Geology topics
W. W. Staubitz
Publications and source records attributed to W. W. Staubitz.
Physical and chemical limnology of Ides Cove near Rochester, New York, 1970-1982
Ides Cove is a small embayment on the western shore of Irondequoit Bay near Rochester, N.Y. In 1982, alum was applied to the cove to seal the bottom sediments and thereby decrease nutrient fluxes in an effort to assess the applicability of this technique to Irondequoit Bay. Published data were used to develop a baseline analysis of the chemical and physical limnology of Ides Cove prior to the alum treatment and to provide a basis for comparison and evaluation of post-treatment data. The baseline analysis also enables evaluation of trends in the nutrient status and mixing patterns in Ides Cove since the decrease of sewage inflows and use of road salt in the Irondequoit Bay and Ides Cove drainage basins during 1970-82. Data from 1970-72 and 1979-82 were used to construct partial and full-year depth profiles of several physical properties and chemical constituents of water in the cove; comparison of these profiles indicates a significant improvement in water quality between 1970 and 1982. The diversion of sewage out of the Irondequoit Creek drainage basin in the late 1970's resulted in an 80-percent decrease in total phosphate concentration and a 50- to 60-percent decrease in nitrogen (nitrate and ammonia) concentration in the cove. Indications of decreased primary productivity are associated with these lowered nutrient concentrations. Summer Secchi-disk transparency increased from 0.6 m (meters) in 1970-72 to 1.2 m in 1980-82; peak epilimnetic dissolved oxygen levels decreased from a range of 22 to 28 mg/L (milligrams per liter) to a range of 16 to 20 mg/L; and peak epilimnetic pH decreased from greater than 9.4 to between 8.8 and 9.0. The decrease in the use of road salt in the Irondequoit basin beginning in 1974 resulted in a decrease in chloride concentration and gradient (difference between the surface and bottom con- centration). The maximum annual chloride concentration in the epilimnion decreased from the 210-to-225-mg/L range in the spring of 1971-72 to the 140-to-l50-mg/L range in the spring of 1980-82, and the gradient between the hypolimnion and epilimnion during the spring decreased from the 80- to 160-mg/L range in 1971-72 to the O- to 90-mg/L range in 1980-82. Specific conductance values decreased similarly and indicate a comparable decrease in the density gradient from 1970-72 to 1980-82. The decrease in the density gradient resulted in an increase in the depth and duration of mixing in both the spring and fall of 1980-82, as illustrated by the profiles of physical properties, including temperature and specific conductance, and of chemical properties and constituents, including pH, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, chloride, silica, and several species of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. These data indicate that Ides Cove, which was described as marginally meromictic in the early 1970's, had evolved by the early 1980's into a spring meromictic water body that underwent complete mixing in the fall and was approaching a consistent dimictic condition with spring and fall mixing. Thus, water quality and mixing patterns of the cove improved with the removal of sewage and the decrease in the use of road salt.
National Water-Quality Assessment Program; Puget Sound basin, Washington
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Geology and hydrology of the Onondaga aquifer in eastern Erie County, New York, with emphasis on ground-water-level declines since 1982
The Onondaga aquifer is a nearly flat-lying, 25- to 110-foot-thick, cherty limestone with moderately developed karst features such as sinkholes, disappearing streams, and solution-widened joints. Most groundwater moves through solution-widened bedding planes, although some moves through vertical joints. The yield of water from 42 wells ranges from 3 to 100 gal/min, averaging 20 gal/min. Groundwater levels in the Onondaga aquifer declined during the fall of 1981 and summer and fall of 1982-85, near a 2.2-mile-long and 800-foot-wide land surface depression in the eastern part of Erie County. More than 60 wells and several wetlands went dry and at least three sinkholes developed. Groundwater levels were measured in 150 wells during a high water level period in April 1984 and a low water period in October 1984. Water levels fluctuated 20 to 50 ft near the depression and near the quarries but fluctuated only 5 to 10 ft elsewhere. The water level decline was caused by the combined effect of groundwater removal by pumpage from a quarry (the water is then discharged to Dorsch Creek) and by the swallets in the 2.2-mile-long depression area, which are recharge points for the aquifer. In 1982, sinkholes formed in a surface depression area in Harris Hill. The enlargement of these sinkholes seems to be unrelated to the water level decline in the eastern part of the county and is probably caused by local drainage alterations.
Hydrogeologic appraisal of five selected aquifers in Erie County, New York
Hydrogeologic conditions and water quality at four stratified-drift aquifers and a bedrock (Onondaga Limestone) aquifer were investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning. The Clarence-Lancaster-Newstead area includes two aquifers--one is a complex of morainal, beach, and outwash sand and gravel; the second is the underlying production aquifer in Onondage Limestone. Most wells tap the limestone aquifer. Water quality is suitable for most uses in both aquifers except for road-salt contamination at shallow wells near the New York State Thruway. A landfill on the aquifer has affected the water quality in some areas along its perimeter. The Sardinia and Springville areas each include an aquifer consisting of surficial outwash sand and gravel ranging in thickness from less than 10 feet to 95 feet. Several deeper water-bearing zones occur within till and lacustrine deposits 400 to 600 feet thick in the valleys. Ground water moves from the north and from the aquifer 's edges to the center of the valley and discharges into the main streams in the middle of the valley and to springs along the southern edge of the aquifers. Water quality is generally suitable for most uses. A landfill adjacent to the Sardinia aquifer has not significantly affected the aquifer. The Alden area includes an aquifer that consists of two sand and gravel zones separated by 10 to 20 feet of clay or till. The more productive lower zone has mineralized water derived from underlying shale.
Hydraulic and sediment characteristics at the North Channel Bridge, Jamaica Bay, New York
Data were collected during the spring of 1984 in the vicinity of North Channel Bridge in Jamaica Bay, New York to define the hydraulic regime and the physical characteristics and chemical quality of bottom sediments. The data were used in a semiquantitative analysis to predict the effects of bridge replacement and the attendant resuspension of bottom sediments, on the hydraulics and quality of water and bottom sediments. The bay-bottom configuration at the bridge site was defined, and continuous tidal stage and tidal velocity data were collected for about a month. In addition, eight bottom-sediment samples were collected near the bridge and analyzed. Results of the hydraulic analysis show that the proposed bridge should not have any measurable effect on the net water transport at the bridge cross section. The sediment data indicate that bottom sediments are relatively unpolluted in the vicinity of the bridge. Seventy-five percent of the resuspended bottom sediments will probably settle within 186 m of the bridge during an average ebb tide. Metals and nutrients released from the sediments to the water column are expected to be diluted far below detection limits. The extra oxygen demand exerted by the resuspended bottom sediments is also expected to be far less than ambient biochemical oxygen demand of the water column. (USGS)
Distribution and source of barium in ground water at Cattaraugus Indian Reservation, southwestern New York
High concentrations of dissolved barium have been found in ground water from bedrock wells on the Seneca Nation of Indians Reservation on Cattaraugus Creek in southwestern New York. Concentrations in 1982 were as high as 23.0 milligrams per liter , the highest found reported from any natural ground-water system in the world. The highest concentrations are in a bedrock aquifer and in small lenses of saturated gravel between bedrock and the overlying till. The bedrock aquifer is partly confined by silt, clay, and till. The high barium concentrations are attributed to dissolution of the mineral barite (BaSO4), which is present in the bedrock and possibly in overlying silt, clay, or till. The dissolution of barite seems to be controlled by action of sulfate-reducing bacteria, which alter the BaSO4 equilibrium by removing sulfate ions and permitting additional barite to dissolve. Ground water from the surficial, unconsolidated deposits and surface water in streams contain little or no barium. Because barium is chemically similar to calcium, it probably could be removed by cation exchange or treatments similar to those used for water softening. (USGS)
Hydrology of area 6, Eastern Coal Province, Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania
No abstract available.
Quality of surface water in the coal-mining areas of western Maryland and adjacent areas of Pennsylvania and West Virginia from April 1979 to June 1980
The U.S. Geological Survey is studying the water quality of streams within the Eastern Coal Province. This report contains streamflow, water-quality, and biologic data collected in the North Branch Potomac River basin and in the Maryland portion of the Youghiogheny and Casselman River basins. Data collected from 64 streams from April 1979 to June 1980 are presented in tables. Other sources of hydrologic information within the study area are also described in the report.