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Research about Massachusetts

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Massachusetts.

At least 505 records · Page 28Linked to original sources
USGS1995

Geochemical and hydrologic controls on phosphorus transport in a sewage-contaminated sand and gravel aquifer near Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

The disposal of secondarily treated sewage onto rapid infiltration sand beds at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has created a sewage plume in the underlying sand and gravel aquifer; the part of the\x11sewage plume that contains dissolved phosphorus extends about 2,500 feet downgradient of the sewage-disposal beds. A part of the plume that\x11contains nearly 2 milligrams per liter of phosphorus currently (1993) discharges into Ashumet Pond along about 700 feet of shoreline. The sewage plume discharges from about 59 to about 76 kilograms of phosphorus per year into the pond. Hydraulic-head measurements indicate that the north end of Ashumet Pond is a ground-water sink and an increased component of ground-water discharge and phosphorus flux into\x11the pond occurs at higher water levels. Phosphorus was mobile in ground water in two distinct geochemical environments-an anoxic zone that contains no dissolved oxygen and as much as 25\x11milligrams per liter of dissolved iron, and a more areally extensive suboxic zone that contains little or no iron, low but detectable dissolved oxygen, and as much as 12 milligrams per liter of dissolved manganese. Dissolved phosphorus is mobile in the suboxic geochemical environment because continued phosphorus loading has filled available sorption sites in the aquifer. Continued disposal of sewage since 1936 has created a large reservoir of sorbed phosphorus that is much greater than the mass of dissolved phosphorus in the ground water; the average ratio of sorbed to dissolved phosphorus in the anoxic and suboxic parts of the sewage plume were 31:1 and 155:1, respectively. Column experiments indicate that phosphorus in the anoxic core of the plume containing dissolved iron may be immobilized within 17 years by sorption and coprecipitation with new iron oxyhydroxides following the cessation of sewage disposal and the introduction of uncontaminated oxygenated ground water into the aquifer in December 1995. Residual oxygen demand associated with sorbed organic compounds and ammonia could retard the movement of oxygenated water into the aquifer. Sorbed phosphorus in the suboxic zone of the aquifer will continue to desorb into the ground water and will remain mobile in the ground water for perhaps hundreds of years. Also, the introduction of uncontaminated water into the aquifer may cause dissolved-phosphorus concentrations in the suboxic zone of the aquifer to increase sharply and remain higher than precessation levels for many years due to the desorption of loosely bound phosphorus. Data from three sampling sites, located along the eastern and western boundaries of the sewage plume and downgradient of abandoned sewage-disposal beds, indicate that ground-water mixing and phosphorus desorption may already be occurring in the aquifer in response to the introduction of uncontaminated recharge water into previously contaminated parts of the aquifer.

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USGS1995

Factors affecting water quality and net flux of solutes in two stream basins in the Quabbin Reservoir drainage basin, central Massachusetts, 1983-85

The factors that affect stream-water quality were studied at West Branch Swift River (Swift River), and East Branch Fever Brook (Fever Brook), two forested watersheds that drain into the Quabbin Reservoir, central Massachusetts, from December 1983 through August 1985. Spatial and temporal variations of chemistry of precipitation, surface water; and ground water and the linkages between chemical changes and hydrologic processes were used to identify the mechanisms that control stream chemistry. Precipitation chemistry was dominated by hydrogen ion (composite p.H 4.23), sulfate, and nitrate. Inputs of hydrogen and nitrate from pre- cipitation were almost entirely retained in the basins, whereas input of sulfate was approximately balanced by export by streamflow draining the basins. Both streams were poorly buffered, with mean pH near 5.7, mean alkalinity less than 30 microequivalents per liter, and sulfate concen- trations greater than 130 microequivalents per liter. Sodium and chloride, derived primarily from highway deicing salts, were the dominant solutes at Fever Brook. After adjustments for deicing salts, fluxes of base cations during the 21-month study were 2,014 and 1,429 equivalents per hectare in Swift River and Fever Brook, respectively. Base cation fluxes were controlled primarily by weathering of hornblende (Fever Brook) and plagioclase (Swift River). The overall weathering rate was greater in the Swift River Basin because easily weathered gabbro underlies one subbasin which comprises 11.2 percent of the total basin area but contributed about 77 percent of the total alkalinity. Alkalinity export was nearly equal in the two basins, however, because some alkalinity was generated in wetlands in the Fever Brook Basin through bacterial sulfate reduction coupled with organic-carbon oxidation.

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USGS1995

Estimated availability of water from stratified-drift aquifers in the Concord River Basin, Massachusetts

An understanding of water availability in the Concord River Basin for public and private supply requires an understanding of the interaction between surface-water and ground-water systems. This understanding is needed because excessive ground-water withdrawals may reduce streamflows to unacceptable levels. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management, Office of Water Resources, studied the Concord River Basin to estimate the volume of water available from stratified-drift aquifers. A combined hydrograph-separation and streamflow-duration-curve analysis indicates that 20.8 million cubic feet of water could be withdrawn from the stratified-drift aquifer above the South Acton streamflow-gaging station during a 102-day period of no recharge before streamflow would be reduced to a prescribed minimum level. This volume, which equals 2.85 million cubic feet per square mile of stratified drift, was used to estimate volume of available water in 17 aquifer areas in the Concord River Basin. The total volume of available water in the Concord River Basin is estimated to be 561 million cubic feet. Finite-difference ground-water-flow models for the River Meadow Brook aquifer area and the Sudbury and Concord aquifer area quantified the current and potential water availability. The results of three withdrawal simulations for each aquifer area indicate that the 1989 ground-water withdrawal rates would not exceed the volume of water that would be available during a 102-day period of no recharge if water-table drawdowns were not considered. However, results do indicate that volumes of withdrawn water would exceed the available water in the two aquifer areas if maximum lowering of the water table as a percentage of total saturated thickness were 10 and 65 percent at existing and hypothetical wells.

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USGS1995

Use of surface and borehole geophysical surveys to determine fracture orientation and other site characteristics in crystalline bedrock terrain, Millville and Uxbridge, Massachusetts

Four geophysical techniques were used to determine bedrock-fracture orientation and other site characteristics that can be used to determine ground-water movement and contaminant transport at a fractured crystalline bedrock site in Millville and Uxbridge, Massachusetts. Azimuthal seismic- refraction and azimuthal square-array direct-current resistivity surveys were conducted at three sites. Borehole-radar surveys were conducted in a cluster of three wells. Ground-penetrating radar surveys were conducted along roads in the study area. Azimuthal seismic-refraction data indicated a primary fracture strike between 56 and 101 degrees at three sites. Graphical and analytical analysis of azimuthal square-array resistivity data indicated a primary fracture strike from 45 to 90 degrees at three sites. Directional borehole-radar data from three wells indicated 46 fractures or fracture zones located as far as 147 feet from the surveyed wells. Patterns of low radar-wave velocity and high radar- wave attenuation from cross-hole radar surveys of two well pairs were interpreted as a planar fracture zone that strikes 297 degrees and dips 55 degrees south. Ground-penetrating radar surveys with 100-MHz antennas penetrated as much as 150 feet of bedrock where the bedrock surface was at or near land surface. Horizontal and subhorizontal fractures were observed on the ground-penetrating radar records at numerous locations. Correlation of data sets indicates good agreement and indicates primary high- angle fracturing striking east-northeast. Secondary bedrock porosity and average fracture aperture determined from square-array resistivity data averaged 0.0044 and 0.0071 foot. Depths to bedrock observed on the ground-penetrating radar records were 0 to 20 feet below land surface along most of the area surveyed. A bedrock depth from 45 to 50 feet below land surface was observed along one section of Conestoga Drive.

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USGS1995

Effects of selective forest clearing fertilization, and liming on the hydrology and water quality of a small tributary to the Quabbin Reservoir, central Massachusetts

Effects of selective forest clearing on water yield and water quality were investigated in a 308-hectare basin that drains to Quabbin Reservoir Watershed in central Massachusetts. The experimental basin and a nearby 280-hectare control basin were studied together for comparison. Streamflow was measured continuously and water-quality samples were collected biweekly in both basins from February 1985 through September 1989. During the same period, measurements of precipitation quantity and ground- water levels were made and samples were collected for determination of precipitation and ground-water quality. After an initial monitoring period to establish baseline hydrology and water quality in both basins, an area of red pine and white pine forest in the experimental basin was cleared. From October 1986 until April 1987, 23.8 percent of the total basal area was removed by clearcutting and thinning. Part of the cleared area was converted to rye and other field grasses, and the remainder was allowed to regrow naturally. Fertilizer and lime were applied to part of the cleared area. An additional 8.3 percent of basal area was cleared in fall 1988. Despite differences in bedrock geology, topography, and amount of wetland area, pre- treatment hydrology and chemistry of the two basins were similar. Biogeochemical reactions of the dilute mixture of sulfuric and nitric acids in precipitation with soils and rocks in the basins resulted in moderately buffered calcium-magnesium bicarbonate-type streamwater. During high flows, sulfate concentrations increased and alkalinity decreased. Selective forest clearing resulted in a slight increase in water yield during the year in which the clearing took place, particularly during the spring high-flow period, but flows returned to normal thereafter. Concurrent increases in solute flux were primarily a function of the increased water flux. No major alterations to biogeochemical processes were induced by the forest clearing, nor were any effects from the fertilizer or liming activity observed. The minimal effect observed from the clearing was attributed primarily to the limited area that was cleared, and the location of the cleared area in the headwaters of the basin (away from the riparian zone).

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USGS1995

Streamflow, ground-water recharge and discharge, and characteristics of surficial deposits in Buzzards Bay Basin, southeastern Massachusetts

Streamflow measurements at 14 low-flow partial-record stations and two discontinued streamflow-gaging stations were related to concurrent streamflows at six long-term streamflow-gaging stations to estimate streamflows at selected flow durations from 50 to 99 percent for water years 1967-91. At low flows, stream discharge per square mile generally increased with increasing percentage of subbasin underlain by stratified-drift deposits. At the 70-, 90-, and 99-percent flow durations, subbasins underlain primarily by stratified-drift deposits had stream discharges per square mile at least 2, 4, and 8 times greater, respectively, than subbasins underlain primarily by till and bedrock deposits. Streamflow measured three times at the Paskamanset River showed that streamflows downstream of municipal pumped wells increased at a lower rate per unit drainage area than streamflows upstream of the pumped wells. When pumpage from wells near the river was added to measured streamflow at the most downstream station, the sum was similar to the potential streamflow at the station if its streamflow per unit area was the same as that upstream from the pumped wells. Mean ground-water recharge and discharge rates were computed from continuous records of daily mean discharge during water years 1967-91 for six streamflow-gaging stations in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Estimates of mean ground-water recharge were 19.7 to 22.6 inches per year for stations with drainage areas primarily underlain by till and bedrock deposits, and 23.8 to 25.2 inches per year for stations with drainage areas primarily underlain by stratified-drift deposits. During drought years, annual ground-water recharge can be less than 50 percent of the mean ground-water recharge rate for water years 1967-91. Estimates of ground-water discharge rates generally were 1 to 4 inches per year less than estimates of ground-water recharge rates. Ground-water discharge-duration curves were calculated from hydrograph separation of streamflow records at the six continuous streamflow-gaging stations for water years 1967-91. When streamflows were less than the median streamflow (50-percent duration), ground-water discharges averaged 85.7 percent of the total streamflow at the six streamflow-gaging stations. Ground-water discharges were estimated at the 14 low-flow partial-record stations and two discontinued streamflow-gaging stations by multiplying streamflows at the selected flow durations from 50 to 99 percent for water years 1967-91 by 85.7 percent. Data on surficial deposits in the basin were obtained by drilling 10 wells, by conducting 12 seismic-refraction surveys, and by collecting well log data for 313 wells from consulting firms and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management. These data indicated that a few minor corrections could be made to existing saturated thickness maps for stratified-drift deposits in Buzzards Bay Basin. Few well logs were detailed enough to estimate transmissivities; thus existing transmissivity maps were not updated for stratified-drift deposits in the basin.

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USGS1994

Submerged and eroded drumlins off northeastern Massachusetts

Streamlined, oval-shaped, oriented topographic highs in Massachusetts Bay are identified as the erosional remnants of drumlins. The topographic highs correlate with outlines of lag gravel deposits on the sea floor and both the highs and lag gravel seafloor footprint have a distinct east-southeast long axis trend. This trend is similar to the preferred orientation of the long axes of drumlins in the Boston Basin and indicates the flow direction of the late Wisconsinan Laurentide Ice Sheet. Modification of the drumlins occurred during two passages of the shoreline, the first during the late Wisconsinan regression when the drumlins were only slightly eroded. The second passage of the shoreline occurred during the marine transgression, when erosion, in the form of cliff-face retreat, removed the upper part of the drumlins.

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USGS1994

Use of molecular techniques to evaluate the survival of a microorganism injected into an aquifer

A PCR primer set and an internal probe that are specific for Pseudomonas sp. strain B13, a 3-chlorobenzoate-metabolizing strain, were developed. Using this primer set and probe, we were able to detect Pseudomonas sp. strain B13 DNA sequences in DNA extracted from aquifer samples 14.5 months after Pseudomonas sp. strain B13 had been injected into a sand and gravel aquifer. This primer set and probe were also used to analyze isolates from 3-chlorobenzoate enrichments of the aquifer samples by Southern blot analysis. Hybridization of Southern blots with the Pseudomonas sp. strain B13-specific probe and a catabolic probe in conjunction with restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of ribosome genes was used to determine that viable Pseudomonas sp. strain B13 persisted in this environment. We isolated a new 3-chlorobenzoate-degrading strain from one of these enrichment cultures. The B13-specific probe does not hybridize to DNA from this isolate. The new strain could be the result of gene exchange between Pseudomonas sp. strain B13 and an indigenous bacterium. This speculation is based on an RFLP pattern of ribosome genes that differs from that of Pseudomonas sp. strain B13, the fact that identically sized restriction fragments hybridized to the catabolic gene probe, and the absence of any enrichable 3-chlorobenzoate-degrading strains in the aquifer prior to inoculation.

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USGS1994

Autotrophic, hydrogen-oxidizing, denitrifying bacteria in groundwater, potential agents for bioremediation of nitrate contamination

Addition of hydrogen or formate significantly enhanced the rate of consumption of nitrate in slurried core samples obtained from an active zone of denitrification in a nitrate-contaminated sand and gravel aquifer (Cape Cod, Mass.). Hydrogen uptake by the core material was immediate and rapid, with an apparent K m of 0.45 to 0.60 μM and a V max of 18.7 nmol cm -3 h -1 at 30°C. Nine strains of hydrogen-oxidizing denitrifying bacteria were subsequently isolated from the aquifer. Eight of the strains grew autotrophically on hydrogen with either oxygen or nitrate as the electron acceptor. One strain grew mixotrophically. All of the isolates were capable of heterotrophic growth, but none were similar to Paracoccus denitrificans , a well-characterized hydrogen-oxidizing denitrifier. The kinetics for hydrogen uptake during denitrification were determined for each isolate with substrate depletion progress curves; the K m s ranged from 0.30 to 3.32 μM, with V max s of 1.85 to 13.29 fmol cell -1 h -1 . Because these organisms appear to be common constituents of the in situ population of the aquifer, produce innocuous end products, and could be manipulated to sequentially consume oxygen and then nitrate when both were present, these results suggest that these organisms may have significant potential for in situ bioremediation of nitrate contamination in groundwater.

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USGS1994

Survival of caged Atlantic salmon in the Merrimack River

Because it is difficult to locate parr and smolts of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar in the lower Merrimack River in order to measure survival and evaluate physiological changes, 1 held hatchery fish in 122 × 46 ×61‐cm cages at three sites for up to 70 d in 1988 and 1989, beginning each year in early April. Stationary cages were placed at two freshwater sites (3 and 7.8 km above the mouth of the river) and at a tidal freshwater–seawater site, and then stocked with fish. Movable cages were placed in the river at the most upstream stationary‐cage site, stocked with fish, and later moved downstream by boat at irregular intervals. At the most upstream site mortality gradually increased through the season, reaching the highest level (about 60%) during a period of rising temperatures in late May. Although extremes in temperature and salinity were greatest at the freshwater–seawater site, mortality was lowest in the stationary cage there, The number of Atlantic salmon infected with Aeromonas salmonicida increased during the study. Disease and mortality data suggest that survival would be highest for fish that leave the river and enter seawater soon after stocking, especially late in the season when river flows are low. At that time water temperatures may approach levels that are lethal to Atlantic salmon or may interfere with their smoltification and migration.

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USGS1994

Observation-well network for collection of ground-water level data in Massachusetts

Aquifers--water-bearing deposits of sand and gravel, glacial till, and fractured bedrock--provide an extensive and readily accessible ground-water supply in Massachusetts. Ground water affects our everyday lives, not just in terms of how much water is available, but also in terms of the position of ground-water levels in relation to land surface. Knowledge of ground-water levels is needed by Federal, State, and local agencies to help plan, manage, and protect ground-water supplies, and by private construction companies for site planning and evaluation. A primary part of the mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Water Resources Division, is the systematic collection of ground-water, surface-water, and water-quality data. These data are needed to manage and protect the nation's water resources. The Massachusetts-Rhode Island District of the USGS, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management (DEM), Office of Water Resources, and county and town environmental agencies, has maintained a network of observation wells throughout the Commonwealth since the mid 1930's. The purpose of this network is to monitor seasonal and long-term changes in groundwater storage in different lithologic, topographic, and geographic settings. These data are analyzed to provide a monthly index of ground-water conditions to aid in water-resources management and planning, and to define long-term changes in water levels resulting from manmade stresses (such as pumping and construction-site drainage) and natural stresses (such as floods and droughts).

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USGS1994

Particle-tracking analysis of contributing areas of public-supply wells in simple and complex flow systems, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Steady-state, two-and three-dimensional, ground-water flow models coupled with a particle- tracking program were evaluated to determine their effectiveness in delineating contributing areas of existing and hypothetical public-supply wells pumping from two contrasting stratified-drift aquifers of Cape Cod, Mass. Several of the contri- buting areas delineated by use of the three- dimensional models do not conform to simple ellipsoidal shapes that are typically delineated by use of a two-dimensional analytical and numerical modeling techniques, include dis- continuous areas of the water table, and do not surround the wells. Because two-dimensional areal models do not account for vertical flow, they cannot adequately represent many of the hydro- geologic and well-design variables that were shown to complicate the delineation of contributing areas in these flow systems, including the presence of discrete lenses of 1ow hydraulic conductivity, large ratios of horizontal to ver- tical hydraulic conductivity, shallow streams, partially penetrating supply wells, and 1ow pumping rates (less than 0.1 million gallons per day). Nevertheless, contributing areas delineated for two wells in the simpler of the two flow systems--a thin (less than 100 feet), single- layer, uniform aquifer with near-ideal boundary conditions--were not significantly different for the two- or three-dimensional models of the natural system, for a pumping rate of 0.5 million gallons per day. Use of particle tracking helped identify the source of water to simulated wells, which included precipitation recharge, wastewater return flow, and pond water. Pond water and wastewater return flow accounted for as much as 73 and 40 percent, respectively, of the water captured by simulated wells.

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USGS1994

Simulation of the effects of ground-water withdrawals and recharge on ground-water flow in Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Island basins, Massachusetts

The effects of changing patterns of ground-water pumping and aquifer recharge on the surface-water and ground-water hydrologic systems were determined for the Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Island Basins. Three-dimensional, transient, ground-water-flow modelS that simulate both freshwater and saltwater flow were developed for the f1ow cells of Cape Cod which currently have large-capacity public-supply wells. Only the freshwater-flow system was simulated for the Cape Cod flow cells where public-water supply demands are satisfied by small-capacity domestic wells. Two- dimensional, finite-difference, change models were developed for Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island to determine the projected drawdowns in response to projected in-season pumping rates for 180 days of no aquifer recharge. Results of the simulations indicate very little change in the position of the freshwater-saltwater interface from predevelopment flow conditions to projected ground-water pumping and recharge rates for Cape Cod in the year 2020. Results of change model simulations for Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island indicate that the greatest impact in response to projected in-season ground-water pumping occurs at the pumping centers and the magnitude of the drawdowns are minimal with respect to the total thickness of the aquifers.

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USGS1994

Hydrologic and chemical data from an experiment to examine temporal variability in water samples from screened wells on Cape Cod, Massachusetts

An experiment was designed to evaluate the changing chemical composition of the water pumped from a well screened in a physically and chemically heterogenous aquifer. Well F453-63, at the U.S. Geological Survey Toxic-Substances Hydrology research site located on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, was selected because it was known that the screen penetrated both the oxic and anoxic zones of the sewage plume from the Otis Air Base sewage-disposal sand beds. The experiment was conducted on August 12, 1992. Well F453-63 was sampled over time as it was pumped continuously, and three multilevel samplers were used to document the vertical distribution of selected chemicals in the ground water in the immediate vicinity of the well. All water samples obtained during the experiment were analyzed in the field for specific conductance and pH. The samples were subsequently analyzed for concentrations of ferrous iron (Fe+2), boron, calcium, chloride, iron (Fe total), phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, manganese, sodium, zinc, and nitrogen species, including nitrous oxide, ammonium, nitrite and nitrate. The results of these chemical analyses along with appropriate physical measurements of the site and aquifer material are documented in this data report.

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