Geology topics

Sarah K. Martucci

Publications and source records attributed to Sarah K. Martucci.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2006

Development of land segmentation, stream-reach network, and watersheds in support of hydrological simulation program: Fortran (HSPF) modeling, Chesapeake Bay watershed, and adjacent parts of Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia

The U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Chesapeake Bay Program Office, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, Maryland Department of the Environment, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science are collaborating on the Chesapeake Bay Regional Watershed Model, using Hydrological Simulation Program - FORTRAN to simulate streamflow and concentrations and loads of nutrients and sediment to Chesapeake Bay. The model will be used to provide information for resource managers. In order to establish a framework for model simulation, digital spatial datasets were created defining the discretization of the model region (including the Chesapeake Bay watershed, as well as the adjacent parts of Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia outside the watershed) into land segments, a stream-reach network, and associated watersheds. Land segmentation was based on county boundaries represented by a 1:100,000-scale digital dataset. Fifty of the 254 counties and incorporated cities in the model region were divided on the basis of physiography and topography, producing a total of 309 land segments. The stream-reach network for the Chesapeake Bay watershed part of the model region was based on the U.S. Geological Survey Chesapeake Bay SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes) model stream-reach network. Because that network was created only for the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the rest of the model region uses a 1:500,000-scale stream-reach network. Streams with mean annual streamflow of less than 100 cubic feet per second were excluded based on attributes from the dataset. Additional changes were made to enhance the data and to allow for inclusion of stream reaches with monitoring data that were not part of the original network. Thirty-meter-resolution Digital Elevation Model data were used to delineate watersheds for each stream reach. State watershed boundaries replaced the Digital Elevation Model-derived watersheds where coincident. After a number of corrections, the watersheds were coded to indicate major and minor basin, mean annual streamflow, and each watershed's unique identifier as well as that of the downstream watershed. Land segments and watersheds were intersected to create land-watershed segments for the model.

Delaware, Maryland, Virginia↗

USGS2005

A surficial hydrogeologic framework for the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain

A surficial hydrogeologic framework was developed for the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, from New Jersey through North Carolina. The framework includes seven distinct hydrogeologic subregions within which the primary natural physical factors affecting the flow and chemistry of shallow ground water and small streams are relatively consistent. Within most subregions, the transport of chemicals from the land surface to ground water and streams can be described by a fairly uniform set of natural processes; some subregions include mixed hydrogeologic settings that are indistinguishable at the regional scale. The hydrogeologic framework and accompanying physiographic and geologic delineations are presented in digital and printed format. The seven hydrogeologic subregions that constitute the framework were delineated primarily on the basis of physiography and the predominant texture (typical grain size) of surficial and (where surficial sediments are particularly thin) subcropping sediments. Physiography for the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain was constructed by standardizing and extrapolating previously published interpretations for the Coastal Plain of South Carolina and New Jersey, based on similar work in the other States. Surficial and subcropping geology were similarly compiled from previous publications by resolving inconsistencies in nomenclature, interpretation, and scale, and interpolating across unmapped areas. A bulk sediment texture was determined for each mapped geologic unit on the basis of published descriptions. Fundamental differences among the seven hydrogeologic subregions are described on the basis of hypotheses about surficial and shallow subsurface hydrology and water chemistry in each, as well as variable land use, soils, and topography. On the regional scale, the Coastal Lowlands (Subregion 1), the Middle Coastal Plain - Fine Sediments (Subregion 3), the Middle Coastal Plain - Sands with Overlying Gravels (Subregion 4), and the Inner Coastal Plain - Upland Sands and Gravels (Subregion 5) are relatively homogeneous in terms of hydrogeology, although an examination of results from small-scale studies within the Coastal Plain demonstrates that even these areas are quite variable, locally. Moderate topographic relief and primarily permeable surficial sediments promote good drainage of the land surface in Subregion 4, for example, but drainage is commonly poor in the Coastal Lowlands (Subregion 1) due to flat topography and low elevations. Agriculture is common in both subregions, although artificial drainage is typically required to support cultivation in Subregion 1. Important physiographic differences are evident among the remaining three subregions, although sediment textures within the Middle Coastal Plain - Mixed Sediment Texture (Subregion 2), the Inner Coastal Plain - Dissected Outcrop Belt (Subregion 6), and the Alluvial and Estuarine Valleys (Subregion 7) are variable even at the regional scale.

Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Vi↗

USGS2004

Summary of suspended-sediment data for streams draining the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, water years 1952-2002

U.S. Geological Survey suspended-sediment data from 1952 to 2002 from selected stream-gaging stations draining the nontidal parts of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed were summarized to identify areas in the Watershed with high suspended-sediment loads, yields, and concentrations. The suspended-sediment load data were separated into two periods, 1952?1984 and 1985?2001. In 1985, the Chesapeake Bay Program began recommending sediment regulations, so 1985 represents an important break in the data. The instantaneous suspended-sediment concentration data were examined for the period 1985?2002. Suspended-sediment load data collected from 43 stations from 1952?1984, with a minimum of 3 years of record, indicated that the two highest average annual suspended-sediment loads were for stations on the main stem of the Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers. The highest average annual sediment yields and discharge-weighted sediment concentrations were for streams draining the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, possibly related to urbanization. Data from 1985 through 2001 that were collected from 35 stations with a minimum of 3 years of record showed that the highest average annual suspended-sediment loads were also on the main stem of the Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers. Four of the six highest average annual sediment yields and discharge-weighted sediment concentrations for 1985?2001 were for stations draining to the Conestoga River, a tributary of the Susquehanna River. Examination of percentiles (10th, 50th, and 90th) of instantaneous suspended-sediment concentrations for 51 stations with a minimum of 3 years of data and at least 10 samples in a year indicated that streams that drain to the Conestoga River had the highest suspended-sediment concentrations. Sediment-transport curves for the 51 stations were separated into classes by drainage-area size. Five of the eight drainage-area classes showed that streams draining the Susquehanna River Basin had the highest suspended-sediment concentrations. Three of the Susquehanna River Basin drainage-area classes were in the Conestoga River Basin. Agriculture is the dominant land use in the Conestoga River Basin and may be an important source of sediment leading to the high sediment yields and instantaneous suspended-sediment concentrations, but further research is needed to quantify the importance of agriculture in relation to other sources of sediment in the Conestoga River Basin.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2001

Digital data used to relate nutrient input to water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed

Digital data sets compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey were used as input for a collection of Spatially Referenced Regressions On Watershed (SPARROW) attributes for the Chesapeake Bay region including parts of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. These regressions use a nonlinear statistical approach to relate nutrient sources and land-surface characteristics to nutrient loads of streams throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. A digital segmented-watershed network serves as the primary framework for spatially referencing nutrient-source and land-surface characteristic data within a geographic information system. Flow direction and flow accumulation generated from a 30-meter cell-size Digital Elevation Model and attributes from 1:500,000-scale stream data were used to generate stream and watershed networks. Spatial data sets representing nutrient inputs of total nitrogen and total phosphorus from the early 1990's were created and compiled from numerous sources. Data include atmospheric deposition, septic systems, point-source locations, land use, land cover, and agricultural sources such as commercial fertilizer and manure. Some land-surface characteristic data sets representing factors that affect the transport of nutrients also were compiled. Data sets include land use, land cover, average-annual precipitation and temperature, slope, hydrogeomorphic regions, and soil permeability. Nutrient-input and land-surface characteristic data sets merged with the segmented-watershed network provide the spatial detail by watershed segment required by SPARROW. Stream-nutrient load estimates for 132 sampling sites representing the early 1990's (103 for total nitrogen and 121 for total phosphorus) serve as the dependent variables for the regressions. These estimates were used to calibrate models of total nitrogen and total phosphorus depicting 1992 land-surface conditions. Examples of model predictions consist of stream-nutrient load and source percentages contributed locally to each stream reach, as well as percentages of the load that reach Chesapeake Bay.

Open-File Report↗