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Robert Ellis Davis

Publications and source records attributed to Robert Ellis Davis.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1978

Chemical quality of water in abandoned zinc mines in northeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas

Onsite measurements of pH, specific conductance, and water temperature show that water temperatures in seven mine shafts in northeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas is stratified. With increasing sampling depth, specific conductance and water temperature tend to increase, and pH tends to decrease. Concentrations of dissolved solids and chemical constituents in mine-shaft water, such as total, and dissolved metals and dissolved sulfate also increase with depth. The apparently unstable condition created by cooler, denser water overlying warmer, less-dense water is offset by the greater density of the lower water strata due to higher dissolved solids content. Correlation analysis showed that several chemical constituents and properties of mine-shaft water, including dissolved solids, total hardness, and dissolved sulfate, calcium, magnesium, and lithium, are linearly related to specific conductance. None of the constituents or properties of mine-shaft water tested had a significant linear relationship to pH. However, when values of dissolved aluminum, zinc, and nickel were transformed to natural or Napierian logarithms, significant linear correlation to pH resulted. During the course of the study - September 1975 to June 1977 - the water level in a well penetrating the mine workings rose at an average rate of 1.2 feet per month. Usually, the rate of water-level rise was greater than average after periods of relatively high rainfall, and lower than average during periods of relatively low rainfall. Water in the mine shafts is unsuited for most uses without treatment. The inability of current domestic water treatment practices to remove high concentrations of toxic metals, such as cadmium and lead, precludes use of the water for a public supply.

Kansas, Oklahoma↗
USGS1978

Geohydrology of the Antlers aquifer, southeastern Oklahoma

The Antlers aquifer, which consists of as much as 900 feet of friable sandstone, silt, clay, and shale, crops out in area of 1,860 square miles and underlies about 4,400 square miles in southeastern Oklahoma. Precipitation ranges from 34 to 50 inches per year across the outcrop area which is well suited to allow high rates of infiltration. The aquifer contains an estimated 70,000,000 acre-feet of water having less than 1,000 milligrams per liter dissolved solids. The average saturated sand thickness is 250 feet. Aquifer tests indicate the average transmissivity is 1,480 feet squared per day and the average storage coefficient is 0.0005. Large-capacity wells tapping the aquifer commonly yield 100 to 500 gallons per minute; the maximum measured yield is 1,700 gallons per minute. Water usage from the aquifer is very small owing to the availability of an abundance of surface water. Water quality throughout the central and northern part of the aquifer is generally acceptable for municipal use. A few wells, however, yield water containing concentrations of iron and manganese exceeding the limit recommended for municipal use by the National Academy of Science and National Academy of Engineering.

Oklahoma↗
USGS1977

Preliminary report on the quality of water in abandoned zinc mines in northeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas

On-site measurements of pH, specific conductance, and water temperature show that water in seven mine shafts in northeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas is stratified, with pH decreasing and specific conductance and water temperature increasing as sampling depth increases. Concentrations of chemical constituents in mine-shaft water, such as dissolved solids, total and dissolved metals, and dissolved sulfate also increase as sampling depth increases. The water in the mine shafts was unsuited for most uses without treatment. The relative inability of current treatment practices to effectively remove high concentrations of toxic metals, such as cadmium and lead, precludes use of the water for public supply.

Kansas, Oklahoma↗