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Research about Albuquerque Basin

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Albuquerque Basin.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2021

Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2020

The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is hydrologically defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift between San Acacia to the south and Cochiti Lake to the north. A 20-percent population increase in the basin from 1990 to 2000 and a 22-percent population increase from 2000 to 2010 resulted in an increased demand for water in areas within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the basin were obtained solely from groundwater resources until December 2008, when the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) began treatment and distribution of surface water from the Rio Grande through the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project. An initial network of wells was established by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque from April 1982 through September 1983 to monitor changes in groundwater levels throughout the Albuquerque Basin. In 1983, this network consisted of 6 wells with analog-to-digital recorders and 27 wells where water levels were measured monthly. As of 2020, the network consisted of 120 wells and piezometers. A piezometer is a specialized well open to a specific depth in the aquifer, often of small diameter and nested with other piezometers screened at different depths. The USGS, in cooperation with the ABCWUA, the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, and Bernalillo County, measures water levels from the wells and piezometers in the network; this report, prepared in cooperation with the ABCWUA, presents water-level data collected by USGS personnel at the sites through water year 2020 (October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2020). Water levels that were collected from discontinued wells in previous water years were published in previous USGS reports.

New Mexico↗
USGS2019

Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2018

The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is hydrologically defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift between San Acacia to the south and Cochiti Lake to the north. A 20-percent population increase in the basin from 1990 to 2000 and a 22-percent population increase from 2000 to 2010 resulted in an increased demand for water in areas within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the basin were obtained solely from groundwater resources until December 2008, when the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) began treatment and distribution of surface water from the Rio Grande through the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project. An initial network of wells was established by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque from April 1982 through September 1983 to monitor changes in groundwater levels throughout the Albuquerque Basin. In 1983, this network consisted of 6 wells with analog-to-digital recorders and 27 wells where water levels were measured monthly. As of 2018, the network consisted of 120 wells and piezometers. (A piezometer is a specialized well open to a specific depth in the aquifer, often of small diameter and nested with other piezometers open to different depths.) The USGS, in cooperation with the ABCWUA, the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, and Bernalillo County, measures water levels from the 120 wells and piezometers in the network; this report, prepared in cooperation with the ABCWUA, presents water-level data collected by USGS personnel at those 120 sites through water year 2018 (October 1, 2017, through September 30, 2018). Water levels that were collected from wells in previous water years were published in previous USGS reports.

New Mexico↗
USGS2019

Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2017

The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is hydrologically defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift between San Acacia to the south and Cochiti Lake to the north. A 20-percent population increase in the basin from 1990 to 2000 and a 22-percent population increase from 2000 to 2010 resulted in an increased demand for water in areas within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the basin were obtained solely from groundwater resources until December 2008, when the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) began treatment and distribution of surface water from the Rio Grande through the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project. An initial network of wells was established by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque from April 1982 through September 1983 to monitor changes in groundwater levels throughout the Albuquerque Basin. In 1983, this network consisted of 6 wells with analog-to-digital recorders and 27 wells where water levels were measured monthly. The network currently (2017) consists of 122 wells and piezometers. (A piezometer is a specialized well open to a specific depth in the aquifer, often of small diameter and nested with other piezometers open to different depths.) The USGS, in cooperation with the ABCWUA and the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, currently (2017) measures and reports water levels from the 122 wells and piezometers in the network; this report presents water-level data collected by USGS personnel at those 122 sites through water years 2016 and 2017 (October 1, 2015, through September 30, 2017). Water levels that were collected from wells in previous water years were published in previous USGS reports.

New Mexico↗
USGS2018

The use of curvature in potential-field interpretation

Potential-field anomalies can be transformed into special functions that form peaks and ridges over isolated sources. All special functions have a common mathematical form over an isolated source, which leads to a common equation for estimating the source depth from the peak value and the curvature at the peak. Model-specific special functions, usually calculated from a transformed version of a potential field, are used to estimate the locations of very specific source types. Model-independent special functions calculated from an observed or transformed potential field can be used to estimate the locations of a variety of source types. Vertical integration is a particularly useful transformation for reducing the effects of noise and increasing the coherency of solutions from model-independent special functions. For gridded data, the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the curvature matrix associated with a quadratic surface that is fitted to a special function within 3 × 3 windows can be used to locate the sources and estimate their depths and strikes. Discrete source locations estimated in this manner can be connected into lines that follow contacts, faults, and other mappable features based on distance and azimuth criteria. These concepts are demonstrated on aeromagnetic data from the Albuquerque basin of New Mexico, USA.

New Mexico↗
USGS2017

Land subsidence and recovery in the Albuquerque Basin, New Mexico, 1993–2014

The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) drinking water supply was almost exclusively sourced from groundwater from within the Albuquerque Basin before 2008. In 2008, the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project (SJCDWP) provided surface-water resources to augment the groundwater supply, allowing for a reduction in groundwater pumping in the Albuquerque Basin. In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the ABCWUA, began a study to measure and compare aquifer-system and land-surface elevation change before and after the SJCDWP in 2008. Three methods of data collection with different temporal and spatial resolutions were used for this study: (1) aquifer-system compaction data collected continuously at a single extensometer from 1994 to 2013; (2) land-surface elevation change from Global Positioning System (GPS) surveys of a network of monuments collected in 1994–95, 2005, and 2014; and (3) spatially distributed Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) satellite data from 1993 to 2010. Collection of extensometer data allows for direct and continuous measurement of aquifer-system compaction at the extensometer location. The GPS surveys of a network of monuments allow for periodic measurements of land-surface elevation change at monument locations. Interferograms are limited in time by lifespan of the satellite, orbital pattern, and data quality but allow for measurement of gridded land-surface elevation change over the study area. Each of these methods was employed to provide a better understanding of aquifer-system compaction and land-surface elevation change for the Albuquerque Basin. Results do not show large magnitudes of subsidence in the Albuquerque Basin. High temporal-resolution but low spatial-resolution data measurements of aquifer-system compaction at the Albuquerque extensometer show elastic aquifer-system response to recovering groundwater levels. Results from the GPS survey of the network of monuments show inconsistent land-surface elevation changes over the Albuquerque Basin, likely because of the lack of significant change and the complexity of subsurface stratigraphy in addition to the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of groundwater withdrawals over the study period. Results from the InSAR analysis show areas of land-surface elevation increase after 2008, which could be attributed to elastic recovery of the aquifer system. The spatial extent to which elastic recovery of the aquifer system has resulted in recovery of land-surface elevation is limited to the in-situ measurements at the extensometer. Examination of spatially distributed InSAR data relative to limited spatial extent of the complex heterogeneity subsurface stratigraphy may explain some of the heterogeneity of land-surface elevation changes over this study period.

New Mexico↗
USGS2016

Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2015

The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is hydrologically defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift between San Acacia to the south and Cochiti Lake to the north. Drinking-water supplies throughout the basin were obtained solely from groundwater resources until December 2008, when the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) began treatment and distribution of surface water from the Rio Grande through the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project. A 20-percent population increase in the basin from 1990 to 2000 and a 22-percent population increase from 2000 to 2010 may have resulted in an increased demand for water in areas within the basin. An initial network of wells was established by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque from April 1982 through September 1983 to monitor changes in groundwater levels throughout the Albuquerque Basin. In 1983, this network consisted of 6 wells with analog-to-digital recorders and 27 wells where water levels were measured monthly. The network currently (2015) consists of 124 wells and piezometers. (A piezometer is a specialized well open to a specific depth in the aquifer, often of small diameter and nested with other piezometers open to different depths.) The USGS, in cooperation with the ABCWUA, currently (2015) measures and reports water levels from the 124 wells and piezometers in the network; this report presents water-level data collected by USGS personnel at those 124 sites through water year 2015 (October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2015).

New Mexico↗
USGS2014

Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2013

The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the basin were obtained solely from groundwater resources until December 2008, when treatment and distribution of surface water from the Rio Grande began. A population increase of about 20 percent in the basin from 1990 to 2000 and a 22-percent increase from 2000 to 2010 resulted in an increased demand for water. An initial network of wells was established by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque from April 1982 through September 1983 to monitor changes in groundwater levels throughout the basin. This network consisted of 6 wells with analog-to-digital recorders and 27 wells where water levels were measured monthly in 1983. Currently (2013), the network consists of 123 wells and piezometers. (A piezometer is a specialized well open to a specific depth in the aquifer, often of small diameter and nested with other piezometers open to different depths.) The USGS, in cooperation with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, currently (2013) measures and reports water levels from the 123 wells and piezometers in the network; this report presents water-level data collected by USGS personnel at those 123 sites through water year 2013.

New Mexico↗
USGS2013

Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2012

The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the basin were obtained solely from groundwater resources until December 2008, when surface water from the Rio Grande began being treated and integrated into the system. A population increase of about 20 percent in the basin from 1990 to 2000 and a 22 percent increase from 2000 to 2010 resulted in an increased demand for water. An initial network of wells was established by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque from April 1982 through September 1983 to monitor changes in groundwater levels throughout the basin. This network consisted of 6 wells with analog-to-digital recorders and 27 wells where water levels were measured monthly in 1983. Currently (2012), the network consists of 126 wells and piezometers. (A piezometer is a specialized well open to a specific depth in the aquifer, often of small diameter and nested with other piezometers open to different depths.) The USGS, in cooperation with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA), currently (2012) measures and reports water levels from the 126 wells and piezometers in the network; this report presents water-level data collected by USGS personnel at those 126 sites through water year 2012.

New Mexico↗
USGS2012

Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2011

The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the basin were obtained solely from groundwater resources until December 2008, when surface water from the Rio Grande began being treated and integrated into the system. An increase of about 20 percent in the basin human population from 1990 to 2000 and of about 22 percent increase from 2000 to 2010 also resulted in an increased demand for water. A network of wells was established by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque from April 1982 through September 1983 to monitor changes in groundwater levels throughout the basin. This network consisted of 6 wells with analog-to-digital recorders and 27 wells where water levels were measured monthly in 1983. Currently (2011), the network consists of 126 wells and piezometers (a piezometer is a specialized well open to a specific depth in the aquifer and is often of small diameter and nested with other piezometers open to different depths). This report presents water-level data collected by U.S. Geological Survey personnel at those 126 sites through water year 2011 to better help the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority manage water use.

New Mexico↗
USGS2006

Regional survey of structural properties and cementation patterns of fault zones in the northern part of the Albuquerque Basin, New Mexico - Implications for ground-water flow

Motivated by the need to document and evaluate the types and variability of fault zone properties that potentially affect aquifer systems in basins of the middle Rio Grande rift, we systematically characterized structural and cementation properties of exposed fault zones at 176 sites in the northern Albuquerque Basin. A statistical analysis of measurements and observations evaluated four aspects of the fault zones: (1) attitude and displacement, (2) cement, (3) lithology of the host rock or sediment, and (4) character and width of distinctive structural architectural components at the outcrop scale. Three structural architectural components of the fault zones were observed: (1) outer damage zones related to fault growth; these zones typically contain deformation bands, shear fractures, and open extensional fractures, which strike subparallel to the fault and may promote ground-water flow along the fault zone; (2) inner mixed zones composed of variably entrained, disrupted, and dismembered blocks of host sediment; and (3) central fault cores that accommodate most shear strain and in which persistent low- permeability clay-rich rocks likely impede the flow of water across the fault. The lithology of the host rock or sediment influences the structure of the fault zone and the width of its components. Different grain-size distributions and degrees of induration of the host materials produce differences in material strength that lead to variations in width, degree, and style of fracturing and other fault-related deformation. In addition, lithology of the host sediment appears to strongly control the distribution of cement in fault zones. Most faults strike north to north-northeast and dip 55? - 77? east or west, toward the basin center. Most faults exhibit normal slip, and many of these faults have been reactivated by normal-oblique and strike slip. Although measured fault displacements have a broad range, from 0.9 to 4,000 m, most are <100 m, and fault zones appear to have formed mainly at depths less than 1,000 m. Fault zone widths do not exceed 40 m (median width = 15.5 m). The mean width of fault cores (0.1 m) is nearly one order of magnitude less than that of mixed zones (0.75 m) and two orders of magnitude less than that of damage zones (9.7 m). Cements, a proxy for localized flow of ancient ground water, are common along fault zones in the basin. Silica cements are limited to faults that are near and strike north to northwest toward the Jemez volcanic field north of the basin, whereas carbonate fault cements are widely distributed. Coarse sediments (gravel and sand) host the greatest concentrations of cement within fault zones. Cements fill some extension fractures and, to a lesser degree, are concentrated along shear fractures and deformation bands within inner damage zones. Cements are commonly concentrated in mixed zones and inner damage zones on one side of a fault and thus are asymmetrically distributed within a fault zone, but cement does not consistently lie on the basinward side of faults. From observed spatial patterns of asymmetrically distributed fault zone cements, we infer that ancient ground-water flow was commonly localized along, and bounded by, faults in the basin. It is apparent from our study that the Albuquerque Basin contains a high concentration of faults. The geometry of, internal structure of, and cement and clay distribution in fault zones have created and will continue to create considerable heterogeneity of permeability within the basin aquifers. The characteristics and statistical range of fault zone features appear to be predictable and consistent throughout the basin; this predictability can be used in ground-water flow simulations that consider the influence of faults.

New Mexico↗
USGS2001

High-resolution aeromagnetic data, a new tool for mapping intrabasinal faults: Example from the Albuquerque basin, New Mexico

High-resolution aeromagnetic surveys flown over the Albuquerque basin, New Mexico, demonstrate that aeromagnetic methods can successfully map concealed and poorly exposed faults in sediment-filled basins. This is the first known use of aeromagnetic data as an aid to surficial mapping and hydrogeologic studies in a basin. Aeromagnetic maps show detailed fault patterns within the basin fill that revise the structural view of the basin. Concealed faults are more numerous and more closely spaced than expected. The Hubbell Springs fault is the central splay of three generally north-striking fault splays that can be traced for nearly 50 km. The splays converge on the north and may represent the southern extension of the Tijeras fault, contradicting the proposed southwest extension of the Tijeras fault across the basin. In profile view, the linear aeromagnetic anomalies associated with faults show a variety of signatures. One signature has potential for mapping fault-controlled sedimentation in the subsurface because it identifies increases in magnetic, likely coarse-grained, material in the hanging walls of faults.

New Mexico↗
USGS2001

Aeromagnetic expression of faults that offset basin fill, Albuquerque basin, New Mexico

High-resolution aeromagnetic data acquired over the Albuquerque basin show widespread expression of faults that offset basin fill and demonstrate that the aeromagnetic method can be an important hydrogeologic and surficial mapping tool in sediment-filled basins. Aeromagnetic expression of faults is recognized by the common correspondence of linear anomalies to surficial evidence of faulting across the area. In map view, linear anomalies show patterns typical of extensional faulting, such as anastomosing and en echelon segments. Depths to the tops of faulted magnetic layers showing the most prominent aeromagnetic expression range from 0 to 100 m. Sources related to subtler fault expressions range in depths from 200 to 500 m. We estimate that sources of the magnetic expressions of the near-surface faults likely reside within the upper 500-600 m of the subsurface. The linear anomalies in profile form show a range of shapes, but all of them can be explained by the juxta-position of layers having different magnetic properties. One typical anomaly differs from the expected symmetric fault anomaly by exhibiting an apparent low over the fault zone and more than one inflection point. Although the apparent low could easily be misinterpreted as representing multiple faults or an anomalous fault zone, geophysical analysis, magnetic-property measurements, and geologic considerations lead instead to a "thin-thick model" in which magnetic layers of different thickness are juxtaposed. The general geometry of this model is a thin magnetic layer on the upthrown block and a thick magnetic layer on the downthrown block. The thin-thick model can be represented geologically by growth faulting and syntectonic sedimentation, where relatively coarse-grained sediment (which is more magnetic than fine-grained material) has accumulated in the hanging wall. This implies that the aeromagnetic data have potential for mapping growth faults and locating concentrations of coarse-grained material that may have high hydraulic transmissivity. Although cementation along fault zones is common in portions of the area, we found no evidence that this secondary process results in measurable aeromagnetic anomalies. This observation differs from the findings in other sedimentary basins suggesting that magnetic anomalies arise from secondary magnetization along fault planes.

New Mexico↗
USGS1995

Description of geophysical-log data base for boreholes and wells in and adjacent to the Albuquerque Basin, New Mexico

Digital geophysical logs for boreholes and wells in and adjacent to the Albuquerque Basin area have been entered into a data base established by the New Mexico District of the U.S. Geological Survey and documented as of September 1994. The logs were digitized from paper or mylar copies or were collected as digital data during the logging of boreholes and wells. The location of these boreholes and wells with digital geophysical logs is shown in a map. The 1,020 logs and the types of logs for the 186 sites are listed in a table.

New Mexico↗
USGS1995

Simulation of ground-water flow in the Albuquerque Basin, central New Mexico, 1901-1994, with projections to 2020

This report describes a three-dimensional finite-difference ground-water-flow model of the Santa Fe Group aquifer system in the Albuquerque Basin, which comprises the Santa Fe Group (late Oligocene to middle Pleistocene age) and overlying valley and basin-fill deposits (Pleistocene to Holocene age). The model is designed to be flexible and adaptive to new geologic and hydrologic information as it becomes available, by using a geographic information system as a data-base manager to interface with the model. The aquifer system was defined and quantified in the model consistent with the current (July 1994) understanding of the structural and geohydrologic framework of the basin. Rather than putting the model through a rigorous calibration process, discrepancies between simulated and measured responses in hydraulic head were taken to indicate that the understanding of a local part of the aquifer system was incomplete or incorrect. The model simulates ground-water flow over an area of about 2,400 square miles to a depth of 1,730 to about 2,020 feet below the water table with 244 rows, 178 columns, and 11 layers. Of the 477,752 cells in the model, 310,376 are active. The top four model layers approximate the 80- foot thickness of alluvium in the incised and refilled valley of the Rio Grande to provide detail of the effect of ground-water withdrawals on the surface-water system. Away from the valley, these four layers represent the interval within the Santa Fe Group aquifer system between the computed predevelopment water table and a level 80 feet below the grade of the Rio Grande. The simulations include initial conditions (steady-state), the 1901-1994 historical period, and four possible ground-water withdrawal scenarios from 1994 to 2020. The model indicates that for the year ending in March 1994, net surface-water loss in the basin resulting from the City of Albuquerque's ground-water withdrawal totaled about 53,000 acre-feet. The balance of the about 123,000 acre-feet of withdrawal came from aquifer storage depletion (about 67,800 acre-feet) and captured or salvaged evapotranspiration (about 2,500 acrefeet). In the four scenarios projected from 1994 to 2020, City of Albuquerque annual withdrawals ranged from about 98,700 to about 177,000 acre-feet by the year 2020. The range of resulting surface-water loss was from about 62,000 to about 77,000 acre-feet. The range of aquifer storage depletion was from about 33,400 to about 95,900 acre-feet. Captured evapotranspiration and drain-return flow remained nearly constant for all scenarios. From 1994 to 2020, maximum projected declines in hydraulic head in the primary water-production zone of the aquifer (model layer 9) for the four scenarios ranged from 55 to 164 feet east of the Rio Grande and from 91 to 258 feet west of the river. Average declines in a 383.7-square-mile area around Albuquerque ranged from 28 to 65 feet in the production zone for the same period.

New Mexico↗