Hillslope erosion at the Maxey Flats radioactive waste disposal site, northeastern Kentucky
No abstract available.
Kentucky↗
Geology topics
W. P. Carey
Publications and source records attributed to W. P. Carey.
Streamflow and water-quality data for three major tributaries to Reelfoot Lake, west Tennessee, October 1987-March 1988
Streamflow and water quality data were collected for three major tributaries to Reelfoot Lake, in West Tennessee, for the period October 1987 through March 1988. The data are presented in graphs and tables. Mean daily discharge data were collected at one site each in the drainage basins of North Reelfoot Creek, South Reelfoot Creek, and Running Slough. Daily mean suspended-sediment concentration data were collected at a site in the North Reelfoot Creek basin. Water quality samples were collected during storm events at the same locations that daily mean streamflow data were collected. Water quality samples were analyzed for concentrations of nutrients and triazine herbicides. Water temperature and specific conductance were measured at the time that samples were collected.
Tennessee↗
Physical basis and potential estimation techniques for soil erosion parameters in the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS)
Simulation of upland-soil erosion by the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System currently requires the user to estimate two rainfall detachment parameters and three hydraulic detachmment paramenters. One rainfall detachment parameter can be estimated from rainfall simulator tests. A reformulation of the rainfall detachment equation allows the second parameter to be computed directly. The three hydraulic detachment parameters consist of one exponent and two coefficients. The initial value of the exponent is generally set equal to 1.5. The two coefficients are functions of the soil 's resistance to erosion and one of the two also accounts for sediment delivery processes not simulated in the model. Initial estimates of these parameters can be derived from other modeling studies or from published empirical relations. (USGS)
Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
Movement of tractive sediment from disturbed lands
The Smoky Creek basin of the coal area of northeastern Tennessee shows extensive evidence of tractive movement of coarse sediment from mined tributary basins into the main channel. Coal-rich gravel bars and flood-plain debris are common below tributaries. Using a combination of techniques including channel-geometry and bar measurements, sediment sampling for rock-debris and coal size distributions, and botanical dating of flood events and geomorphic features, an average annual yield of 65 metric tons per square kilometer (187 tons per square mile) for tractively moved sediment has been calculated for the period 1977 to 1982. This value, 8 percent of the total sediment load, is probably an underestimate owing to the method of calculation. Slightly more than half of the traction load is coal, which moves through the basin within a few years. Rock debris, however, appears to require years to decades to move similar distances.
Tennessee↗
The Quality of Water Discharging From the New River and Clear Fork Basins, Tennessee
The quality of water discharging from a strip-mined basin and a relatively unmined basin on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee are examined and compared. The chemical and aesthetic quality of these waters will directly affect the chemical and aesthetic quality of the water flowing through a proposed national river and recreation area. Water from the heavily mined New River basin is characterized by neutral pH, low dissolved solids (less than 300 milligrams per liter), and high concentrations of suspended sediment. More than 90 percent of the suspended sediment is silt and clay. Suspended-sediment concentrations in the thousands of milligrams per liter are not uncommon for New River and often impart a highly turbid appearance to the water. Approximately 590,000 tons of suspended sediment were discharged from the New River basin in 1977, as compared to an estimated 20,000 tons from the relatively unmined Clear Fork basin. In association with these fine-grain suspended sediments are sorbed trace metals. In 1977 the New River basin discharged an estimated 17,000 tons of suspended iron while Clear Fork discharged an estimated 600 tons. Suspended-sediment concentration was found to be highly correlated with both suspended and total trace-metal concentrations. This correlation coupled with the nearly neutral pH of the water indicates that trace metals are transported primarily in the suspended phase. The most promising indicator of the presence of coal mining was found to be dissolved sulfate. All unmined basins sampled in this study showed dissolved sulfate concentrations less than 20 milligrams per liter, whereas all mined basins had dissolved-sulfate concentrations in excess of 20 milligrams per liter regardless of basin size or discharge.
Water-Resources Investigations Report↗