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Harold Meisler

Publications and source records attributed to Harold Meisler.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1998

Geochemistry of the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system

Sediments of the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain comprise a complex multiaquifer flow system. On a large scale (greater than 500 square miles) ground water in this system evolves from predominantly calcium magnesium bicarbonate water with a low dissolved-solids content and low pH, near outcrop-recharge areas, to predominantly sodium bicarbonate water with a high-dissolved solids content and high pH, downgradient. This sodium bicarbonate water then grades into a sodium chloride water. This large-scale predictable progression of hydrochemical facies results from the summation of many smaller scale geochemical processes that chiefly depend on the sedimentary depositional environments of the aquifers.

Northern Atlantic coastal plain↗
USGS1994

Documentation of hydrochemical-facies data and ranges of dissolved-solids concentrations for the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina supplement to Professional paper 1404-L

Hydrochemical-facies data and ranges of dissolved- solids concentrations used to construct hydrochemical-facies maps and sections for U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1404-L have not been previously published. In this report, the data are contained on a 3-1/2 high-density diskette in a file presented in American International Standard Code for Information Exchange (ASCII) format. The file requires about 0.2 megabyte of disk space on an IBM-compatible microcomputer using the MS-DOS operating system.

Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Vi↗
USGS1984

Test well DO-CE 88 at Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland

Test well DO-CE 88 at Cambridge, Maryland, penetrated 3,299 feet of unconsolidated Quaternary, Tertiary and Cretaceous sediments and bottomed in quartz-monzonite gneiss. The well was drilled to provide data for a study of the aquifer system of the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain. Twenty-one core samples were collected. Six sand zones were tested for aquifer properties and sampled for ground-water chemistry. Point-water heads were measured at seven depths. Environmental heads (which ranged from - 18.33 to + 44.16 feet relative to sea level)indicate an upward component of flow. A temperature log showed a maximum temperature of 41.9 degrees Celsius and a mean temperature gradient of 0.00838 degrees Celsius per foot. The water analyses delineated the freshwater-saltwater transition zone between 2,650 and 3,100 feet. The ground water changes progressively downward from a sodium bicarbonate to a sodium chloride character. Clays in the analyzed core samples belong to the montmorillonite and kaolinite groups, and mean cation exchange capacity ranged from 8.3 to 38.9 milliequivalents per 100 grams. Vertical and horizontal hydraulic conductivities measured in cores ranged from 1.5 x 10 6 to 1.3 feet per day and from 7.3 x 10 -6 to 1.3 feet per day, respectively, but the most permeable sands were not cored. Porosity was 1.5 percent in the quartz monzonite bedrock and ranged from 22.4 to 41 percent in the overlying sediments. Transmissivities from aquifer tests ranged from 25 to 850 feet squared per day; horizontal hydraulic conductivities ranged from.2.5 to 85 feet squared per day, and intrinsic permeabilities ranged from 0.8 to 23 micrometers squared. Fossils identified in core samples include palynomorphs, dinoflagellates, and foraminifers.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1984

The effect of eustatic sea-level changes on saltwater-freshwater relations in the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain

A finite-difference computer model was used to analyze the effect of eustatic sea-level changes on the development of the transition zone between fresh ground water and underlying saltwater in the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain. The model simulates, in cross section, the sedimentary wedge from the Delaware River estuary in New Jersey to the Continental Slope. Simulated steady-state freshwater flow is separated from static saltwater by a sharp interface. The model was used to test the sensitivity of the simulated interface position to anisotropy as well as to sea-level elevation. Increasing anisotropy causes the interface to be shallower and extend farther offshore. Lowering sea level causes the interface to be deeper and to extend farther offshore. Simulations using hydraulic conductivities based on available data suggest that the transition zone is not in equilibrium with present sea level. The position of the transition zone probably reflects a long-term average sea level of between 50 and 100 ft below present sea level. The cyclic movement of salty ground water in response to sea-level fluctuations during the Quaternary and Late Tertiary caused the saltwater to mix with freshwater, thus producing a broad transition zone. The freshwater is predominantly sodium bicarbonate in character. The saltwater, from New Jersey to Virginia, probably is a sodium calcium chloride brine. In North Carolina, it is primarily seawater.

Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Vi↗
USGS1982

Test well DO-CE 88 at Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland

Test well DO-CE 88 at Cambridge, Maryland, penetrated 3,299 feet of unconsolidated Quaternary, Tertiary and Cretaceous sediments and bottomed in quartz-monzonite gneiss. The well was drilled to provide data for a study of the aquifer system of the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain. Twenty-one core samples were collected. Six sand zones were tested for aquifer properties and sampled for ground-water chemistry. Point-water heads were measured at seven depths. Environmental heads (which ranged from -18.33 to +44.16 feet relative to sea level) indicate an upward component of flow. A temperature log showed a maximum temperature of 41.9 degrees Celsius and a mean temperature gradient of 0.00838 degrees Celsius per foot. The water analyses delineated the freshwater-saltwater transition zone between 2,650 and 3,100 feet. The ground water changes progressively downward from a sodium bicarbonate to a sodium chloride character. Clays in the analyzed core samples belong to the montmorillonite and kaolinite groups, and mean cation exchange capacity ranged from 8.3 to 38.9 milliequivalents per 100 grams. Vertical and horizontal hydraulic conductivities measured in cores ranged from 1.5 x 10-s to 1.3 feet per day and from 7.3 x 10-6 to 1.3 feet per day, respectively, but the most permeable sands were not cored. Porosity was 1.5 percent in the quartz monzonite bedrock and ranged from 22.4 to 41 percent in the overlying sediments. Transmissivities from aquifer tests ranged from 25 to 850 feet squared per day, horizontal hydraulic conductivities ranged from 2.5 to 85 feet squared per day, and intrinsic permeabilities ranged from 0.8 to 23 micrometers squared. Fossils identified in core samples include palynomorphs, dinoflagellates, and foraminifers.

Maryland↗
USGS1980

Preliminary delineation of salty ground water in the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain

Salty ground water underlies freshwater in the eastern part of the northern Atlantic Coastal Plain. The transition zone between freshwater and saltwater is represented in this report by a series of maps showing the depths to chloride concentrations of 250, 1,000, 10,000, and 18,000 milligrams per liter. The maps are based on chloride concentrations obtained from self-potential logs as well as from water-quality analyses. Depths to the designated chloride concentrations generally increase inland from the coast except in New Jersey where they are greatest along the coast and in North Carolina where depths to the 10,000 and 18,000 milligrams per liter concentrations are greatest beneath Pamlico Sound. The transition zone between 250 and 18,000 milligrams per liter of chloride is generally 1,500 to 2,300 feet thick except in part of North Carolina, where it is less than 1,000 feet. Depths to 250 and 1,000 milligrams per liter of chloride are probably controlled by the natural flow pattern of fresh ground water. Areas where these concentrations are relatively shallow generally coincide with areas of natural ground-water discharge. Depths to 10,000 and 18,000 milligrams per liter of chloride, and the occurrence offshore of ground water that is fresher than seawater, is attributed to long-term hydrologic conditions during which sea level fluctuations of a few hundred feet recurred several times. The origin of ground water that is saltier than seawater is attributed to the leaching of evaporitic strata beneath the Continental Shelf and Slope followed by westward movement of the brines during periods of sea-level rise.

Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain↗
USGS1980

Plan of study for the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Regional Aquifer System Analysis

Sediments of Cretaceous to Holocene age compose the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system in an area of 50,000 square miles in parts of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. The aquifer system is a major source of water supply in the area. About 1.4 billion gallons is withdrawn from its aquifers each day. Increasing withdrawal of ground water has created or intensified several problems such as declining water levels, development of large cones of depression, saltwater intrusion, spreading of ground-water contamination, and land subsidence. The U.S. Geological Survey has begun a comprehensive study that will define the geology, hydrology, and geochemistry of the aquifer system. The effects of future utilization of the aquifer system will be determined and alternative plans for water withdrawal will be evaluated through computer simulation modeling. This report describes the objectives, organization, and work plans of the study, and describes the work to be accomplished in each U.S. Geological Survey District of the study area.

Delaware;Maryl;New Jersey;North Carolina;Virginia↗
USGS1977

Summary of ground-water conditions in the Jaffna Peninsula, Republic of Sri Lanka, with a plan for investigating feasibility of ground-water development

Ground water in the Jaffna Peninsula of Sri Lanka, Ceylon, occurs within solution openings of the Jaffna Limestone of Miocene age. The freshwater forms a complex of lenses up to 25 meters thick overlying saline water derived from the sea. Salt-water intrusion and upconing of the salt water has occurred at several locations primarily along the coast. Recharge to the aquifer occurs during October-December. Discharge is primarily to wells and to springs along the north coast. Spring discharge is small compared to withdrawal from wells. Pumping from wells in an intensively studied 142-square-kilometer area of the Peninsula was 55.5 million cubic meters in 1976, whereas discharge to visible springs was an estimated 9.3 million cubic meters. Pumping during January-September removes water from storage causing heads to decline and the salt water-freshwater interface to rise. The storage is replenished as heads increase and the interface is depressed during the following October-December. Consequently, most of the recharge goes into storage rather than discharging to the sea. (Woodard-USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1976

Computer simulation model of the Pleistocene valley-fill aquifer in southwestern Essex and southeastern Morris counties, New Jersey

A finite-difference digital computer model was developed to simulate a buried valley-fill aquifer consisting of outwash sand and gravel deposited in a series of valleys cut into bedrock of Triassic age. Till, clay, silt, and muck function as an overlying semiconfining layer. The bedrock which is represented as an unconfined aquifer and the valley fill are in hydraulic connection. Calibration of the model was achieved by comparing model-computed water-level declines with measured declines at 12 observation wells during the period 1953-71. During calibration, changes in several hydraulic properties were tested. The most significant changes were changes in hydraulic conductivity of the semiconfining layer. The amount of water available from the valley-fill aquifer on a continuing basis, determined using the criterion that water levels would not decline below 30 feet above the base of the aquifer, is approximately 40 Mgal/d or about 40 percent more than the 1972-73 withdrawal rates. (Woodard-USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1968

Carbonate rocks of Cambrian and Ordovician age in the Lancaster quadrangle, Pennsylvania

Detailed mapping has shown that the carbonate rocks of Cambrian and Ordovician age in the Lancaster quadrangle, Pennsylvania, can be divided into 14 rock-stratigraphic units. These units are defined primarily by their relative proportions of limestone and dolomite. The oldest units, the Vintage, Kinzers, and Ledger Formations of Cambrian age, and the Conestoga Limestone of Ordovician age are retained in this report. The Zooks Corner Formation, of Cambrian age, a dolomite unit overlying the Ledger Dolomite, is named here for exposures along Conestoga Creek near the village of Zooks Corner. The Conococheague (Cambrian) and Beekmantown (Ordovician) Limestones, as mapped by earlier workers, have been elevated to group rank and subdivided into formations that are correlated with and named for geologic units in Lebanon and Berks Counties, Pa. These formations, from oldest to youngest, are the Buffalo Springs, Snitz Creek, Millbach, and Richland Formations of the Conococheague Group, and the Stonehenge, Bpler, and Ontelaunee Formations of the Beekmantown Group. The Annville and Myerstown Limestones, which are named for lithologically similar units in Dauphin and Lebanon Counties, Pa., overlie the Beekmantown Group in one small area in the quadrangle.

Bulletin↗
USGS1963

Hydrogeology of the carbonate rocks of the Lebanon Valley, Pennsylvania

The Lebanon Valley, which is part of the Great Valley in southeastern Pennsylvania, is underlain by carbonate rocks in the southern part and by shale in the northern part. The carbonate rocks consist of alternating beds of limestone and dolomite of Cambrian and Ordovician age. Although the beds generally dip to the south, progressively younger beds crop out to the north, because the rocks are overturned. The stratigraphic units, from oldest to youngest, are: the Buffalo Springs Formation, Snitz Creek, Schaefferstown, Millbach, and Richland Formations of the Conococheague Group; the Stonehenge, Rickenbach, Epler, and Ontelaunee Formations of the Beekmantown Group; and the Annville, Myerstown, and Hershey Limestones.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1962

Origin of erosional surfaces in the Lebanon Valley, Pennsylvania

Summit elevations in the Lebanon Valley, part of the Great Valley, range from 440 to 720 feet above msl (mean sea level). This range cannot be accounted for adequately by the peneplain concept. Although accordant summits, the chief evidence for peneplains, occur over large areas, summits are not accordant between adjacent areas within the valley. The Lebanon Valley is underlain in the south by carbonate rocks and in the north by shale. The major stream valley in the carbonate area is now partly occupied by segments of two streams, but at one time it was the location of one major stream -the ancestral Quittapahilla Creek-which was beheaded by a tributary to Swatara Creek. Landforms of the Lebanon Valley are probably the result of erosion within two separate stream systems-Swatara and ancestral Quittapahilla creeks-in which streams and interfluvial areas were in a state of erosional equilibrium. The land surface in equilibrium with the ancestral Quittapahilla Creek lies at a higher elevation than adjacent land surfaces that were in equilibrium with Swatara Creek. The land surface on the carbonate rocks, which is in the ancestral Quittapahilla Creek system, lies at a lower elevation than shale within the same system, but it commonly lies at a higher elevation than shale in adjacent parts of the Swatara Creek system. Accordance of summits is the result of uniform erosion of uniform rocks in basins whose discharge points are at the same elevation. Lack of accordant summits on uniform rocks is the result of erosion in basins whose discharge points differ in elevation.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1961

Ground-water resources of Olmsted Air Force Base, Middletown, Pennsylvania

Olmsted Air Force Base is underlain by the Gettysburg shale of Triassic age. The Gettysburg shale at the Air Force Base consists of interbedded red sandstone, siltstone, and shale. The average strike of the strata is N. 43° E., and the strata dip to the northwest at an average angle of 26°. The transmissibility of known aquifers in the warehouse area of the Air Force Base is low. Therefore, wells in the warehouse area have low specific capacities and yield only small supplies of water. Wells on the main base, however, yield relatively large supplies of water because the transmissibilities of the aquifers are relatively high. Pumping tests in the warehouse area and the eastern area of the main base indicated the presence of impermeable boundaries in both areas. Pumping tests in the central and western parts of the main base revealed that the Susquehanna River probably is acting as a source of recharge (forms a recharge boundary) for wells in those areas. Data obtained during this investigation indicate that additional supplies of ground water for Olmsted Air Force Base could best be obtained from the western part of the main base.

Water Supply Paper↗