Geology topics

Douglas J. Yeskis

Publications and source records attributed to Douglas J. Yeskis.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2007

Lithostratigraphic and Hydrogeologic Characteristics of the Ordovician Sinnipee Group in the Vicinity of Waupun, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, 1995-96

Three boreholes were drilled at a farm site near Waupun, Wis., to improve the understanding of regional hydrogeology of the Ordovician Sinnipee Group. At the site the Sinnipee Group is the uppermost bedrock unit and is found to be about 183 ft thick. On the basis of core descriptions by the Illinois State Geological Survey, the Sinnipee Group at the site comprises (stratigraphically lowest to highest) the Platteville Formation (about 51 ft thick), the Decorah Formation (about 14 ft thick), and the Galena Dolomite (about 119 ft thick). The Illinois State Geological Survey noted that hardgrounds were common in the rock core, some having stratigraphic significance. Four very well developed hardgrounds were identified, three of which were used as formation or member contacts. The hardground at about 797 ft NGVD 29 represents the top of the Platteville Formation, the hardground at about 754 ft represents the top of the Pecatonica Member of the Platteville Formation, and the hardground at about 746 ft represents the top of the Glenwood Formation. On the basis of samples collected from one borehole, the ground water at the site is of the calcium-magnesium bicarbonate type. Trichloroethene was detected in one sample at a concentration of 1 ?g/L, and the concentration of antimony in one sample exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Primary Drinking Water Standard. Other water samples contained aluminum and sodium in concentrations that exceeded the USEPA Secondary Drinking Water Standard and the USEPA Drinking Water Equivalent Level, respectively. Samples from various depths contained concentrations of iron, manganese, or dissolved manganese that were near or exceeded the USEPA Secondary Drinking Water Standard. The cross-borehole radar tomography data show differences in velocity and attenuation among the three major units in the Sinnipee Group. Matrix porosity measured in rock-core samples correlates well with these velocity and attenuation tomograms. The Galena Dolomite has the lowest mean porosity at 2.4 percent (7 samples) and is represented in the tomograms as generally having the lowest attenuation and greatest velocity. Below the Galena Dolomite is a transition to a zone with the greatest attenuation and lowest velocity on the tomograms. The rock core shows this interval to be the shaley dolomite of the Decorah Formation which has a mean porosity of 8.3 percent (2 samples). Below the Decorah Formation, the Platteville Formation has a mean porosity of 3.6 percent (6 samples) and is represented in the tomograms as having velocity and attenuation generally intermediate between the Galena Dolomite and the Decorah Formation. The evaluation of the single-hole directional ground-penetrating radar reflection survey in FL-800 identified 15 reflectors (secondary permeability features). Some of the reflectors do correlate with fractures and partings noted on geophysical logs and rock core; however, many additional fractures and partings identified by the televiewer log and/or core description were not measured by the borehole radar survey. Horizontal or sub-horizontal reflectors (bedding-plane partings) which do correlate with indications of bedding-plane partings on the acoustic televiewer intersect the borehole at about 917 ft, 907 ft, 870 ft, 805 ft, and 797 ft. The flowmeter profiles indicate that water entering and exiting the boreholes at seven bedding-plane partings accounts for most of the total borehole transmissivity. The flowmeter profiles in all three boreholes show that more than 90 percent of the total borehole transmissivity is provided by bedding-plane partings found at 870 ft and higher stratigraphically within the Galena Dolomite. Static water levels were measured in selected intervals of the three boreholes, and vertical hydraulic gradients were estimated by comparing levels in adjacent intervals. Gradients were found to be almost uniformly downward, ranging from -0.040 to -1.251 ft/ft. On th

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2004

A cross-site comparison of methods used for hydrogeologic characterization of the Galena-Platteville aquifer in Illinois and Wisconsin, with examples from selected Superfund sites

The effectiveness of 28 methods used to characterize the fractured Galena-Platteville aquifer at eight sites in northern Illinois and Wisconsin is evaluated. Analysis of government databases, previous investigations, topographic maps, aerial photographs, and outcrops was essential to understanding the hydrogeology in the area to be investigated. The effectiveness of surface-geophysical methods depended on site geology. Lithologic logging provided essential information for site characterization. Cores were used for stratigraphy and geotechnical analysis. Natural-gamma logging helped identify the effect of lithology on the location of secondary- permeability features. Caliper logging identified large secondary-permeability features. Neutron logs identified trends in matrix porosity. Acoustic-televiewer logs identified numerous secondary-permeability features and their orientation. Borehole-camera logs also identified a number of secondary-permeability features. Borehole ground-penetrating radar identified lithologic and secondary-permeability features. However, the accuracy and completeness of this method is uncertain. Single-point-resistance, density, and normal resistivity logs were of limited use. Water-level and water-quality data identified flow directions and indicated the horizontal and vertical distribution of aquifer permeability and the depth of the permeable features. Temperature, spontaneous potential, and fluid-resistivity logging identified few secondary-permeability features at some sites and several features at others. Flowmeter logging was the most effective geophysical method for characterizing secondary-permeability features. Aquifer tests provided insight into the permeability distribution, identified hydraulically interconnected features, the presence of heterogeneity and anisotropy, and determined effective porosity. Aquifer heterogeneity prevented calculation of accurate hydraulic properties from some tests. Different methods, such as flowmeter logging and slug testing, occasionally produced different interpretations. Aquifer characterization improved with an increase in the number of data points, the period of data collection, and the number of methods used.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2002

Geohydrology, water quality, and simulation of ground-water flow in the vicinity of a former waste-oil refinery near Westville, Indiana, 1997–2000

Geohydrologic and water-quality data collected during 1997 through 2000 in the vicinity of a former waste-oil refinery near Westville, Indiana, define a plume of 1,4-dioxane in ground water that extends to the southwest approximately 0.8 miles from the refinery site. Concentrations of 1,4-dioxane in the plume ranged from 3 to 31,000 micrograms per liter. Ground water containing 1,4-dioxane is discharged to Crumpacker Ditch, approximately one-half mile west of the refinery site. Concentrations of 1,4-dioxane detected in surface water ranged from 8 to 140 micrograms per liter; 1,4-dioxane also is transported in ground water beneath the ditch. The study area is underlain by glacial deposits of sand and gravel that overlie lacustrine clay and shale. The sand and gravel deposits form an extensive aquifer ranging from 148 to 215 feet thick in the study area. Ground water generally flows from northeast to southwest and the depth to water ranges from about 3 to 36 feet below land surface. The average horizontal hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer, determined from a multiple-well aquifer test, was 121 feet per day, and the transmissivity was 18,600 feet squared per day. Vertical hydraulic conductivity ranged from 24 to 36 feet per day and specific yield ranged from 0.05 to 0.08. Analysis of single-well aquifer tests indicated that horizontal hydraulic conductivity ranged from 0.6 to 127 feet per day and was largest in the lower part of the aquifer. Horizontal gradients averaged about 0.001 feet per foot; estimated ground-water- flow velocities averaged about 0.1 feet per day in the upper and middle parts of the glacial aquifer and about 0.4 feet per day near the bottom of the aquifer. Analytical results of water samples indicate the ground water generally is a calcium-bicarbonate type with a nearly neutral pH. Specific conductivity ranged from 437 to 1,030 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius in water from wells upgradient from the refinery site and 330 to 3,780 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius in water from downgradient wells. Barium, iron, manganese, nickel, and zinc commonly were detected in samples of ground water. Volatile organic compounds (including chlorinated solvents and aromatic hydrocarbons) were consistently detected in samples from shallow wells near the boundaries of the former refinery site. Concentrations of 1,4-dioxane were detected in water from wells screened in the upper, middle, and lower parts of the aquifer downgradient from the site and in samples of surface water collected approximately 5 miles downstream from where the plume intersects Crumpacker Ditch. A three-dimensional, four layer groundwater- flow model was constructed and calibrated to match ground-water levels and streamflow measured during December 1997. The model was used to simulate possible mechanisms of contaminant release, the effect of increased pumpage from water-supply wells, and pumping at the leading edge of the plume as a possible means of remediation. Based on simulation of three waste-oil lagoons, a vertical hydraulic conductivity of 0.2 feet per day was required to move contaminants into the bottom layer of the model at a constant leakage rate of about 98 gallons per minute. Simulations of a disposal well in layer 3 of the model indicated an injection rate of 50 gallons per minute was necessary to spread contaminants vertically in the aquifer. Simulated pumping rates of about 300 and 1,000 gallons per minute were required for water supply wells at the Town of Westville and the Westville Correctional Facility to draw water from the plume of 1,4-dioxane. Simulated pumping from hypothetical wells at the leading edge of the plume indicated that three wells, each pumping 25 gallons per minute from model layer 3, would capture the plume of 1,4-dioxane.

Indiana↗

USGS2001

Hydrogeology and ground-water quality of the county road a disposal site on the Bad River Indian Reservation, Ashland County, Wisconsin: 1997-98

The County Road A disposal site, located on the Bad River Indian Reservation, Ashland County, Wisconsin, contains papermill sludge generated by a former mill in the City of Ashland. Since the time of disposal (1968-1970) the site has been the subject of investigations by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and private consultants. During 1997- 1998, an investigation was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Department of the Bad River Indian Tribe, to evaluate the hydrogeology and groundwater quality of the disposal site, particularly with respect to the hydraulic connection between two ponds at the site and the shallow ground-waterflow system. Additional monitoring wells and well points were installed, and additional hydrogeologic, ground-water quality, and geophysical data were collected. The data from this and previous studies were integrated and interpreted.

Wisconsin↗

USGS1999

Geology, hydrology, and results of tracer testing in the Galena-Platteville aquifer at a waste-disposal site near Byron, Illinois

A study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of the geohydrology of the dolomite bedrock at a waste-disposal site near Byron, Illinois. The study was designed to identify and characterize the flow pathways through the bedrock aquifer beneath the site. The geologic units of concern at the site are the Glenwood Formation of the Ancell Group, and the Platteville and Galena Groups. These deposits compose the Galena-Platteville aquifer and the underlying Harmony Hill Shale semiconfining unit. The Galena-Platteville aquifer is an unconfined aquifer. Geophysical logging, water levels, and aquifer-test data indicate the presence of interconnected, hydraulically active fractures in the middle of the Galena-Platteville aquifer (the upper flow pathway), and a second set of hydraulically active fractures (the lower flow pathway). The lower flow pathway may be present through much of the site. Few hydraulically active fractures are present in the upper part of the aquifer near the center of the site, but appear to be more numerous in the upper part of the aquifer in the western and northeastern parts of the site. Water-level data obtained during the tracer test indicate that pumping effects were present near the pumped wells. Pumping effects may have been present at several wells located along directions of identified fracture orientation from the pumped well. The upper part of the aquifer did not appear to be hydraulically well connected to the flow pathways supplying water to the pumped well. Large background changes in water levels obscured the effects of pumping and prevented calculation of aquifer properties. The velocity of the bromide tracer through the lower flow pathway under the hydraulic gradient resulting from the pumping was about 152 feet per day. Solution of the Darcy velocity equation results in a calculated effective porosity for this interval of 3.5 percent, indicating hydraulic interconnection between the fractures and the aquifer matrix. Ground-water velocity through the lower flow pathway was calculated to be 15.4 feet per day under hydrostatic conditions.

Illinois↗

USGS1999

Areal studies aid protection of ground-water quality in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin

In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, initiated studies designed to characterize the ground-water quality and hydrogeology in northern Illinois, and southern and eastern Wisconsin (with a focus on the north-central Illinois cities of Belvidere and Rockford, and the Calumet region of northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana). These areas are considered especially susceptible to ground-water contamination because of the high density of industrial and waste-disposal sites and the shallow depth to the unconsolidated sand and gravel aquifers and the fractured, carbonate bedrock aquifers that underlie the areas. The data and conceptual models of ground-water flow and contaminant distribution and movement developed as part of the studies have allowed Federal, State, and local agencies to better manage, protect, and restore the water supplies of the areas. Water-quality, hydrologic, geologic, and geophysical data collected as part of these areal studies indicate that industrial contaminants are present locally in the aquifers underlying the areas. Most of the contaminants, particularly those at concentrations that exceeded regulatory water-quality levels, were detected in the sand and gravel aquifers near industrial or waste-disposal sites. In water from water-supply wells, the contaminants that were present generally were at concentrations below regulatory levels. The organic compounds detected most frequently at concentrations near or above regulatory levels varied by area. Trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (volatile chlorinated compounds) were most prevalent in north-central Illinois; benzene (a petroleum-related compound) was most prevalent in the Calumet region. Differences in the type of organic compounds that were detected in each area likely reflect differences in the types of industrial sites that predominate in the areas. Nickel and aluminum were the trace metals detected most frequently at concentrations above regulatory levels in both areas. Contaminants in the shallow sand and gravel aquifers and carbonate aquifers appear to have moved with ground water discharging to local lakes, streams, and wetlands. Ground-water flow and possibly contaminant movement is concentrated in the weathered surface zones and in deeper fractures of the carbonate aquifers underlying both areas.

Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin↗

USGS1999

Hydrogeologic properties of the Ordovician Sinnipee Group at test well BN-483, Better Brite Superfund Site, De Pere, Wisconsin

Test well BN-483, near the Better Brite Superfund Site, was drilled to a total depth of 169 feet below land surface. The Ordovician-age Sinnipee Group, which includes the Galena Dolomite, and the Decorah and Platteville Formations, was encountered from about 25 feet below land surface to a depth of about 160 feet. Analysis of core samples and single-well aquifer tests of the dolomites indicate low matrix porosity (1.8 to 7.7 percent) and low horizontal hydraulic conductivity (5.0 x 10 -4 to 3.4 x 10 -3 feet per day). Significant differences in hydraulic head between Sinnipee Group dolomites and the underlying Sandstone Aquifer (represented by the Glenwood Formation sandstones in test well BN-483) are the result of municipal pumping from the Sandstone Aquifer. The difference in hydraulic head, along with the low porosity and hydraulic conductivity of the Sinnipee Group dolomites, indicates limited hydraulic connection between the Sandstone Aquifer and the shallow aquifer within the glacial sediments. Because of the low hydraulic conductivity of the dolomites, sufficient water for analysis was recovered from only the uppermost interval of test well BN-483 at a depth of 35-52 feet. No inorganic contaminants of environmental concern were detected. Toluene was the only VOC identified, at an estimated concentration of about 2 micrograms/liter.

Wisconsin↗

USGS1998

Geohydrology of the upper part of the Galena-Platteville aquifer underlying a waste-disposal site near Wempletown, Illinois

The uppermost bedrock of the Galena-Platteville aquifer underlying a waste-disposal site near Wempletown, Illinois, is composed of dolomite of the St. James, Beecher, Eagle Point, and Fairplay Members of the Dunleith Formation of the Galena Group. Chert beds in these formations have a higher porosity than the dolomite. Ground-water flow is from a drum-storage area to the west and northwest toward low points west and northwest of the drum-storage area and the topographic low at the intermittent stream south of the landfill area. The direction of ground-water flow at the landfill area is affected by seasonal changes in precipitation. Calculated horizontal ground-water velocities ranged from 3.5 x 10-2 to 8.8 x 10-2 feet per day; the lowest value was in the vicinity of the landfill area. Horizontal hydraulic-conductivity values calculated from single-well aquifer tests ranged from 1.0 x 10-2 to 1.0 x 100 feet per day with an average of 4.0 x 10-1 feet per day.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1998

Use of borehole-radar methods to monitor the movement of a saline tracer in carbonate rock at Belvidere, Illinois

Common-depth (CD) radar surveys and cross-hole radar tomography methods were used to monitor the movement of a saline tracer in a dual-porosity dolomite aquifer at Belvidere, Illinois. The tracer test was conducted using an array of six open-hole bedrock wells at the Parson’s Casket Hardware Superfund site. The injection and recovery boreholes were about 20 m (meters) apart, and the imaging boreholes were arranged to provide planar coverage across and along the anticipated tracer path. A hydraulically conductive zone identified during previous investigations was isolated using straddle packers and pumped to establish a hydraulic gradient between the injection and recovery wells. A sodium chloride (NaCl) solution was continuously injected into this zone to move the tracer across the tomographic image plane. CD cross-hole radar surveys and cross-hole tomography surveys were conducted before and periodically during the tracer injection. Background tomograms contain similar radar velocity and attenuation changes with depth, consistent with a layered dolomite that has variable porosity and electrical conductivity. Slow changes in attenuation associated with low tracer velocity permitted the acquisition of multiple CD surveys and two cross-hole tomography surveys during injection. CD surveys were used to rapidly identify the presence of tracer between wells. Attenuation-difference tomograms contain attenuation increases that delineate the spatial distribution with time of the saline tracer and show the progressive movement of the tracer within the tomographic image plane. Formation porosity and resistivities calculated from radar velocity and attenuation tomograms were used to estimate changes in fluid resistivity and tracer concentration in the tomographic image plane.

Illinois↗

USGS1997

Geology, hydrology, and ground-water quality at the Byron Superfund site near Byron, Illinois

A study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to define the geohydrology and contaminant distribution at a Superfund site near Byron, Illinois. Geologic units of interest beneath the site are the St. Peter Sandstone; the shale, dolomite and sandstone of the Glenwood Formation; the dolomite of the Platteville and Galena Groups; and sands, gravels, tills and loess of Quaternary age. The hydrologic units of interest are the unconsolidated aquifer, Galena-Platteville aquifer, Harmony Hill Shale semiconfining unit, and the St. Peter aquifer. Ground-water flow generally is from the upland areas northwest and southwest toward the Rock River. Water levels indicate the potential for downward ground-water flow in most of the area except near the Rock River. The Galena-Platteville aquifer can be subdivided into four zones characterized by differing water-table altitudes, hydraulic gradients, and vertical and horizontal permeabilities. Geophysical, hydraulic, and aquifer-test data indicate that lithology, stratigraphy, and tectonic structures affect the distribution of primary and secondary porosity of dolomite in the Galena and Platteville Groups, which affects the permeability distribution in the Galena-Platteville aquifer. The distribution of cyanide, chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, and aromatic hydrocarbons in ground water indicates that these contaminants are derived from multiple sources in the study area. Contaminants in the northern part of this area migrate northwest to the Rock River. Contaminants in the central and southern parts of this area appear to migrate to the southwest in the general direction of the Rock River.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗