skiatook Lake, a 4250-hectare reservoir that provides drinking water to the local communities and is a major recreational fishery. About 40 water samples were obtained from several oil wells at the B site and adjoining areas, the two brine pits, several brine pools and seeps in the impacted area, local streams, Skiatook Lake, and from about 20 boreholes (1-71 m deep), recently drilled and completed with slotted PVC tubing. Water level monitoring and additional sampling is continuing. Results to date show that the produced water is a high-salinity (~150,000 mg/L total dissolved solids) Na-Ca-Cl brine, with relatively high concentrations of Sr, Mg and NH4, but low amounts of SO4 and H2S. With the exception of Fe and Mn, the concentrations of trace metals are low, and the values of dissolved organics are relatively low. As the brine flows from the brine pits through the shallow eolian sand, colluvial and alluvial deposits to the streams and Skiatook Lake, it is diluted by infiltrating water from precipitation. Its chemical composition is modified by sorption, mineral precipitation/dissolution, transpiration, volatilization and oxidation/reduction reactions. Bacteria likely play an important role in many of these reactions.

Oklahoma↗

USGS2002

Impact of oil production releases on soil chemical properties at the Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research Project Site

A site characterization study was conducted at an old oil production area where highest activity occurred during the 1930's. Two site locations referred to as OSPER are along the shoreline of Skiatook Lake northwest of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Crude oil and brine water releases have impacted soils, surface and ground water, and the Oak cross-timber ecosystem. Local effects include soil salinization with destruction of plant cover and soil texture, and resultant deep erosion. Stress on affected vegetation is prevalent, but some grass revegetation has occurred. Surface soil samples and vertical profile cores to four feet have been collected and analyzed for salinity, organic matter, petroleum hydrocarbons, texture, nitrates, and dehydrogenase activity. Native grass re-establishment was inversely related to soil salinity and extent of erosion. As expected oil wastes increased the soil organic matter, greatly over surface controls near 0.3%.. Natural soil nitrates were at a low level near 0.2 ppm, but sufficient to support native grasses.

Oklahoma↗

USGS2002

Real-time kinematic surveying at the Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research sites, Osage County, Oklahoma

Highly accurate survey-grade Global Positioning System (GPS) technology was used at the two Osage-Skiatook petroleum environmental research sites to document the locations of observation wells, geoprobe holes, and other sampling sites of 15 research scientists. Real-time kinematic (RTK) GPS was the method used, because it is stable, fast, and accurate. Initially three survey monuments were installed one at each research site and one at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters for Skiatook Lake. The monument locations were established by static GPS surveys that occupied each of the sites for four hours. The data were submitted to the NOAA-National Geodetic Survey (NGS) Online Positioning User Service (OPUS) for processing. OPUS processes the data relative to three sites on the NGS continuously operating reference station network (CORS). CORS provides GPS carrier phase and code range measurements in support of three-dimensional positioning activities throughout the United States. OPUS enables positioning accuracies, both horizontally and vertically, that approach a few centimeters relative to the National Spatial Reference System and electronically mails the results to the sender. The usual turnaround time for a data set is 2-3 minutes, depending upon the file size. Static GPS surveys are highly accurate, but require post processing the data and longer occupation time. The RTK surveys require a GPS base station positioned over a known monument, a GPS rover, and a radio link between the base station and the rover. The radio link transmits the base station correction data to the rover. The rover combines the base station data with the rover GPS data to produce real-time coordinates. The rover must maintain lock on at least four of the same satellites that the base station is tracking. Each survey location is occupied for 3 minutes. Setup time at each location is less than a minute, if the rover maintains lock on the satellites and the radio link to the base station. Accuracy in the horizontal component is 1 centimeter (cm) plus 2 parts per million (ppm) times the baseline distance and in the vertical component is 2 cm plus 2 ppm times the baseline distance. The calculated accuracy for the initial static GPS surveys that occupied the survey monuments ranged from 1.2 to 1.4 cm for the horizontal component and 2.2 to 2.4 cm for the vertical component. Calculated accuracy for the RTK surveys at the research sites are about 2.2 to 2.4 cm for the horizontal component and 4.2 to 4.4 cm for the vertical component.

Oklahoma↗

USGS2001

Saline contamination of soil and water on Pawnee tribal trust land, eastern Payne County, Oklahoma

The Bureau of Land Management reported evidence of saline contamination of soils and water in Payne County on Pawnee tribal trust land. Representatives of the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Geological Survey inspected the site, in September 1997, and observed dead grass, small shrubs, and large trees near some abandoned oil production wells, a tank yard, an pit, and pipelines. Soil and bedrock slumps and large dead trees were observed near a repaired pipeline on the side of the steep slope dipping toward an unnamed tributary of Eagle Creek. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, initiated an investigation in March 1998 to examine soil conductance and water quality on 160 acres of Pawnee tribal trust land where there was evidence of saline contamination and concern about saline contamination of the Ada Group, the shallowest freshwater aquifer in the area. The proximity of high specific conductance in streams to areas containing pipeline spill, abandoned oil wells, the tank yard, and the pit indicates that surface-water quality is affected by production brines. Specific conductances measured in Eagle Creek and Eagle Creek tributary ranged from 1,187 to 10,230 microsiemens per centimeter, with the greatest specific conductance measured downgradient of a pipeline spill. Specific conductance in an unnamed tributary of Salt Creek ranged from 961 to 11,500 microsiemens per centimeter. Specific conductance in three ponds ranged from 295 to 967 microsiemens per centimeter, with the greatest specific conductance measured in a pond located downhill from the tank yard and the abandoned oil well. Specific conductance in water from two brine storage pits ranged from 9,840 to 100,000 microsiemens per centimeter, with water from the pit near a tank yard having the greater specific conductance. Bartlesville brine samples from the oil well and injection well have the greatest specific conductance, chloride concentration, and dissolved solids concentrations, and plot the furthest from meteoric water on a graph of 8 deuterium and d 18oxygen. Waterflooding of the Bartlesville sand in the study area started in 1957 and continued until 1998. Waterflooding is the process of injecting brine water under pressure to drive the remaining oil to the production wells. The high dissolved solids concentration samples from observation wells 1, 3B, 5,7, and 8 could result from mixing of the Bartlesville brine from the waterfiood with meteoric water.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗

USGS2000

Water quality of the Quaternary and Ada-Vamoosa aquifers on the Osage Reservation, Osage County, Oklahoma, 1997

The project was to provide information on the quality of ground water from rural-domestic-water wells within the Osage Reservation and compare the water-quality to proximity to oil wells. About 38,500 oil wells have been drilled in the Reservation since drilling began in 1896. About 1,480 square miles or 64 percent of the Reservation is within a quarter mile of an oil well. The unconfined Quaternary sand aquifer covers about 315 square miles or about 14 percent of the Reservation and the confined Ada-Vamoosa sandstone aquifer covers about 800 square miles or about 35 percent of the Reservation. Fifty-eight percent of the Quaternary aquifer and 69 percent of the outcrop area of the Ada-Vamoosa aquifer are within a quarter mile of an oil well. One hundred twenty domestic ground-water wells were sampled from the Quaternary and Ada-Vamoosa aquifers. Forty-nine percent of the Reservation is underlain by the aquifers. Ground-water quality is good on most of the Reservation, but the use of domestic-water-supply wells tend to minimize water-quality problems. Existing water-supply wells commonly are located in areas that produce usable volumes of potable water. Several constituents in samples from the Ada-Vamoosa aquifer within a quarter mile of an oil well were significantly greater than from the aquifer not near oil wells. The constituents include specific conductance, dissolved solids, sodium, sulfate, chloride, bromide, and silica. These ions are probably derived from brine water. In the Ada-Vamoosa aquifer subgroups, 57 percent of the samples near oil wells and 24 percent of the samples not near oil wells had dissolved-solids concentrations greater than 500 milligrams per liter. The water quality in the Quaternary and Ada-Vamoosa aquifers is similar in areas where no oil wells have been drilled but is significantly different for several constituents. Median concentrations of major constituents from the Ada-Vamoosa aquifer not near oil wells were less than or equal to values from the Quaternary aquifer. Sixty-four percent of the water-quality samples from the Quaternary and 51 percent from the Ada-Vamoosa aquifers have dissolved-solids concentrations less than the secondary drinking water regulations of 500 milligrams per liter. Fifty-nine percent of the aquifer samples in the Quaternary aquifer subgroups not near oil wells and 70 percent of the samples near oil wells had dissolved solids less than 500 milligrams per liter. Areas in the Ada-Vamoosa aquifer near Hominy, Pershing, and Hula Lake have dissolved-solids concentrations greater than the secondary drinking water regulations. Water-quality samples from the Quaternary aquifer in these areas also have dissolved-solids concentrations greater than 500 milligrams per liter.

Oklahoma↗

USGS1998

Freshwater resources and saline water near the Sac and Fox Nation tribal lands, eastern Lincoln County, Oklahoma

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the freshwater resources and possible sources of high-chloride and high-sulfate concentrations in parts of the aquifer near the Sac and Fox Nation tribal land in eastern Lincoln County, Oklahoma. Water-quality sampling and borehole geophysical data indicate the potential for fresh ground water on tribal land generally is greatest in the Vanoss Formation, in the SE1/4 sec. 21, T. 14 N., R. 06 E. and in the NE1/4 sec. 22, T. 14 N., R. 06 E. These locations avoid the flood-prone areas and borehole geophysical resistivity logs indicate the altitude of the base of fresh ground water is below 650 ft. The altitude of the base of fresh ground water is indicated to be generally near the surface under the W1/2 sec. 22, T. 14 N., R. 06 E., the SE1/4 sec. 22, SE1/4 SE1/4 NE1/4 sec. 21, and NE1/4 NW1/4 NW1/4 sec. 27. Conditions are more favorable for placement of fresh ground-water wells in sec. 34, T. 14 N., R. 06 E., where the tribe has leased water rights, than on tribal land in secs. 15, 16, 21, and 22, T. 14 N., R. 06 E. Sandstones overlain by or enclosed in thick clay and shale sequences are likely to be somewhat isolated from the flow system and retain some of the residual brine. Borehole geophysical logs suggest that sandstones near CH1, CM1, and WT1 have more clay and shale content than the sandstones near L2. Greater amounts of clay in the sandstones will retard the flushing of residual brines from the sandstones and could result in a shallow base of fresh water near CH1, CM1, and WT1. For these reasons and because circulation of fresh ground water is limited by discharge to the Deep Fork, general water quality under tribal land would probably be poorer than in the area where the tribe has leased water rights. Samples have chloride or sulfate concentrations greater than 250 milligrams per liter in the W1/2 sec. 22, T. 14 N., R. 06 E. Six cluster well samples from tribal land have chloride or sulfate concentrations above the suggested maximum contaminant levels set by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Water-quality data indicate there may be more than one source for the salinity in the very saline and briny samples near the tribal land. Two possible sources for chloride and sulfate in water-quality samples are shallow brines and deep oil brines. Probable sources of shallow brines in the study area are: 1) solution of minerals by fresh water moving through the aquifer and 2) residual brines deposited with the sediment. There are no salt or gypsum beds in the Vanoss, Ada, or Vamoosa Formations, but there may be nodules and finely disseminated minerals present in the formations. Residual brines could remain in sand stones and shales that have low hydraulic conductivity and have not been diluted by freshwater recharge. Data suggest both sources have mixed with the fresh ground water from the Vanoss Formation. This is indicated by the relations of the bromide/chloride concentration ratio to chloride concentration, delta deuterium to delta 18oxygen, and by delta 18oxygen to chloride molality relation.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗

USGS1997

Digital data set that describe aquifer characteristics of the Antlers aquifer in southeastern Oklahoma

The data sets in this report include digitized aquifer boundaries and maps of hydraulic conductivity, recharge, and ground-water level elevation contours for the Antlers aquifer in southeastern Oklahoma. The Early Cretaceous-age Antlers Sandstone is an important source of water in an area that underlies about 4,400-square miles of all or part of Atoka, Bryan, Carter, Choctaw, Johnston, Love, Marshall, McCurtain, and Pushmataha Counties. The Antlers aquifer consists of sand, clay, conglomerate, and limestone in the outcrop area. The upper part of the Antlers aquifer consists of beds of sand, poorly cemented sandstone, sandy shale, silt, and clay. The Antlers aquifer is unconfined where it outcrops in an area of about 1,800-square miles (Morton, 1992). The recharge, hydraulic conductivity, and aquifer boundaries data sets include the outcrop area of the Antlers Sandstone in Oklahoma and areas where the Antlers is overlain by alluvial and terrace deposits and a few small thin outcrops of the Goodland Limestone. Most of the lines in the data sets are from the digital data of the surficial geology of the Antlers Sandstone from Cederstrand (1996a, 1996b) except where the Antlers aquifer is overlain by alluvial and terrace deposits near streams and rivers. Morton (1992) interpolated the Antlers aquifer boundaries under the alluvial and terrace deposits where streams cross the aquifer outcrop. Aquifer boundary lines for areas where the aquifer is overlain by alluvial and terrace deposits were digitized and are similar to the aquifer boundaries shown in Morton (1992). A few polygons in this data set represent small and thin outcrops of the Goodland Limestone overlying the Antlers aquifer. The Antlers aquifer in Texas (Morton, 1992) is not included in this data set. The maps from which this data set was derived were scanned or digitized from maps published at a scale of 1:250,000. Hydraulic conductivity and recharge values were used as input to the ground-water model report for the Antlers aquifer by Morton (1992). The water-level elevation contours were digitized from a mylar map at a scale of 1:250,000 that was used to prepare the final map that was published as plate 1, map A, "Observed potentiometric surface, 1970, Antlers aquifer" at a scale of 1:500,000 in Morton (1992). Morton (1992) used water levels measured in wells in 1970 to construct the map. The water-level elevation contours for the Antlers aquifer in Texas (Morton, 1992) are not included in this data set. Ground-water flow models are numerical representations that simplify and aggregate natural systems. Models are not unique; different combinations of aquifer characteristics may produce similar results. The hydraulic conductivity and recharge are closely interrelated. As long as these two model inputs are in balance the model has a small mean residual; it represents the natural system numerically. If the hydraulic conductivity is accurately known, the model can be used to accurately determine recharge. Likewise, if the hydraulic conductivity is poorly known, then the recharge will be poorly determined. Therefore, values of hydraulic conductivity and recharge used in the model and presented in this data set are not precise, but are within a reasonable range when compared to independently collected data. In most aquifers, hydraulic conductivity measurements made in wells or in cores will range over several orders of magnitude, even over short horizontal and vertical distances. Hydraulic conductivity values derived from ground-water flow models represent areal generalizations and do not reflect the large local variance in well or core measurements. Recharge probably varies considerably over the local area, and model recharge is at best an average over an area at least as large as the model grid (and probably much larger than a single cell). Compilation of the data sets was funded under a cooperative Joint Funding Agreement between the U.S. Geological Survey and the State of Oklahoma, Office of the Secretary of Environment.

Oklahoma↗