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Research about Marquette County, Michigan

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Marquette County, Michigan.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2019

Water quality and hydrology of the Yellow Dog and Salmon Trout Watersheds, Marquette County, Michigan 2013–16

In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, began monitoring the water quality of springs and seeps within the Yellow Dog and Salmon Trout watersheds in Marquette County, Michigan. The objectives of this study were to (1) monitor streamflow and analyze the hydrology of the watersheds and (2) characterize the water quality in the watersheds prior to development of mineral resources within the watershed. Three continuous-record streamgages (U.S. Geological Survey stations 04043238, 04043244, and 04043275) were examined to identify runoff and baseflow components of streamflow and the relative magnitudes of those components. Streamflow at each station was dominated by groundwater discharge with about 70 to 80 percent of the annual streamflow being groundwater-derived baseflow. From May 2013 to October 2016, 239 water-quality samples were collected at 15 stations within the Yellow Dog and Salmon Trout watersheds. Of the 15 stations sampled, 8 of the stations were springs and 7 of the stations were streams. Samples were analyzed for nutrient, trace metal, and major-ion species at all stations with additional suspended-sediment samples collected at the 7 stream stations. Where applicable, water-quality results were compared to aquatic health guidelines used by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Copper concentrations exceeded the final chronic value five times and the aquatic maximum value once, whereas silver concentrations exceeded the final chronic value twice and the aquatic maximum value once. Results indicate that chloride concentrations may be increasing at some stations, but values are generally low with a median concentration of 0.25 milligram per liter. Bed-sediment chemistry was evaluated twice for each stream sampling station. Samples were collected in the first and last year of the study and analyzed for trace metals. Sediment chemistry results were compared to consensus-based sediment quality guidelines. None of the metal constituents analyzed exceeded the threshold effect concentration or probable effect concentration thresholds, indicating a healthy aquatic environment in relation to bed-sediment quality.

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USGS1984

Hydrogeology and effects of tailings basins on the hydrology of Sands Plain, Marquette County, Michigan

Sands Plain, a 225-square mile area, is near the Marquette iron-mining district in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Gribben Basin, a settling basin for disposal of waste rock particles from iron-ore concentration, is in the western part. Because Sands Plain is near iron-ore deposits, but not underlain by them, parts of the area are being considered as sites for additional tailings basins. Glacial deposits, as much as 500 feet thick, comprise the principal aquifer. Most ground water flows through the glacial deposits and discharges in a series of nearly parallel tributaries to the Chocolay River which flows into Lake Superior. Ninety-five percent of the discharge of these streams is ground-water runoff. The aquifer is recharged by precipitation at an average rate of 15 inches per year and by streamflow losses from the upper reaches of Goose Lake Outlet at an average rate of 2 inches per year. Precipitation collected at two sites had mean pH values of 4.0; rates of deposition of sulfate and total dissolved nitrogen were estimated to be 17.4 and 5.8 pounds per acre per year, respectively. Dissolved-solids concentrations in water from streams ranged from 82 to 143 milligrams per liter; sulfate ranged from 4.2 to 10 milligrams per liter. Calcium and bicarbonate were the principal dissolved substances. Highest dissolved-solids concentrations in water from wells in glacial deposits were found in a major buried valley east of Goose Lake Outlet. These concentrations ranged from 14 to 246 milligrams per liter; sulfate concentrations ranged from 0.9 to 53 milligrams per liter. Because of the high ground-water component of streamflow, mean concentrations of total nitrogen and trace metals in surface water do not differ significantly from mean concentrations in ground water. A two-dimensional digital model of ground-water flow was used to simulate water levels and ground-water runoff under steady-state and transient conditions Predictive simulations with the steady-state model were made to determine the effects of continued operation of Gribben tailings basin and construction and operation of four hypothetical tailings basins. Operation of Gribben Basin has decreased the average rate of ground-water flow to Goose Lake Outlet by 0.9 to 1.6 cubic feet per second but has increased the average rate of groundwater flow to Warner Creek by about 0.2 cubic foot per second. Continued filling of the tailings basin to its design capacity is expected to cause a slight increase in leakage from the basin to Goose Lake Outlet. Four hypothetical tailings basins, comprising a total of 11 square miles, were simulated by successively adding one more basin to the previous basin configuration. Net ground-water flow to streams was reduced by the simulated basins. The magnitude of these reductions depends on engineering decisions about the method of basin construction and a better understanding of the hydraulic properties of the materials used to seal the basin perimeters. The maximum total reduction in ground-water runoff due to construction and operation of 11 square miles of tailings basins is about 18 cubic feet per second compared to flow simulated by a steady-state simulation without tailings basins. If bottom sealing, rather than slurry wall construction, is used for one of the hypothetical basins, the total maximum reduction is 7.5 cubic feet per second. Under some assumed conditions, leakage from the tailings basins may slightly increase ground-water flow to Goose Lake Outlet and Warner Creek. The maximum probable leakage from all tailings basins is about 7 cubic feet per second; the minimum probable leakage is about 0.7 cubic foot per second.

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USGS1982

Ground water and geology of Marquette County, Michigan

Ground-water resources of Marquette County are about evenly divided between bedrock aquifers and aquifers in glacial deposits. In the northern and the extreme southern parts of the county, most wells are completed in bedrock at depths less than 100 feet. In the central part, most wells are completed in glacial deposits; some of these wells are as deep as 200 feet. Yields, in some places as high as 300 gallons per minute, are generally greatest from wells completed in glacial deposits. Most well water is hard and has iron concentrations ranging from <0.1 mg/L to about 5.0 mg/L. Both ground water and surface water sources are used in municipal water systems.

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USGS1981

Geology and hydrology for environmental planning in Marquette County, Michigan

Marquette County, in the glaciated area of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, includes 1,878 square miles. Precipitation averages 32 inches per year. Bedrock and glacial deposits contain materials that are good aquifers. Sedimentary bedrock units generally yield sufficient water for domestic supply and, in places, may yield more than 100 gallons per minute to large-diameter wells. In the glacial deposits, sand and gravel beds are the principal aquifers; yields to wells range from less than 10 to 200 gallons per minute. Igneous and metamorphic rocks yield little or no water to wells. Suitable sewage and refuse disposal sites are not readily available because of the abundance of wetlands, streams, and lakes susceptible to infiltrating leachate.

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USGS1979

Water resources of the Marquette Iron Range area, Marquette County, Michigan

Dependable water supplies are vital to the mining industry in the Marquette Iron Range in Michigan. Development of processes that concentrate and pelletize low-grade iron ore has permitted mining to expand during the past two decades. Water demand has increased both for iron ore concentration processes and for the area 's general development. Five main streams drain the area. Their total average annual discharge is about 700 cu ft/sec, of which, about 150 cu ft/sec is inflow from outside of this study 's limits. The Middle Branch and East Branch Escanaba River flow through the central part of the study area and drain about 60 percent of it. The combined natural flow of these two streams equals or exceeds 100 cu ft/sec 90 percent of the time. Median annual 7-day low-flows are about 0.25 cu ft/sec per sq mi in most of the area. Seven stream impoundments and 243 natural lakes provide surface water storage. Surface water is generally of a calcium-magnesium bicarbonate type and dissolved-solids concentrations are generally less than 150 mg/L. Small streams that drain glacial outwash deposits have higher dissolved-solids concentrations than larger streams. Large ground-water supplies may be developed from glacial outwash aquifers along the northern, southern, and eastern boundaries of the study area. Thin, unconsolidated deposits of low permeability occur in the center of the area. Metamorphosed bedrock produces moderate amounts of water only in fracture zones. Sandstones in the eastern part of the area yield water at some locations, but these deposits are seldom utilized because other ground-water sources are more readily available. Ground water in the Marquette Iron Range is generally of suitable quality for most uses. Iron concentrations, however, are frequently high.

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USGS1978

Water supply potential of the Lake Sally System, Marquette County, Michigan

Six lakes in the headwaters of Ely Creek form the Lake Sally system. This system is the source of water for Ishpeming and several small communities in the central part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. During years of average precipitation, more water is used from the system than is supplied to it, and the quantity of water in lake storage is depleted. Below-normal precipitation in 1976 and early 1977 accelerated depletion and produced significantly lower lake levels, casting doubt on the system's ability to meet water demands. Because precipitation and overland runoff account for 93 percent of the water supplied to the Lake Sally system, the lake levels fluctuate according to precipitation patterns and are particularly sensitive to drought. Water supplied to the Lake Sally system when precipitation is average is estimated to be 2.57 ft 3 /s or 13.4 in/yr. Use of water by Ishpeming is about 3.5 ft 3 /s or 18.27 in/yr. When the Lake Sally system supply is insufficient, the city also obtains some water from Cedar Lake and Lake Angeline outside the Lake Sally system. Results of a base-flow investigation in 1977 on Ely Creek, the outlet of the Lake Sally system, indicate that ground-water flow to the lake system is between 0.08 and 0.17 ft 3 /s.

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USGS1977

Bedrock geologic map of the southern part of the Diorite and Champion 7 1/2 minute quadrangles, Marquette County, Michigan

This map illustrates the bedrock geology of part of the Marquette iron range in the Diorite and Champion 7 ½-minute quadrangles. The area includes part of the Marquette trough, a synclinorium containing rocks of the Marquette Range Supergroup (Precambrian X) and older Precambrian W basement gneiss. Among the Precambrian X rocks is the economically important banded iron-formation, and the oldest rocks of the Precambrian W gneiss consist of a mafic-ultramafic volcanic-intrusive complex that contains gold deposits.

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USGS1950

Field investigation of airborne radioactivity anomalies in Marquette County, Michigan

The broad radioactivity anomalies recorded by the airborne detector in the vicinity of Republic, Marquette County, Michigan, coincide rather closely with parts of a granitic complex chiefly of Archean age. Ground examination of the rock in these areas of high radioactivity shows that the granitic rock typically yields two to four times the normal background activity. Fissures, shear zones, veins, and pegmatites were tested carefully. None exhibited activity higher than that of the adjacent granitic rock. It is significant that the zones of more-than-average radio-activity are related to the larger elements of the geology - in fact, the information will be of considerable value in reconsideration of some of the regional problems.

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