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At least 1,423 records · Page 79Linked to original sources
USGS1982

Hydrology of the Floridan Aquifer in Northwest Volusia County, Florida

Northwest Volusia County, in east-central Florida, is a 262-square-mile area including the southern part of the Crescent City Ridge and the northern tip of the DeLand Ridge. The hydrogeologic units in the area include the Floridan aquifer, which is made up of parts of the Lake City Limestone, the Avon Park Limestone, and the Ocala Limestone, all of Eocene age; the confining bed, which is composed of clays of Miocene or Pliocene age; and the surficial aquifer, which is made up of Pleistocene and Holocene sands. Ornamental fern growing is a $12 million per year industry in northwest Volusia County. Fern culture requires a large amount of good-quality water for irrigation, and more significantly, a large water withdrawal rate for freeze protection during winter months. The source of most water used is the Floridan aquifer. The large irrigation withdrawals, especially in winter months when spray irrigation is used for freeze protection of ferns, introduce problems such as the potential for saltwater intrusion, the temporary loss of water in domestic wells caused by large potentiometric drawdown, and increased sinkhole activity. The water budget of the surficial layer consists of 55 inches per year rainfall, 39 inches per year evapotranspiration, 13 inches per year runoff, and a net downward leakage of 3 inches per year. Average ground-water irrigational withdrawal is 8.1 million gallons per day, while the peak withdrawal rate is 300 million gallons per day during freeze-protection pumpage. The average irrigation well depth exceeds 300 feet. Transmissivities of the Floridan aquifer range from 4,500 to 160,000 feet squared per day. Highest transmissivities are in the DeLeon Springs area and the lowest are in the east Pierson area. Storage coefficients range from 0.0003 to 0.0013. The water budget of the Floridan aquifer under present conditions of withdrawal consists of 108 cubic feet per second recharge, 2 cubic feet per second horizontal ground-water inflow, 34 cubic feet per second direct discharge, 40 cubic feet per second upward leakage, 22 cubic feet per second horizontal outflow, and 14 cubic feet per second pumpage. The Floridan aquifer contains good-quality water in most of the study area, but also contains brackish water underneath the stressed zones and in the upper zones along the western and southern limits of the area. The altitude of the fresh- saltwater interface varies in the area from 1,500 to 300 feet below sea level. Areal drawdowns in the fern-growing areas of Pierson are 5 feet during growth irrigation periods and 20 to 30 feet during freeze-protection withdrawals. The drawdown in the Pierson area at the end of one intense period of pumpage exceeded 30 feet over a 4.4-square-mile area. A significant amount of the withdrawn water was replaced by leakage during the pumping period. Drawdowns in some pumping wells in northeast Pierson exceed 90 feet during freeze-protection withdrawals. No long-term residual drawdown has occurred. The predominant effect of pumpage on the water budget of the Floridan aquifer has been an increase in recharge. Sinkhole activity has been increased by the temporary increase in load on the aquifer's skeletal structure during intense lowering of the potentiometric surface. There is no evidence of saltwater intrusion, but a monitoring network for future early detection is suggested.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1982

Digital model evaluation of the predevelopment flow system of the Tertiary limestone aquifer, Southeast Georgia, Northeast Florida, and South South Carolina

A computer model using finite-difference techniques was used successfully to simulate the predevelopment flow regime within the multilayered Tertiary limestone aquifer system in Southeastern Georgia, Northeastern Florida, and Southern South Carolina as part of the U.S. Geological Survey 's Tertiary Limestone Regional Aquifer System analysis. The aquifer, of early Eocene to Miocene age, ranges from thin interbedded clastics and marl in the updip area to massive limestone and dolomite 1,500 feet thick in the downdip area. The aquifer is confined above by Miocene clay beds, and terminates at depth in low-permeability rocks or the saltwater interface. Model-simulated transmissivity of the upper permeable zone ranged from about 1 x 10 super 3 foot squared per day in the updip area and within parts of the Gulf Trough (a series of alinement basins filled by fine clastic in material) to about 1 x 10 super 6 foot squared per day in South Georgia, and area having large secondarily developed solution channels. The model results indicate that only about 540 cubic feet per second of water flowed through the predeveloped system, from the updip highland area of high altitude and in the areas north of Valdosta and southwest of Jacksonville, to discharge along streams in the updip area and diffuse upward leakage in the downdip area near the coast and offshore. (USGS)

Florida, Georgia, South Carolina↗
USGS1982

Geology and ore deposits of the Section 23 Mine, Ambrosia Lake District, New Mexico

The section 23 mine is one of about 18 large uranium mines opened in sandstones of the fluvial Westwater Canyon Member of the Jurassic Morrison Formation in the Ambrosia Lake mining district during the early 1960s. The Ambrosia Lake district is one of several mining districts within the Grants mineral belt, an elongate zone containing many uranium deposits along the southern flank of the San Juan basin. Two distinct types of ore occur in the mine. Primary ore occurs as peneconcordant layers of uranium-rich authigenic organic matter that impregnates parts of the reduced sandstone host rocks and which are typically elongate in an east-southeast direction subparallel both to the sedimentary trends and to the present-day regional strike of the strata. These are called prefault or trend ores because of their early genesis and their elongation and alinement. A second type of ore in the mine is referred to as postfault, stacked, or redistributed ore. Its genesis was similar to that of the roll-type deposits in Tertiary rocks of Wyoming and Texas. Oxidation, related to the development of a large tongue of oxidized rock extending from Gallup to Ambrosia Lake, destroyed much of the primary ore and redistributed it as massive accumulations of lower grade ores bordering the redox interface at the edge of the tongue. Host rocks in the southern half of sec. 23 (T. 14 N., R. 10 W.) are oxidized and contain only remnants of the original, tabular, organic-rich ore. Thick bodies of roll-type ore are distributed along the leading edge of the oxidized zone, and pristine primary ore is found only near the north edge of the section. Organic matter in the primary ore was derived from humic acids that precipitated in the pores of the sandstones and fixed uranium as both coffinite and urano-organic compounds. Vanadium, molybdenum, and selenium are also associated with the ore. The secondary or roll-type ores are essentially free of organic carbon and contain uranium both as coffinite and uraninite. They also contain vanadium and selenium but are virtually devoid of molybdenum. Although much has been learned about these deposits since the time this study was conducted, in 1966, a great deal more study will by required to completely elucidate their geologic history.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1990

Ground-water flow in the New Jersey coastal plain

Flow was simulated in 10 aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain using a multilayer finite-difference model for prepumping steady-state conditions and transient conditions from 1896-1981. The highest transmissivity, greater than 10,000 sq ft/day, is in Camden and Gloucester Counties in the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifers; Monmouth and Ocean Counties in the middle aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan Magothy aquifer system; and Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic, and Cape May Counties in the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system. Confining unit leakance is highest, > than 0.001 ft/day/ft in updip areas and lowest, < 0.00001 ft/day/ft, in downdip areas. Areas near the center of the major cones of depression approximate steady-state conditions. However, downdip and offshore areas are under transient conditions. Simulated head changes along the saltwater- freshwater interface boundary indicate that the lower aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system and the confined Kirkwood aquifer have the greatest potential for updip movement of chlorides. The simulated sources of water to wells in 1978 include: (1) 3% from aquifer storage; (2) 3% from boundary flows; (3) 4% from the ocean and bays; and (4) 90% from streamflow. (USGS)

New Jersey↗
USGS1988

Programs for generating data tables for the annual water-resources data report of the U.S. Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey has developed software that interfaces with the Automated Data Processing System to facilitate and expedite preparation of the annual water-resources data report. This software incorporates a feature that prepares daily values tables and appends them to previously edited files containing station manuscripts. Other features collate the merged files with miscellaneous sections of the report. The report is then printed as page-size, camera-ready copy. All system components reside on a minicomputer; this provides easy access and use by remote field offices. Automation of the annual report preparation process results in significant savings of labor and cost. Use of the system for producing the 1986 annual report in the North Carolina District realized a labor savings of over two man-months. A fully implemented system would produce a greater savings and speed release of the report to users.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1993

Water resources and the hydrologic effects of coal mining in Washington County, Pennsylvania

Washington County occupies an area of 864 square miles in southwestern Pennsylvania and lies within the Pittsburgh Plateaus Section of the Appalachian Plateaus physiographic province. About 69 percent of the county population is served by public water-supply systems, and the Monongahela River is the source for 78 percent of the public-supply systems. The remaining 31 percent of the population depends on wells, springs, and cisterns for its domestic water supply. The sedimentary rocks of Pennsylvanian and Permian age that underlie the county include sandstone, siltstone, limestone, shale, and coal. The mean reported yield of bedrock wells ranges from 8.8 gallons per minute in the Pittsburgh .Formation to 46 gallons per minute in the Casselman Formation. Annual water-level fluctuations usually range from less than 3 ft (feet) beneath a valley to about 16 ft beneath a hilltop. Average hydraulic conductivity ranges from 0.01 to 18 ft per day. Water-level fluctuations and aquifer-test results suggest that most ground water circulates within 150 ft of land surface. A three-dimensional computer flow-model analysis indicates 96 percent of the total ground-water recharge remains in the upper 80 to 110 ft of bedrock (shallow aquifer system). The regional flow system (more than 250ft deep in the main valley) receives less than 0.1 percent of the total ground-water recharge from the Brush Run basin. The predominance of the shallow aquifer system is substantiated by driller's reports, which show almost all water bearing zones are less than 150ft below land surface. The modeling of an unmined basin showed that the hydrologic factors that govern regional groundwater flow can differ widely spatially but have little effect on the shallow aquifers that supply water to most domestic wells. However, the shallow aquifers are sensitive to hydrologic factors within this shallow aquifer system (such as ground-water recharge, hydraulic conductivity of the streamaquifer interface, and hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer). A vertical fracture zone would probably increase ground-water availability within the zone and would probably result in a lower head in the shallow aquifers in an upland draw area and an increased head in a valley. l Streams in the northern and western parts of the county drain to the Ohio River and streams in the eastern and southern parts of the county drain to the Monongahela River. The computed 7-day, 10-year low-flow frequencies for the surface-water sites ranged from 0.0 to 55 x 10-3 cubic feet per second per square mile. The lowest low-flow discharges per square mile were in the south-central and southwestern parts of the county. The highest low-flow discharges per square mile were in the eastern and northern parts of the county. The annual water loss at five gaged streams ranged from 52 to 75 percent of the total precipitation. The loss resulted from evaporation, transpiration, diversion, mines, ground-water outflow from the system, and plant and animal consumption. The major ground-water-quality problems are elevated concentrations of iron, manganese, and dissolved solids, and very hard water. Minor groundwater-quality problems include elevated concentrations of fluoride, chloride, and sulfate. Downgradient along the ground-water flow path, principal ions change from mostly calcium, magnesium, sulfate, and bicarbonate to sodium and chloride. Dissolyed-solids concentrations generally increase with residence time .. Elevated concentrations of sulfate and total dissolved solids were common at the surface-water sites in the northern and eastern parts of the county where most of the active and abandohed coal mines are located and where acid mine drainage is most prevalent. However, measured alkalinity at most of the surface-water sites ranged from 86 to 345 milligrams per liter, indicating that these streams would have a neutralizing effect on most inflows of acid mine drainage. The model of the hypothetically mined Brush Run basin shows that the vertical hydraulic conductivity (either existing or induced by mine subsidence) between the shallow ground-water system and the mine, and the depth to the mine are critical controls on the amount of ground water entering the mine. When the vertical hydraulic conductivity was increased by a factor of four for a mine about 250 ft deep in the main valley, inflow to the mine increased almost by the same factor. The model also shows that increasing the depth to a mine by 200 ft (mine about 450 ft deep in main valley) would cause mine inflow to decrease one order of magnitude. Comparisons between stream discharges during low base-flow conditions in a mined basin (Daniels Run) and an unrnined basin (Brush Run) indicated that the deep mining did not substantially lower streamflow. Although streamflow decreased and, at times, completely disappeared in the middle and lower parts of Daniels Run basin, it reappeared again downstream as ground-water discharge and was part of the flow at the mouth of Daniels Run. Comparison of the water-quality characteristics of the two basins showed that concentrations of dissolved solids, sulfate, sodium, chloride, fluoride, and manganese were greater in the mined basin than in the unmined basin. The pH and iron concentrations were similar in both basins.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1992

An evaluation of installation methods for STS-1 seismometers

This report documents the results of a series of experiments conducted by the authors at the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory (ASl) during the spring and summer of 1991; the object of these experiments was to obtain and document quantitative performance comparisons of three methods of installing STS-1 seismometers. Historically, ASL has installed STS-1 sensors by cementing their thick glass base plates to the concrete floor of the vault (see Peterson and Tilgner, 1985, p 44 and Figure 31, p 51 for the details of this installation technique). This installation technique proved to be fairly satisfactory for the China Digital Seismic Network and for several sets of STS-1 sensors installed in other locations since that time. However, the cementing operation is rather labor intensive and the concrete requires a lengthy (about 1 week) curing time during which the sensor installed on it is noisy. In addition it is difficult to assure that all air bubbles have been removed from the interface between the cement and the glass base plate. If air bubbles are present beneath the plate, horizontal sensors can be unacceptably noisy. Moving a sensor installed in this manner requires the purchase of a new glass base plate because the old plate normally can not be removed without breakage. Therefore, this study was undertaken with the aim of developing an improved method of installing STS-1's. The goals were to develop a method which requires less field site labor during the installation and assures a higher quality installation when finished. In addition, the improved installation technique should promote portability. Two alternate installation techniques were evaluated in this study. One method replaces the cement between the base plate and the vault floor with sand. This method has been used in the French Geoscope program and in several IRIS/IDA installations made by the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) and possibly others. It is easily implemented in the field and is quite cheap. The other method utilizes a so called warpless housing designed by E. Wielandt and implemented at ASL. This housing is quite similar to the case design of the STS-2 sensor system. It is designed to minimize the effects of atmospheric pressure variations on the sealed housing.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1993

Geochemistry and migration of contaminants at the Weldon Spring chemical plant site, St. Charles County, Missouri, 1989-91

The geochemistry of the shallow aquifer and geochemical controls on the migration of uranium and other constituents from raffinate pits were determined at the Weldon Spring chemical plant site. Surface-water samples from the raffinate pits con- tained large concentrations of calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulfate, nitrite, lithium, moly- bdenum, strontium, vanadium, and uranium. Analyses of interstitial-water samples from raffinate pit 3 indicated that concentrations of most constituents increased with increasing depth below the water- sediment interface. Nitrate and uranium were not chemically reduced and attenuated within the raffinate pits and can be expected to migrate into the overburden. Laboratory sorption experiments were performed to evaluate the effect of pH value on the sorption of several raffinate constituents by the overburden. No sorption of calcium, sodium, sulfate, nitrate, or lithium was observed. Sorption of molybdenum was dependent on solution pH and sorption of uranium was dependent on solution pH and carbonate concentration. The sorption of uranium and molybdenum was consistent with sorption controlled by oxyhydroxides. The quality of water collected in overburden lysimeters near raffinate pit 4 can be modeled as a mixture of water from raffinate pits 3 and 4, and an uncontaminated com- ponent in a system at equilibrium with ferrihydrite and calcite. Increased constituent concentrations in a perennial spring north of the site were the result of a subsurface connection between the spring and several losing stream segments receiving runoff from the site, in addition to seepage from the raffinate pits.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1994

Simulation of the effects of ground-water withdrawals and recharge on ground-water flow in Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Island basins, Massachusetts

The effects of changing patterns of ground-water pumping and aquifer recharge on the surface-water and ground-water hydrologic systems were determined for the Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Island Basins. Three-dimensional, transient, ground-water-flow modelS that simulate both freshwater and saltwater flow were developed for the f1ow cells of Cape Cod which currently have large-capacity public-supply wells. Only the freshwater-flow system was simulated for the Cape Cod flow cells where public-water supply demands are satisfied by small-capacity domestic wells. Two- dimensional, finite-difference, change models were developed for Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island to determine the projected drawdowns in response to projected in-season pumping rates for 180 days of no aquifer recharge. Results of the simulations indicate very little change in the position of the freshwater-saltwater interface from predevelopment flow conditions to projected ground-water pumping and recharge rates for Cape Cod in the year 2020. Results of change model simulations for Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island indicate that the greatest impact in response to projected in-season ground-water pumping occurs at the pumping centers and the magnitude of the drawdowns are minimal with respect to the total thickness of the aquifers.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1995

Structure of the basins and ranges, Southwest New Mexico, an interpretation of seismic velocity sections

This report presents a geologic appraisal of seismic velocity sections that profile a total of 790 km in southwest New Mexico west of Las Cruces and south of Lordsburg and Deming. The present work outlines the contribution of these velocity sections to estimating areas favorable for mineral resource occurrences. Seismic refraction surveys are carried out with the initial goal of estimating the subsurface distribution of acoustic compressional velocity (Vp), which may ultimately be interpreted to provide information on lithology, geologic structure, and the occurrence of natural resources. The seismic sections presented here show velocity detail having dimensions of 100's to 1000's of meters to a depth of about 2.5 km, and across a net of traverses that profile most basins well as several ranges in the study area. Figure 1 shows the location of the seismic refraction lines. The lines are designated 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7; there is no line 6. The survey covers a broad swath of the southwest Basin and Range Province extending from the Arizona border eastward to the Rio Grande River, and from the Mexican border to about lat. 32° 30' N. Lines 1, 3, and 7 traverse the axis of basins in roughly northsouth directions; the remaining lines 2, 4, and 5 trend east-west and cross various ranges and basins. Seismic data that have been collected in this region include deep-crustal refraction traverses by university scientists and commercial seismic reflection profiles acquired for petroleum exploration. Results of deep-crustal refraction studies are reviewed to provide a regional setting for the higher resolution refraction data. Results from seismic reflection will not be discussed. Industry reflection data in the area are not generally available for non-proprietary use. The nearest reflection data publicly available are in the Socorro area, about 80 km north of the present study area (Brown and others, 1980). These data were acquired by the Consortium for Continental Reflection Profiling (COCORP), a public-supported research group, to investigate the possibility of magma beneath part of the Rio Grande valley. Up to 1978 there were about 36 deep borings in the region of southwest New Mexico (Thompson and others, 1978). This drilling resulted mainly from an evaluation of petroleum potential of the Pedrogosa basin which is an extensive area of Paleozoic subsidence in Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico that accumulated about three kilometers of Paleozoic sedimentary rock (Zeller, 1965; Thompson and others, 1978). Of these drill holes, 25 are close enough to the present seismic sections to provide correlations of velocity to lithology, and to provide an estimate of the errors associated with depth-to-interface interpretations. This information is summarized prior to considering the implications of the seismic sections in detail. The major portion of the report centers around two plates: Plate I shows seismic lines and selected drill hole locations superimposed on gravity contours, and Plate II shows velocitysections with drill hole summaries. These plates provide the foundation for developing inferences on buried lithologic, structural, and mineral resources for the region.

New Mexico↗
USGS1995

Preliminary Geologic Map of the Topanga 7.5' Quadrangle, Southern California: A Digital Database

INTRODUCTION This Open-File report is a digital geologic map database. This pamphlet serves to introduce and describe the digital data. There is no paper map included in the Open-File report. This digital map database is compiled from previously published sources combined with some new mapping and modifications in nomenclature. The geologic map database delineates map units that are identified by general age and lithology following the stratigraphic nomenclature of the U. S. Geological Survey. For detailed descriptions of the units, their stratigraphic relations and sources of geologic mapping consult Yerkes and Campbell (1994). More specific information about the units may be available in the original sources. The content and character of the database and methods of obtaining it are described herein. The geologic map database itself, consisting of three ARC coverages and one base layer, can be obtained over the Internet or by magnetic tape copy as described below. The processes of extracting the geologic map database from the tar file, and importing the ARC export coverages (procedure described herein), will result in the creation of an ARC workspace (directory) called 'topnga.' The database was compiled using ARC/INFO version 7.0.3, a commercial Geographic Information System (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, California), with version 3.0 of the menu interface ALACARTE (Fitzgibbon and Wentworth, 1991, Fitzgibbon, 1991, Wentworth and Fitzgibbon, 1991). It is stored in uncompressed ARC export format (ARC/INFO version 7.x) in a compressed UNIX tar (tape archive) file. The tar file was compressed with gzip, and may be uncompressed with gzip, which is available free of charge via the Internet from the gzip Home Page (http://w3.teaser.fr/~jlgailly/gzip). A tar utility is required to extract the database from the tar file. This utility is included in most UNIX systems, and can be obtained free of charge via the Internet from Internet Literacy's Common Internet File Formats Webpage http://www.matisse.net/files/formats.html). ARC/INFO export files (files with the .e00 extension) can be converted into ARC/INFO coverages in ARC/INFO (see below) and can be read by some other Geographic Information Systems, such as MapInfo via ArcLink and ESRI's ArcView (version 1.0 for Windows 3.1 to 3.11 is available for free from ESRI's web site: http://www.esri.com). 1. Different base layer - The original digital database included separates clipped out of the Los Angeles 1:100,000 sheet. This release includes a vectorized scan of a scale-stable negative of the Topanga 7.5 minute quadrangle. 2. Map projection - The files in the original release were in polyconic projection. The projection used in this release is state plane, which allows for the tiling of adjacent quadrangles. 3. File compression - The files in the original release were compressed with UNIX compression. The files in this release are compressed with gzip.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1996

The Modular Modeling System (MMS): User's Manual

The Modular Modeling System (MMS) is an integrated system of computer software that has been developed to provide the research and operational framework needed to support development, testing, and evaluation of physical-process algorithms and to facilitate integration of user-selected sets of algorithms into operational physical-process models. MMS uses a module library that contains modules for simulating a variety of water, energy, and biogeochemical processes. A model is created by selectively coupling the most appropriate modules from the library to create a 'suitable' model for the desired application. Where existing modules do not provide appropriate process algorithms, new modules can be developed. The MMS user's manual provides installation instructions and a detailed discussion of system concepts, module development, and model development and application using the MMS graphical user interface.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1996

Use of a ground-water flow model with particle tracking to evaluate ground-water vulnerability, Clark County, Washington

A ground-water flow model was used in conjunction with particle tracking to evaluate ground-water vulnerability in Clark County, Washington. Using the particle-tracking program, particles were placed in every cell of the flow model (about 60,000 particles) and tracked backwards in time and space upgradient along flow paths to their recharge points. A new computer program was developed that interfaces the results from a particle-tracking program with a geographic information system (GIS). The GIS was used to display and analyze the particle-tracking results. Ground-water vulnerability was evaluated by selecting parts of the ground-water flow system and combining the results with ancillary information stored in the GIS to determine recharge areas, characteristics of recharge areas, downgradient impact of land use at recharge areas, and age of ground water. Maps of the recharge areas for each hydrogeologic unit illustrate the presence of local, intermediate, or regional ground-water flow systems and emphasize the three-dimensional nature of the ground-water flow system in Clark County. Maps of the recharge points for each hydrogeologic unit were overlaid with maps depicting aquifer sensitivity as determined by DRASTIC (a measure of the pollution potential of ground water, based on the intrinsic characteristics of the near-surface unsaturated and saturated zones) and recharge from on-site waste-disposal systems. A large number of recharge areas were identified, particularly in southern Clark County, that have a high aquifer sensitivity, coincide with areas of recharge from on-site waste-disposal systems, or both. Using the GIS, the characteristics of the recharge areas were related to the downgradient parts of the ground-water system that will eventually receive flow that has recharged through these areas. The aquifer sensitivity, as indicated by DRASTIC, of the recharge areas for downgradient parts of the flow system was mapped for each hydrogeologic unit. A number of public-supply wells in Clark County may be receiving a component of water that recharged in areas that are more conducive to contaminant entry. The aquifer sensitivity maps illustrate a critical deficiency in the DRASTIC methodology: the failure to account for the dynamics of the ground-water flow system. DRASTIC indices calculated for a particular location thus do not necessarily reflect the conditions of the ground-water resources at the recharge areas to that particular location. Each hydrogeologic unit was also mapped to highlight those areas that will eventually receive flow from recharge areas with on-site waste-disposal systems. Most public-supply wells in southern Clark County may eventually receive a component of water that was recharged from on-site waste-disposal systems.Traveltimes from particle tracking were used to estimate the minimum and maximum age of ground water within each model-grid cell. Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-age dating of ground water from 51 wells was used to calibrate effective porosity values used for the particle- tracking program by comparison of ground-water ages determined through the use of the CFC-age dating with those calculated by the particle- tracking program. There was a 76 percent agreement in predicting the presence of modern water in the 51 wells as determined using CFCs and calculated by the particle-tracking program. Maps showing the age of ground water were prepared for all the hydrogeologic units. Areas with the youngest ground-water ages are expected to be at greatest risk for contamination from anthropogenic sources. Comparison of these maps with maps of public- supply wells in Clark County indicates that most of these wells may withdraw ground water that is, in part, less than 100 years old, and in many instances less than 10 years old. Results of the analysis showed that a single particle-tracking analysis simulating advective transport can be used to evaluate ground-water vulnerability for any part of a ground-wate

Open-File Report↗
USGS1996

Documentation of programs used to determine a wetlands hydroperiod from model-simulated water-surface elevations

A technique has been developed to determine a wetlands hydroperiod by comparing simulated water levels from a ground-water flow model and land- surface elevation data through a geographic information system. The simulated water levels are compared with the land-surface elevation data to determine the height of the water surface above or below land surface for the area of interest. Finally, the hydroperiod is determined for established time periods using criteria specified by the user. The program application requires the use of geographic information system software (ARC/INFO), including the TIN and GRID subsystems of the software. The application consists of an ANSI compatible C program to translate ground- water data output from the U.S. Geological Survey modular three-dimensional, finite-difference, ground-water flow model (MODFLOW) into a format that can be used as input for the geographic information system programs (AML's). The application uses ARC/INFO AML programs and ARC/INFO menu interface programs to create digital spatial data layers of the land surface and water surface and to determine the hydroperiod. The technique can be used to evaluate and manage wetlands hydrology.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1998

Table-top earthquakes; a demonstration of seismology for teachers and students that can be used to augment lessons in earth science, physics, math, social studies, geography

The apparatus consists of a heavy object that is dragged steadily with an elastic cord. Although pulled with a constant velocity, the heavy object repeatedly slides and then stops. A small vibration sensor, attached to a computer display, graphically monitors this intermittent motion. 2 This intermittent sliding motion mimics the intermittent fault slippage that characterizes the earthquake fault zones. In tectonically active regions, the Earth's outer brittle shell, which is about 50 km thick, is slowly deformed elastically along active faults. As the deformation increases, stress also increases, until fault slippage releases the stored elastic energy. This process is called elastic rebound. Detailed instructions are given for assembly and construction of this demonstration. Included are suggested sources for the vibration sensor (geophone) and the computer interface. Exclusive of the personal computer, the total cost is between $125 and $150. I gave a talk at the Geological Society of America's Cordilleran Section Centennial meeting on June 2, 1999. The slides show how this table-top demonstration can be used to help meet many of the K-12 teaching goals described in Benchmarks for Science Literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993).

Open-File Report↗
USGS1998

Preliminary estimates of benthic fluxes of dissolved metals in Coeur d'Alene Lake, Idaho

This report presents porewater and selected water column data collected from Coeur d'Alene Lake in September of 1992. Despite probable oxidation of the porewater samples during collection and handling, these data are used to calculate molecular diffusive fluxes of dissolved metals (that is, Zn, Pb, Cu, and Mn) across the sediment-water interface. While these data and calculations provide preliminary information on benthic metal fluxes in Coeur d'Alene Lake, further work is needed to verify their direction and magnitude. The benthic flux calculations indicate that the sediment is generally a source of dissolved Zn, Cu, Mn, and, possibly, Pb to the overlying water column. These benthic fluxes are compared with two other major sources of metals to Coeur d'Alene Lake-the Coeur d'Alene and St. Joe Rivers. Comparisons indicate that benthic fluxes of Zn, Pb, and Cu are generally less than half of the fluxes of these metals into the lake from the Coeur d'Alene River. However, in a few cases, the calculated benthic metal fluxes exceed the Coeur d'Alene River fluxes. Benthic fluxes of Zn and, possibly, Pb may be greater than the corresponding metal fluxes from the St. Joe River. These results have implications for changes in the relative importance of metal sources to the lake as remediation activities in the Coeur d'Alene River basin proceed.

Idaho↗
USGS1999

Regional geologic map of San Andreas and related faults in Carrizo Plain, Temblor, Caliente and La Panza Ranges and vicinity, California: A digital database

This Open-File Report is a digital geologic map database. The report serves to introduce and describe the digital data. There is no paper map included in the Open-File Report. The report includes PostScript and PDF plot files that can be used to plot images of the geologic map sheet and explanation sheet. This digital map database is prepared from a previously published map by Dibblee (1973). The geologic map database delineates map units that are identified by general age, lithology, and clast size following the stratigraphic nomenclature of the U.S. Geological Survey. For descriptions of the units, their stratigraphic relations, and sources of geologic mapping, consult the explanation sheet (of99-14_4b.ps or of99-14_4d.pdf), or the original published paper map (Dibblee, 1973). The scale of the source map limits the spatial resolution (scale) of the database to 1:125,000 or smaller. For those interested in the geology of Carrizo Plain and vicinity who do not use an ARC/INFO compatible Geographic Information System (GIS), but would like to obtain a paper map and explanation, PDF and PostScript plot files containing map images of the data in the digital database, as well as PostScript and PDF plot files of the explanation sheet and explanatory text, have been included in the database package (please see the section 'Digital Plot Files', page 5). The PostScript plot files require a gzip utility to access them. For those without computer capability, we can provide users with the PostScript or PDF files on tape that can be taken to a vendor for plotting. Paper plots can also be ordered directly from the USGS (please see the section 'Obtaining Plots from USGS Open-File Services', page 5). The content and character of the database, methods of obtaining it, and processes of extracting the map database from the tar (tape archive) file are described herein. The map database itself, consisting of six ARC/INFO coverages, can be obtained over the Internet or by magnetic tape copy as described below. The database was compiled using ARC/INFO, a commercial Geographic Information System (Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, California), with version 3.0 of the menu interface ALACARTE (Fitzgibbon and Wentworth, 1991, Fitzgibbon, 1991, Wentworth and Fitzgibbon, 1991). The ARC/INFO coverages are stored in uncompressed ARC export format (ARC/INFO version 7.x). All data files have been compressed, and may be uncompressed with gzip, which is available free of charge over the Internet via links from the USGS Public Domain Software page (http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/doc/edchome/ndcdb/public.html). ARC/INFO export files (files with the .e00 extension) can be converted into ARC/INFO coverages in ARC/INFO (see below) and can be read by some other Geographic Information Systems, such as MapInfo via ArcLink and ESRI's ArcView.

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USGS1999

SutraPlot, a graphical post-processor for SUTRA, a model for ground-water flow with solute or energy transport

This report documents a graphical display post-processor (SutraPlot) for the U.S. Geological Survey Saturated-Unsaturated flow and solute or energy TRAnsport simulation model SUTRA, Version 2D3D.1. This version of SutraPlot is an upgrade to SutraPlot for the 2D-only SUTRA model (Souza, 1987). It has been modified to add 3D functionality, a graphical user interface (GUI), and enhanced graphic output options. Graphical options for 2D SUTRA (2-dimension) simulations include: drawing the 2D finite-element mesh, mesh boundary, and velocity vectors; plots of contours for pressure, saturation, concentration, and temperature within the model region; 2D finite-element based gridding and interpolation; and 2D gridded data export files. Graphical options for 3D SUTRA (3-dimension) simulations include: drawing the 3D finite-element mesh; plots of contours for pressure, saturation, concentration, and temperature in 2D sections of the 3D model region; 3D finite-element based gridding and interpolation; drawing selected regions of velocity vectors (projected on principal coordinate planes); and 3D gridded data export files. Installation instructions and a description of all graphic options are presented. A sample SUTRA problem is described and three step-by-step SutraPlot applications are provided. In addition, the methodology and numerical algorithms for the 2D and 3D finite-element based gridding and interpolation, developed for SutraPlot, are described. 1

Open-File Report↗