Geology topics

Research about Indiana, Ohio

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Indiana, Ohio.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2024

Sediment budget of a Maumee River headwater tributary: How streambank erosion, streambed-sediment storage, and streambed-sediment source inform our understanding of legacy phosphorus

Objective We described source and phosphorus (P) retention potential of soft, fine-grained, streambed sediment and associated phosphorus (sed-P) during summer low-flow conditions. Combining in-channel, sed-P storage with relative age provided context on relevance to western Lake Erie Basin management goals. Methods In 2019, rapid geomorphic assessment (30 reaches) compared streambed-sediment storage (S) to streambank erosion (E), providing annual sediment budgets (S:E). Streambed sediment (13 reaches) was fingerprinted and analyzed for sed-P. The P saturation ratio (PSR; four reaches) quantified potential sorption/desorption of dissolved P (DP) between the water column and streambed sediment. Analyses were supplemented with data from 2017 and 2021. The ratio of two fallout radionuclides, beryllium-7 (54-day half-life) and excess lead-210 (22.3 years), apportioned “new” sediment based on time since rainfall contact. Results Streambed sediment was mostly streambank (54–96%) for contributing areas > 2.7 km 2 ; for upstream reaches, a larger percentage was apportioned as upland (cropland, pasture, forest, and road), with < 30% streambank. Streambank erosion correlated with contributing area; however, soil type (ecoregion), stream characteristics, and land use combined to drive streambed-sediment storage. Individual-reach S:E (accumulation of 0.01–35 years of streambank erosion) differentiated erosional and depositional in-channel environments. Most reaches indicated that 17–57% of sediment had recent contact with rainfall. Streambed-sediment PSR indicated a low potential for further sorption of DP from the water column; one reach was a P source when sampled. Conclusion Sed-P was higher in streambed sediment than in source samples, which varied by land use and ecoregion. This indicates homogenization resulting from in-stream sorption of DP during sediment transport that occurs over multiple events.

Indiana, Ohio↗

USGS2021

Nutrient and suspended-sediment concentrations in the Maumee River and tributaries during 2019 rain-induced fallow conditions

Above average precipitation from October 2018 through July 2019 in the Maumee River (R.) Basin resulted in 29% of cropland left fallow, providing a glimpse of potential effects from decreased nutrient application. Ongoing monitoring at 15 water-quality sites on the Maumee R. upstream from Defiance enabled comparison with 2017, which was hydrologically similar to 2019 in precipitation and streamflow. In 2019, nitrate (as nitrogen; NO 3 -N) for March-July was significantly less than previous years (2015–2018), but the response for phosphorus (P) was more complicated. Relative to 2017, total P (TP) was lower at 7 of 15 sites, but higher at 7, reflecting higher suspended sediment (SS). Dissolved P (DP) was generally lower, but less different than NO 3 ; DP was higher at 3 sites. DP-P:NO 3 -N was generally higher in 2019, DP-P:TP was lower, and there was less TP relative to SS. Overall, less P was in the system in 2019. However smaller streams showed a large range of difference between 2019 and 2017 for all constituents, indicating variability in land management and physiography. In contrast, all constituents were lower in 2019 in larger (>5000 km 2 ) streams, including the Maumee R. near Defiance, where the difference in NO 3 (−37%) exceeded that for TP (−16%), DP (−10%), and SS (−20%). Differences in these relations among N, P, and SS indicate that P was available from legacy sources that are more difficult to distinguish during typical agricultural production years and that some material from 2019 was stored in the system upstream from the largest sites.

Indiana, Ohio↗

USGS2007

Hydrogeology, Ground-Water-Age Dating, Water Quality, and Vulnerability of Ground Water to Contamination in a Part of the Whitewater Valley Aquifer System near Richmond, Indiana, 2002-2003

Assessments of the vulnerability to contamination of ground-water sources used by public-water systems, as mandated by the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996, commonly have involved qualitative evaluations based on existing information on the geologic and hydrologic setting. The U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program has identified ground-water-age dating; detailed water-quality analyses of nitrate, pesticides, trace elements, and wastewater-related organic compounds; and assessed natural processes that affect those constituents as potential, unique improvements to existing methods of qualitative vulnerability assessment. To evaluate the improvement from use of these methods, in 2002 and 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Richmond, Indiana, compiled and interpreted hydrogeologic data and chemical analyses of water samples from seven wells in a part of the Whitewater Valley aquifer system in a former glacial valley near Richmond. This study investigated the application of ground-water-age dating, dissolved-gas analyses, and detailed water-quality analyses to quantitatively evaluate the vulnerability of ground water to contamination and to identify processes that affect the vulnerability to specific contaminants in an area of post-1972 greenfield development. The aquifer system in the study area includes an unconfined sand and gravel aquifer used for public-water supply (upper aquifer) and a confined sand and gravel aquifer (lower aquifer) separated by a till confining unit. Several hydrogeologic and cultural measures indicate that the upper aquifer is qualitatively vulnerable to contamination: the upper aquifer is unconfined and has a shallow depth to the water table (from about 4.75 to 14 feet below land surface), low-permeability sediments in the unsaturated zone are thin (less than 10 feet thick), estimated ground-water-flow rates through the upper aquifer are relatively rapid (the highest estimated rates ranged from 0.44 to about 5.0 feet per day), and potential contaminant sources were present. Ground-water-age dates indicate that ground-water samples represented recharge from about the time greenfield development began south of the ground-water-flow divide and that changes in water quality would lag changes in contaminant inputs. Estimates of ground-water age, computed with dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12) and trichlorotrifluoroethane (CFC-113) concentrations in water samples collected from seven observation wells in February and March 2003, indicated that water in the upper aquifer had recharged within about 13 to 30 years before sampling. Ground-water ages were youngest (from about 13 to 15 years since recharge) in water from the shallow wells along the glacial-valley margin and oldest (30 years) in water from a well at the base of the aquifer in the valley center. Ground-water ages determined for the shallow wells may be affected by mixing of recent recharge with older ground water from deeper in the aquifer, as indicated by upward hydraulic gradients between paired shallow and deep wells in the upper aquifer. Other parts of the Whitewater Valley aquifer system with similar hydrogeologic characteristics could be expected to have similarly young ground-water ages and residence times. Analyses of water samples collected from the seven observation wells in August and September 2002 indicated that concentrations of chloride, sodium, and nitrate generally were larger in ground water from the upper aquifer than in other parts of the Whitewater Valley aquifer system. Drinking-water-quality standards for Indiana were exceeded in water samples from one well for chloride concentrations, from four wells for dissolved-solids concentrations, and from one well for nitrate concentrations. Application of low-level methods for trace-element analyses determined that concentrations of aluminum, cobalt, iron, lithium, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, uranium, vanadium, and zinc were less than or equal to 8 micrograms per liter; concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and copper were less than or equal to 1 microgram per liter. Application of low-level analytical methods to water samples enabled the detection of several pesticides and volatile, semivolatile, and wastewater-related organic compounds; concentrations of individual pesticides and volatile organic compounds were less than 0.1 microgram per liter and concentrations of individual wastewater organic compounds were less than 0.5 microgram per liter. The low-level analytical methods will provide useful data with which to compare future changes in water quality. Results of detailed water-quality analyses, ground-waterage dating, and dissolved-gas analyses indicated the vulnerability of ground water to specific types of contamination, the sequence of contaminant introduction to the aquifer relative to greenfield development, and processes that may mitigate the contamination. Concentrations of chloride and sodium and chloride/bromide weight ratios in sampled water from five wells indicated the vulnerability of the upper aquifer to roaddeicer contamination. Ground-water-age estimates from these wells indicated the onset of upgradient road-deicer use within the previous 25 years. Nitrate in the upper aquifer predates the post-1972 development, based on a ground-water-age date (30 years) and the nitrate concentration (5.12 milligrams per liter as nitrogen) in water from a deep well. Vulnerability of the aquifer to nitrate contamination is limited partially by denitrification. Detection of one to four atrazine transformation products in water samples from the upper aquifer indicated biological and hydrochemical processes that may limit the vulnerability of the ground water to atrazine contamination. Microbial processes also may limit the aquifer vulnerability to small inputs of halogenated aliphatic compounds, as indicated by microbial transformations of trichlorofluoromethane and trichlorotrifluoroethane relative to dichlorodifluoromethane. The vulnerability of ground water to contamination in other parts of the aquifer system also may be mitigated by hydrodynamic dispersion and biologically mediated transformations of nitrate, pesticides, and some organic compounds. Identification of the sequence of contamination and processes affecting the vulnerability of ground water to contamination would have been unlikely with conventional assessment methods.

Indiana, Ohio↗

USGS2000

Environmental Setting and Effects on Water Quality in the Great and Little Miami River Basins, Ohio and Indiana

The Great and Little Miami River Basins drain approximately 7,354 square miles in southwestern Ohio and southeastern Indiana and are included in the more than 50 major river basins and aquifer systems selected for water-quality assessment as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Principal streams include the Great and Little Miami Rivers in Ohio and the Whitewater River in Indiana. The Great and Little Miami River Basins are almost entirely within the Till Plains section of the Central Lowland physiographic province and have a humid continental climate, characterized by well-defined summer and winter seasons. With the exception of a few areas near the Ohio River, Pleistocene glacial deposits, which are predominantly till, overlie lower Paleozoic limestone, dolomite, and shale bedrock. The principal aquifer is a complex buried-valley system of sand and gravel aquifers capable of supporting sustained well yields exceeding 1,000 gallons per minute. Designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a sole-source aquifer, the Buried-Valley Aquifer System is the principal source of drinking water for 1.6 million people in the basins and is the dominant source of water for southwestern Ohio. Water use in the Great and Little Miami River Basins averaged 745 million gallons per day in 1995. Of this amount, 48 percent was supplied by surface water (including the Ohio River) and 52 percent was supplied by ground water. Land-use and waste-management practices influence the quality of water found in streams and aquifers in the Great and Little Miami River Basins. Land use is approximately 79 percent agriculture, 13 percent urban (residential, industrial, and commercial), and 7 percent forest. An estimated 2.8 million people live in the Great and Little Miami River Basins; major urban areas include Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. Fertilizers and pesticides associated with agricultural activity, discharges from municipal and industrial wastewater-treatment and thermoelectric plants, urban runoff, and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes contribute contaminants to surface water and ground water throughout the study area. Surface water and ground water in the Great and Little Miami River Basins are classified as very hard, calcium-magnesiumbicarbonate waters. The major-ion composition and hardness of surface water and ground water reflect extensive contact with the carbonate-rich soils, glacial sediments, and limestone or dolomite bedrock. Dieldrin, endrin, endosulfan II, and lindane are the most commonly reported organochlorine pesticides in streams draining the Great and Little Miami River Basins. Peak concentrations of the herbicides atrazine and metolachlor in streams commonly are associated with post-application runoff events. Nitrate concentrations in surface water average 3 to 4 mg/L (milligrams per liter) in the larger streams and also show strong seasonal variations related to application periods and runoff events. Ambient iron concentrations in ground water pumped from aquifers in the Great and Little Miami River Basins often exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level (300 micrograms per liter). Chloride concentrations are below aesthetic drinking-water guidelines (250 mg/L), except in ground water pumped from low-yielding Ordovician shale; chloride concentrations in sodium-chloriderich ground water pumped from the shale bedrock can exceed 1,000 mg/L. Some of the highest average nitrate concentrations in ground water in Ohio and Indiana are found in wells completed in the buried-valley aquifer; these concentrations typically are found in those parts of the sand and gravel aquifer that are not overlain by clay-rich till. Atrazine was the most commonly detected herbicide in private wells. Concentrations of volatile organic compounds in ground water generally were below Federal drinking-water standards, except near areas of known or suspected contamination. Evaluation of fish and macroinvertebrate community performance in streams and rivers draining the Great and Little Miami River Basins indicates that most streams meet basic aquatic-life-use criteria set by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for warmwater habitat. Stream reaches whose biological community performance meet aquatic-lifeuse criteria defined for exceptional warmwater habitat are found in Twin Creek, the Upper Great Miami River, the Little Miami River, and the Whitewater River Basins. Other streams have exhibited significant improvements in biological community performance (and water quality)'that are attributed primarily to reduced pollutant loadings from wastewater-treatment plants upgraded since 1972. Four hydrogeomorphic regions were delineated in the Great and Little Miami River Basins based on distinct and relatively homogeneous natural characteristics. Primary features used to delineate the hydrogeomorphic regions include bedrock geology, surficial geology, physiography, hydrology, soil types, and vegetation. These four regions Till Plains, Drift Plains/Unglaciated, Interlobate, and Fluvial are used in the Great and Little Miami River Basins study to assess the influence of natural features of the environmental setting on surface- and ground-water quality.

Indiana, Ohio↗

USGS1999

Occurrence and distribution of fish species in the Great and Little Miami River basins, Ohio and Indiana, pre-1900 to 1998

Historically, 133 fish species representing 25 families have been documented in the Great and Little Miami River Basins. Of these, 132 species have been reported in the basins since 1901, 123 since 1955, 117 since 1980, and 113 post-1990. Natural processes and human activities have both been shown to be major factors in the alteration of fish-community structure and the decrease in species diversity. In the late 1800's, dam construction and the removal of riparian zones restricted fish migration and altered habitat. Industrialization and urbanization increased considerably in the 1900's, further degrading stream habitat and water quality. Species requiring riffles and clean, hard stream bottoms were the most adversely affected. The use of agricultural and industrial chemicals prompted fish-consumption advisories and an increase in studies reporting the occurrence of external fish anomalies. Over the last 20 years, water quality has improved in part because of the upgrading of wastewater-treatment facilities; and, as a result, many streams of the Great and Little Miami River Basins generally meet or exceed existing water-quality standards. Although significant improvements have occurred in the basins, continued efforts to improve water quality and restore the physical habitat of streams will be necessary to increase fish abundance and biodiversity.

Indiana, Ohio↗

USGS1981

Floods of March 1978, in the Maumee River basin, northeastern Indiana

Floods in the Maumee River basin in northeastern Indiana in March 1978 resulted in heavy damage in Fort Wayne and surrounding areas. Flood damage in Fort Wayne was estimated by the Mayor to be 11 million dollars. Approximately 15 percent of the city was inundated, and 2,400 of its 190,000 residents were forced to leave their homes. The estimate of damage in Adams and Allen Counties by Civil Defense officials was 44 million dollars. The Maumee River at New Haven exceeded the peak stage of record, 21.4 feet, by 2.2 feet. The peak discharge at this stream-gaging station, 22,400 cubic feet per second, was about equal to that of a 75-year flood. Recurrence intervals of peak flows on streams tributary to the Maumee River ranged from 5 to 50 years. Records of peak and daily discharges and some precipitation data are given in this report.

Indiana, Ohio↗