Geology Reports⌕ Search
Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · 70024640

Crosswell seismic investigation of hydraulically conductive, fracture bedrock near Mirror Lake, New Hampshire

K.J. Ellefsen·P. A. Hsieh·A.M. Shapiro
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Near Mirror Lake, New Hampshire (USA), hydraulically conductive, fractured bedrock was investigated with the crosswell seismic method to determine whether this method could provide any information about hydraulic conductivity between wells. To this end, crosswell seismic data, acoustic logs from boreholes, image logs from boreholes, and single borehole hydraulic tests were analyzed. The analysis showed that, first, the P-wave velocities from the acoustic logs tended to be higher in schist than they were in granite. (Schist and granite were the dominant rock types). Second, the P-wave velocities from the acoustic logs tended to be low near fractures. Third, the hydraulic conductivity was always low (always less than to 10 −8 m/s) where no fractures intersected the borehole, but the hydraulic conductivity ranged from low to high (from less than to 10 −10 m/s to 10 −4 m/s) where one or more fractures intersected the borehole. Fourth, high hydraulic conductivities were slightly more frequent when the P-wave velocity was low (less than 5200 m/s) than when it was high (greater than or equal to 5200 m/s). The interpretation of this statistical relation was that the fractures tended to increase the hydraulic conductivity and to lower the P-wave velocity. This statistical relation was applied to a velocity tomogram to create a map showing the probability of high hydraulic conductivity; the map was consistent with results from independent hydraulic tests.

Explore related subjects

Journal of Applied GeophysicsArticle

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

K.J. Ellefsen, P. A. Hsieh, A.M. Shapiro. 2002. Crosswell seismic investigation of hydraulically conductive, fracture bedrock near Mirror Lake, New Hampshire. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0926-9851(02)00149-0

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2024

Imaging freshwater and saline aquifers beneath Bradford County, Pennsylvania, USA, using Audio-Magnetotelluric (AMT) data

We investigate the utility of audio-magnetotelluric (AMT) data for detecting high electrical conductivity zones indicative of fresh and saline groundwater lenses at depths of < ∼1000 m at seven survey sites in the southwestern corner of Bradford County, PA. Dimensionality analysis indicates the AMT data can be interpreted using two-dimensional (2-D) models. 2-D electrical resistivity models obtained from inverting the AMT data reveal conductive zones at depths of <30 m at all sites, between depths of 50–150 m at six sites, and between depths of 400–600 m at one site. The models show slightly lower resistivities (∼15–30 Ω m) in the deeper zones compared to the shallower zones (>30 Ω m). Consistent with well log data from two boreholes in the study area and salinity estimates obtained from the imaged resistivities, we interpret the <30 m deep conductive zone as the freshwater aquifer, and the two deeper conductive zones as salty/briny groundwater lenses. Our salinity estimates for the deeper zones vary from 1 to 380 (unitless Practical Salinity Scale), which agrees well with previous estimates of Appalachian brine salinity of 10–343. We attribute the high-salinity groundwater lenses to Appalachian Basin brine migrating upwards from deeper in the basin via bedrock fracture and fault systems. Our findings indicate AMT surveying can be useful for imaging fresh and saline aquifers at shallow depths (< ∼1000 m), at least within the northeastern section of the Appalachian Basin in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS2023

Determining seasonal recharge, storage changes, and specific yield using repeat microgravity and water-level measurements in the Mesilla Basin alluvial aquifer, New Mexico, 2016–2018

Increasing water demand and multi-year drought conditions within the Mesilla/Conejos-Médanos Basin near the New Mexico-Texas- Chihuahua border have resulted in diminished surface-water supplies and increased groundwater withdrawals. To better understand recharge to the shallow aquifer, the spatial and temporal groundwater storage changes, and the variability of specific yield (Sy) in the aquifer, seasonal groundwater elevation and repeat microgravity measurements were made during the irrigation release and non-release seasons of 2016, 2017, and 2018 at a network of locations near Las Cruces, New Mexico. The data collected during this investigation were able to capture seasonal change in groundwater elevations and storage from various sources of recharge at multiple sites in the shallow aquifer. Seasonal recharge in the study area was attributed to streamflow, the application and conveyance of irrigation water, and large or sustained precipitation events. However, increasing groundwater gradients in recent decades between piezometers close to the river and those more than a kilometer from the river suggests that recharge from river seepage has become localized at the seasonal scale. Overall, there was a net increase in storage of almost 8.4 cubic hectometers in the study reach between the start and end of the study, largely following the increased surface-water availability and above average precipitation in 2017. Specific yield, estimated by comparing the groundwater-level changes and storage changes at six sites in the study area, ranged from 0.14 (+/− 0.05) to 0.30 (+/− 0.06), which is slightly greater than previously reported estimates (0.10 to 0.25), but still within the error of the estimates. Most of the variability in the estimated storage change, that was not well-correlated with groundwater elevation change, is thought to be from soil moisture in the unsaturated zone. This investigation demonstrates the value of adding repeat microgravity measurements to conventional groundwater monitoring to better understand the sources and extent of recharge as well as the variability of Sy in the aquifer. Continued monitoring, under a variety of available surface water and meteorological conditions, could provide a more comprehensive understanding of the water budget and reduce the specific yield estimation uncertainty. Evaluating water-levels and storage conditions prior to, and following, local recharge events may help managers identify threshold conditions for aquifer storage depletions and recoveries.

New Mexico↗
USGS2023

Using DC resistivity ring array surveys to resolve conductive structures around tunnels or mine-workings

In underground environments, conventional direct current (DC) resistivity surveys with a single linear array of electrodes produce fundamentally non-unique inversions. These non-uniqueness and model resolution issues stem from limitations placed on the location of transmitters (TXs) and receivers (RXs) by the geometry of existing tunnels and boreholes. Poor excitation and/or sampling of the region of interest (ROI) can create artifacts and reduce the resolution of the recovered model. To address these problems we propose the use of an ensemble of ring arrays, which are created by placing one or more electrodes in each face (sidewalls, floor, and ceiling) of the tunnel to form a ring of electrodes at each along-tunnel location. Using a series of increasingly complex synthetic models, we assess the benefits of ring arrays and show that they can be used to better constrain the location and shape of anomalous bodies around the tunnel. Although ring arrays significantly improve the resolution of the recovered model, the size of the comprehensive ring array survey increases rapidly with the number of electrodes used. To balance model resolution and survey size, we developed a physics-based survey design methodology. In this methodology, TXs are selected based upon secondary charge accumulations on a test block that is moved throughout the ROI. Although this survey design methodology does not produce a strictly optimal survey, it balances model resolution and survey size in a practical and computationally efficient manner. Since the ring array more accurately estimates the around-tunnel location of targets and ensures that targets on all sides of the tunnel are detected, it is ideally suited to tunnel-based environments. Our results show that only about 6 % "> 6% of the possible TXs and 0.5 % "> 0.5% of the RXs in the comprehensive ring array survey are needed to retain the improvements in resolution. Therefore, economical ring array surveys can be designed for both reconnaissance and target characterization. Following the inversion of the reconnaissance dataset, additional rings can be added to reduce the inter-ring spacing or off-tunnel boreholes can be added to the region around identified anomalies to increase resolution as required.

Journal of Applied Geophysics↗