Geology topics

Research about Kirtland Air Force Base

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Kirtland Air Force Base.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2023

Potential effects of projected pumping scenarios on future water-table elevations near Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, simulated different groundwater pumping scenarios from 2016 to 2050 to determine the potential future changes in groundwater levels in areas around the Kirtland Air Force Base Bulk Fuels Facility and an ethylene dibromide (EDB) plume. Projections of water supply and demand created by the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority were used to develop the future groundwater pumping scenarios used as inputs for a refined local-scale model within the updated Middle Rio Grande Basin regional model. The simulated water-table elevations in model cells that contain the EDB plume in the medium demand and medium supply scenario rose 29 feet (ft) until 2035, then remained within 10 ft of that elevation through 2050, whereas the water-table elevations in the high demand and low supply scenario rose about 26 ft until 2035 and then decreased by more than 10 ft. Simulated water-table elevations in the low demand and high supply scenario continued to rise throughout most of the future simulation period and peaked at about 44 ft over the 2016 water-table elevation. All of the scenarios ended the future simulation period with higher simulated water-table elevations than at the beginning of the future simulation period. Simulations that represented the potentially highest and lowest volume of groundwater pumping near the EDB plume by adjusting the spatial distribution of pumping had similar simulated water-table elevations as the nonadjusted scenarios, with maximum water-table elevation changes that only differed by about 2 ft from the nonadjusted scenarios. Consideration should be taken when using these model results to inform decisions because the model results are subject to uncertainty from many different sources, including uncertainty in the future pumping scenarios as well as the model itself because of the simplification of the hydrogeologic system.

New Mexico↗

USGS2021

Utilizing multiple hydrogeologic and anthropogenic indicators to understand zones of groundwater contribution to water-supply wells near Kirtland Air Force Base Bulk Fuels Facility in southeast Albuquerque, New Mexico

In 1999, a jet-fuels release was discovered at the Bulk Fuels Facility on Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Contaminants had reached the water table and migrated north-northeast toward water-supply wells. Monitoring wells were installed downgradient from the facility to determine the primary zones of groundwater production for water-supply wells and assess contaminant presence. The monitoring wells are screened within the Santa Fe Group aquifer system, which includes clay units, at depths as great as 445 meters below land surface, and were categorized as water table, shallow, middle, deep, and aquifer-test pumping wells. Water-supply wells are screened across multiple water-bearing units within the aquifer system. All wells were sampled for major ions, trace elements, nutrients, stable isotopes, dissolved gases, tritium, carbon isotopes, and chlorofluorocarbons. The deeper and water-supply wells have evidence of longer groundwater residence times, as much as thousands of years, and water from the shallower wells shows evidence of anthropogenic nutrient inputs. Aquifer recharge is derived from either the mountain front or seepage from the Rio Grande. Dissolved-gas data indicate that the middle, deep, and aquifer-test pumping, and water-supply wells have cooler recharge temperatures than the shallower wells. Inferred groundwater age varies by method but indicates that the deeper, aquifer-test pumping, and water-supply wells have older water, as much as 15,000 years before present. Results indicate that the water-supply wells draw primarily from the middle and deeper portions of the aquifer system below the clay units and have not been affected by the contaminant plume, although some data indicate a potential for modern water entering some of the deeper and water-supply wells.

New Mexico↗

USGS2021

Comparison of passive and pumped sampling methods for analysis of groundwater quality, Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2019

A plume of ethylene dibromide (EDB) dissolved in groundwater extends northeast from the Bulk Fuels Facility on Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. The leading edge of the EDB plume is upgradient from several water-supply wells. In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority and the U.S. Air Force, installed four sentinel well nests and two aquifer-test pumping wells between the EDB plume and the water-supply wells to serve as an early warning if the plume travels toward the water-supply wells. Since 2015, the USGS has used submersible pumps to sample the sentinel wells quarterly. In February 2017, the USGS began using dual-membrane passive diffusion bag samplers for quarterly sampling in the wells. To ensure that the passive samplers are obtaining representative samples of the groundwater contaminants, the USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, initiated a study in 2019 to compare results from pump sampling and passive samplers and to use vertical profiling to determine the optimal depth for passive sampler placement in the screened interval to better inform long-term monitoring of the site. Vertical profiling included deploying passive samplers throughout the submerged screened interval of four shallow sentinel wells. After retrieval of the passive samplers, pump samples were collected. The results of analyses of both types of samples were compared. Volatile organic compound results for this study were all below the raised reporting levels, which is a level five times the maximum concentration detected in a blank and determined by an in-depth quality assessment; therefore, this study focused on inorganic constituent results, including major ions, trace elements, and stable isotopes of water, to calculate the relative percent difference (RPD) between the pump and passive sampling method results as a way to determine where passive samplers would be best placed in each of the wells. Several analytes had an RPD of more than plus or minus 50 percent, and several analytes were not within the estimated variability for each sampling method. Additionally, the variability within each sampling method was quantified and compared. Factors that likely contributed to the lack of comparison between each sampling method included temporal variability, flow regime, volume of sample integrated through different aquifer intervals, and reduction/oxidation processes. RPD and method variability were used to determine the intervals within each well with the greatest agreement between sampling methods. Optimal sampling depths for each well were then correlated to the intervals where quarterly sampling has been occurring.

New Mexico↗

USGS2021

Long-term population fluctuations of a Burrowing Owl population on Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, USA

Western Burrowing Owls ( Athene cunicularia hypugaea ; hereafter, Burrowing Owls) were once widespread residents of grasslands throughout western North America, but their range has contracted, and abundance has declined in some regions. The causes of declines and geographic variation in population trends of Burrowing Owls are unclear but may be linked to changing land use and urbanization. Burrowing Owls are often found in association with airfields and airports, and their presence at such facilities is sometimes considered to be in conflict with those operations. Documenting the long-term persistence of Burrowing Owls at active airfields can help airfield managers who face decisions regarding compatibility of owls and airfield operations. We report the results of a long-term effort to monitor Burrowing Owls on Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, USA, including the rapid recovery of Burrowing Owl numbers from near-extirpation and the relationships between abundance and other demographic traits. The number of breeding pairs of Burrowing Owls increased from one pair in 2013 to 28 pairs in 2019 and 2020, and the number of fledglings produced increased from one in 2013 to 84 in 2019 and 61 in 2020. The recovery was not uniform across all areas of Kirtland Air Force Base, and some formerly occupied areas remained unoccupied. We documented dispersal outside the Air Force base boundary and that the number of breeding pairs was more strongly influenced by the number of offspring produced in the prior year than the number of owls returning from prior years, which indicated that the population is part of a larger meta-population. Our results demonstrate that the maintenance of Burrowing Owl populations is not necessarily at odds with safe airfield operations, that Burrowing Owls exhibit complex population dynamics, and can rapidly recolonize previously occupied areas if habitat and nest sites remain suitable.

New Mexico↗