USGS Science⌕ Search

Geology topics

Robert Schneider

Publications and source records attributed to Robert Schneider.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Hydrogeology Journal in 2004

Hydrogeology Journal continues to flourish. The increase in the size of our yearly volume attests to the success and growing international reputation of the journal. Until 2001, HJ produced about 600 printed pages each year. This number has steadily increased, and in 2005 and 2006, HJ will be allocated 800 pages per year by the publisher. Despite this good news, the journal is having some growing pains. Most pages in next year’s issues are already fully allocated with currently accepted articles and therefore, many accepted articles must now wait up to one year to appear in printed form. Clearly, this is not an acceptable situation for authors or readers.

Hydrogeology Journal↗

Editors' message: Hydrogeology Journal in 2003

Hydrogeology Journal appeared in six issues containing a total of 710 pages and 48 major articles, including 31 Papers and 14 Reports, as well as some Technical Notes and Book Reviews. The number of submitted manuscripts continues to increase. The final issue of 2003 also contained the annual volume index. Hydrogeology Journal ( HJ ) is an international forum for hydrogeology and related disciplines and authors in 2003 were from about 28 countries. Articles advanced hydrogeologic science and described hydrogeologic systems in many regions worldwide. These articles focused on a variety of general topics and on studies of hydrogeology in 24 countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, France, India, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, and U.S.A. The Guest Editor of the 2003 HJ theme issue on “Hydromechanics in Geology and Geotechnics”, Ove Stephansson, assembled a valuable collection of technical reviews and research papers from eminent authors on important aspects of the subject area.

Hydrogeology Journal↗

Hydrogeology Journal in 2002

Hydrogeology Journal appeared in six issues containing a total of 674 pages and 47 major articles, including 22 Papers and 24 Reports, as well as Technical Notes and Book Reviews. The final issue of 2002 also contained the annual volume index. Hydrogeology Journal (HJ) is an international forum for hydrogeology and related disciplines. Authors in 2002 were from about 30 countries. Articles advanced hydrogeologic science and described hydrogeologic systems in many regions worldwide. These articles focused on 22 countries: Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Portugal, Qatar, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, UK, and the USA. The Guest Editors of the 2002 HJ theme issue on "Groundwater Recharge", Bridget R. Scanlon and Peter G. Cook, assembled a highly relevant and sought-after collection of papers from eminent authors on wide-ranging aspects of the subject.

Hydrogeology Journal↗

U.S. Geological Survey research in radioactive waste disposal - Fiscal year 1979

The report summarizes progress on geologic and hydrologic research related to the disposal of radioactive wastes. The research is described according to whether it is related most directly to: (1) high-level and transuranic wastes; (2) low-level wastes, or (3) uranium mill tailings. Included is research applicable to the identification and geohydrologic characterization of waste-disposal sites, investigations of specific sites where wastes have been stored, and studies of regions or environments where waste-disposal sites might be located. A significant part of the activity is concerned with techniques and methods for characterizing disposal sites and studies of geologic and hydrologic processes related to the transport and(or) retention of waste radionuclides. (USGS)

Circular↗

U.S. Geological Survey research in radioactive waste disposal; fiscal year 1980

The report summarizes progress on geologic and hydrologic research related to the disposal of radioactive wastes. The research is described according to whether it is related most directly to: (1) High-level and transuranic wastes; (2) Low-level wastes, or (3) Uranium mill tailings. Included is research applicable to the identification and geohydrologic characterization of waste-disposal sites, to investigations of specific sites where wastes have been stored, and to studies of regions or environments where waste-disposal sites might be located. A significant part of the activity is concerned with techniques and methods for characterizing disposal sites and studies of geologic and hydrologic processes related to the transport and (or) retention of waste radionuclides.

Open-File Report↗

Relation of temperature distribution to ground-water movement in carbonate rocks of central Israel

The Cenomanian-Turonian formations of central Israel constitute a highly permeable dolomite and limestone aquifer. In this area it is on the west limb of an anticlinorium that trends north-northeast, and it contains water under artesian pressure. A graph of water temperatures and well depths suggests that there is a very small vertical temperature gradient in local segments of the aquifer. The small gradient is believed to result from a large vertical component of flow that tends to equalize the vertical temperature distribution . On a regional scale the apparent horizontal temperature distribution indicates a westward increase with increasing depth of the aquifer, suggesting a manifestation of the regional geothermal gradient. The westward increase in temperature also implies that the lateral component of flow may be in the normal range for artesian carbonate - rock aquifers whose pores consist mainly of solution cavities. Locally, pumping appears to have affected the temperature distribution by modifying the natural flow pattern. In parts of the most intensively developed area, the aquifer is hydraulically connected with overlying coastal-plain deposits, and some cooler water has been induced to move into the aquifer from this source. At three other areas, pumping has resulted in an apparent horizontal shift of the isotherms on a temperature - distribution map. The data suggest that the spatial distribution of temperature may be used to determine some of the flow characteristics of carbonate - rock aquifers.

Geological Society of America Bulletin↗

Cenomanian-Turonian aquifer of central Israel, its development and possible use as a storage reservoir

The Cenomanian-Turonian formations constitute a highly permeable dolomite and limestone aquifer in central Israel. The aquifer is on the west limb of an anticlinorium that trends north-northeast. In places it may be as much as 800 meters thick, but in the report area, largely the foothills of the Judean-Ephraim Mountains where the water development is most intensive, its thickness is generally considerably less. In some places the aquifer occurs at or near the land surface, or it is covered by sandy and gravelly coastal-plain deposits. However, in a large part of the area, it is overlain by as much as 400 meters of relatively impermeable strata, and it is probably underlain by less permeable Lower Cretaceous strata. In general the aquifer water is under artesian pressure. The porosity of the aquifer is characterized mainly by solution channels and cavities produced by jointing and faulting. In addition to the generally high permeability of the aquifer, some regions, which probably coincide with ancient drainage patterns and (or) fault zones, have exceptionally high permeabilities. The source of most of the water in the aquifer is believed to be rain that falls on the foothills area. The westward movement of ground water from the mountainous outcrop areas appears to be impeded by a zone of low permeability which is related to structural and stratigraphic conditions along the western side of the mountains. Gradients of the piezometric surface are small, and the net direction of water movement is westward and northwestward under natural conditions. Locally, however, the flow pattern may be in other directions owing to spatial variations in permeability in the aquifer, the location of natural discharge outlets, and the relation of the aquifer to adjacent geologic formations. There probably is also a large vertical component of flow. Pumping has modified the flow pattern by producing several irregularly shaped shallow depressions in the piezometric surface although, to date, no unwatering of the aquifer has occurred. In the central part of the area, pumping has induced some infiltration from overlying coastal-plain formations. Injecting and storing surplus water seasonally in the aquifer should be feasible at almost any place. However, the movement and recovery of the injected water probably could be controlled most easily if the water were injected where depressions have been formed in the piezometric surface.

Water Supply Paper↗

Geology and ground-water conditions of the Redwood Falls area, Redwood County, Minnesota

The Redwood Falls area includes about 80 square miles in southwestern Minnesota and is about 100 miles west of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Its surface is a gently undulating glacial-drift plain, interrupted in part by the large Minnesota River valley and the tributary Redwood River valley. The drift plain was laid down by the Des Moines lobe of the Wisconsin Glaciation and consists chiefly of ground moraine and several subdued recessional moraines. The glacial drift rests either on Precambrian gneiss or on thin patches of Cretaceous sedimentary strata that overlie the Precambrian bedrock. The glacial drift consists principally of till and some outwash and ranges in thickness from 0 to about 260 feet. It is the chief source of ground water, yielding small supplies almost anywhere in the area and large supplies in at least two places. Where the drift is absent, thin, or impermeable, small yields commonly are obtained from the Precambrian bedrock. The most notable aquifers in the area are three buried outwash deposits that are associated with a conspicuous southeastward-trending buried bedrock valley. The tops of the aquifers occur about 70,120, and 200 feet below the land surface, and their maximum known thicknesses are about 25, 55, and 45 feet, respectively. The aquifers are confined largely by relatively impermeable till; however, owing to the movement of water through the till, the drift may be regarded as a hydraulic unit. The main source of recharge to the ground-water reservoir is local precipitation, and most of the natural discharge is by evapotranspiration. The water table ranges in depth from 0 to about 30 feet below the land surface. Aquifer tests were made on the three outwash aquifers to determine their hydraulic characteristics. The coefficient of transmissibility (T) of the 200-foot aquifer is about 126,000 gpd (gallons per day) per ft, and the coefficient of storage (8) is about 0.0002. The T and S values of the 120-foot aquifer are about the same as for the 200-foot aquifer. For the 70-foot aquifer the value of T is about 70,000 gpd per ft, and S is about 0.0007. The data suggest that when the artesian head in the aquifers is lowered by pumping, recharge is induced by leakage from the confining beds. The 120-foot aquifer is considered the best known source of ground water In the area. The city of Redwood Falls has used this aquifer for its water supply since August 1955 and, in 1960, pumped about 106 million gallons from it. The water level in the aquifer had stabilized by late 1956; considerable additional water probably can be obtained from the aquifer. Although the 70-foot aquifer is not as extensive or as thick as the one at 120 feet, large amounts of water probably can be obtained from this aquifer also. The 200-foot aquifer is narrow, elongate, and irregular in form and appears to be very permeable only locally. Chemical analyses show that water from the glacial-drift aquifers is primarily of the bicarbonate type, is hard, and contains an excessive amount of iron. In places water from the Precambrian bedrock is much softer than water from the drift.

Minnesota↗

Geology and hydrology of the Elk River, Minnesota, nuclear-reactor site

The Elk River, Minn., nuclear-reactor site is on the east bluff of the Mississippi River about 35 miles northwest of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The area is underlain by about 70 to 180 feet of glacial drift, including at the top as much as 120 feet of outwash deposits (valley train) of the glacial Mississippi River. The underlying Cambrian bedrock consists of marine sedimentary formations including artesian sandstone aquifers. A hypothetically spilled liquid at the reactor site could follow one or both of two courses, thus: (1) It could flow over the land surface and through an artificial drainage system to the river in a matter of minutes; (2) part or nearly all of it could seep downward to the water table and then move laterally to the river. The time required might range from a few weeks to a year, or perhaps more. The St. Paul and Minneapolis water-supply intakes, 21 and 25 miles downstream, respectively, are the most critical points to be considered in the event of an accidental spill. Based on streamflow and velocity data for the Mississippi River near Anoka, the time required for the maximum concentration of a contaminant to travel from the reactor site to the St. Paul intake was computed to be about 8 hours, at the median annual maximum daily discharge. For this discharge, the maximum concentration at the intake would be about 0.0026 microcurie per cubic foot for the release of 1 curie of activity into the river near the reactor site.

Minnesota↗

Geology and ground-water conditions in the southern part of the Camp Ripley Military Reservation, Morrison County, Minnesota

The southern part of the Camp Ripley Military Reservation, in central Minnesota, includes an area of about 20 square miles. This investigation was conducted to assist the U.S. National Guard Bureau in locating adequate water supplies for expansion and standby needs. Bedrock in the area consists of Precambrian phyllite which is equivalent to the Virginia slate. The area is covered largely by Pleistocene deposits in the form of moraines, ice-contact features, outwash plains, and the valley train of the Mississippi River. Almost all the surface deposits consist of outwash-plain and valley-train sediments that are generally permeable. Test drilling and an electrical-resistivity survey indicate that the post area, in the southeast part of the reservation, is underlain by about 50 to 115 feet of glacial drift. The west side of the post area is underlain by a bedrock valley filled in part by permeable glaciofluvial deposits in which there is a narrow, highly permeable channel deposit of sand and gravel. Aquifers of this type are probably the most important source of ground water in the area, although substantial quantities of water also may be obtained from other types of glacial aquifers. Properly constructed and developed wells tapping the channel deposits should yield 2,000 to 3,000 gallons per minute, or more. Recharge to the aquifers in the reservation is derived from the downward percolation of local precipitation. Most recharge occurs during the spring breakup when accumulated winter snows melt and during the warmer months when the heaviest rains occur. Sufficient water is stored in sands and gravels in the area to support substantial water-supply developments for several years, even without normal recharge. The water is harder than is desirable for domestic uses, and it is relatively highly colored, probably owing to the presence of iron. Otherwise, the water is satisfactory for most domestic purposes as it contains only about 250 parts per million of dissolved solids.

Minnesota↗

An application of thermometry to the study of ground water

Except for studies of temperature data related to ground-water developments that induce infiltration from streams, little attention has been given to the possibility of using temperature fluctuations as a tool for studying the elements of the hydrologic cycle involving ground water. The temperature of the water discharged from large installations that induce river infiltration through alluvial deposits depends primarily on the following factors: (a) the porosity of the aquifer, (b) the specific heat of the rocks or mineral grains making it up, (c) the temperature of the ground water in storage, (d) the temperature of the river water, and (e) the amount of mixing that occurs as a result of pumping. In six installations of this type, where the annual rivertemperature fluctuations ranged from 44° to 52°F, the average range in groundwater temperature was 22 °F. The cycles of ground-water temperature lagged behind the river-temperature cycles by 1 to 5 1 / 2 months. Under the conditions that existed, the lag of the minima of the cycles was much greater than that of the maxima, largely because of variations in pumpage and of the effect of viscosity differences on the rate of flow. An experimental study was made at Worthington in southwestern Minnesota to determine whether temperature fluctuations could be used to study rates and directions of ground-water movement or to evaluate recharge conditions. Three shallow glacial-outwash aquifers were studied by measuring temperatures at approximately monthly intervals in three municipal-supply wells whose average yields were about 60 to 150 gpm (gallons per minute). Temperatures were read with an accuracy of 0.01° to 0.02°C, and the data were analyzed graphically and correlated in detail with lake levels, lake temperatures, precipitation, and groundwater levels. Thermographs for 2 wells, 1 completed in a semiconfined aquifer about 200 feet from Okabena Lake and the other in a water-table aquifer about 850 feet from the lake, indicate that pumping induces water to move from the lake into the aquifers. A larger percentage of cold lake water was mixed with ground water from January to March 1958 than from January to March 1959. On the assumption that the cold or warm lake water was a distinct mass, the average time required for water to move from the lake to the well 200 feet away, under the prevailing hydraulic gradient, was 2 to 4 months; and to the well 850 feet away, 5 to 7 months. The thermograph for a well 1,800 feet from the lake, completed in an artesian aquifer that is confined by relatively impervious glacial till, indicates that the till acts as an insulating medium. However, despite the apparently low permeability of the till, the thermograph suggests that the lowering of artesian pressure, which results from pumping, induces warmer water to move downward through the till. The infiltration of relatively warm spring and summer rainfall can be detected on the thermographs of all the wells. The precise measurement of fluctuations in ground-water temperature, based on monthly readings in shallow glacial-outwash aquifers (up to about 70 feet deep), is useful in the study of ground-water movement and recharge. In addition to the study of natural phenomena in the hydrologic cycle, thermometry may be used as a tool in making detailed studies of (1) the effects of inducing the infiltration of surface water, (2) artificial recharge, (3) the effects of injecting petroleum products or radioactive or other wastes into the ground, and (4) ground-water movement in mines.

Water Supply Paper↗

Ground-water provinces of Brazil

As part of a study of the status of investigations and development of ground water in Brazil, made under the auspices of the United States International Cooperation Administration and with the cooperation of the Government of Brazil, the country was divided into seven ground-water provinces. The identification and delineation of the provinces were based on the regional distribution of the dominant geologic units which are known or inferred to have distinctive water-bearing characteristics. Three of the provinces, covering most of the country, are underlain by Precambrian crystalline rocks. Three others coincide in part with four extensive sedimentary basins--the Parnaiba or Maranhfio basin and the contiguous Sao Francisco basin in the northeast and east, the Amazon basin in the north and northwest, and the Paranfi basin in the south and southwest. In addition, the narrow, discontinuous coastal plain is considered as a province. the occurrence of ground water is discussed briefly, and pertinent data are given on the more important aquifers, together with information on some existing wells. Because of the widespread distribution of crystalline rocks of low permeability, it is difficult in many areas to develop large or even adequate ground-water supplies. In general, satisfactory supplies of water are available in most of the rest of the country. Some problems include the relative deficiency of rainfall in the northeast together with the occurrence, in parts of this region, of mineralized water in the crystalline rocks. Also, there is a potential problem of excessive lowering of water levels and interference among wells in the intensively developed area of the city of Sao Paulo.

Water Supply Paper↗