USGS Science⌕ Search

Geology topics

Research about New England

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including New England.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS2009

Evaluation of catchment delineation methods for the medium-resolution National Hydrography Dataset

Different methods for determining catchments (incremental drainage areas) for stream segments of the medium-resolution (1:100,000-scale) National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) were evaluated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The NHD is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that contains information about surface-water features (such as lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers) of the United States. The need for NHD catchments was driven primarily by the goal to estimate NHD streamflow and velocity to support water-quality modeling. The application of catchments for this purpose also demonstrates the broader value of NHD catchments for supporting landscape characterization and analysis. Five catchment delineation methods were evaluated. Four of the methods use topographic information for the delineation of the NHD catchments. These methods include the Raster Seeding Method; two variants of a method first used in a USGS New England study-one used the Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) and the other did not-termed the 'New England Methods'; and the Outlet Matching Method. For these topographically based methods, the elevation data source was the 30-meter (m) resolution National Elevation Dataset (NED), as this was the highest resolution available for the conterminous United States and Hawaii. The fifth method evaluated, the Thiessen Polygon Method, uses distance to the nearest NHD stream segments to determine catchment boundaries. Catchments were generated using each method for NHD stream segments within six hydrologically and geographically distinct Subbasins to evaluate the applicability of the method across the United States. The five methods were evaluated by comparing the resulting catchments with the boundaries and the computed area measurements available from several verification datasets that were developed independently using manual methods. The results of the evaluation indicated that the two New England Methods provided the most accurate catchment boundaries. The New England Method with the WBD provided the most accurate results. The time and cost to implement and apply these automated methods were also considered in ultimately selecting the methods used to produce NHD catchments for the conterminous United States and Hawaii. This study was conducted by a joint USGS-USEPA team during the 2-year period that ended in September 2004. During the following 2-year period ending in the fall of 2006, the New England Methods were used to produce NHD catchments as part of a multiagency effort to generate the NHD streamflow and velocity estimates for a suite of integrated geospatial products known as 'NHDPlus.'

New England↗
USGS2007

A review of land–sea coupling by groundwater discharge of nitrogen to New England estuaries: Mechanisms and effects

Hydrologists have long been concerned with the interface of groundwater flow into estuaries, but not until the end of the last century did other disciplines realize the major role played by groundwater transport of nutrients to estuaries. Mass balance and stable isotopic data suggest that land-derived NO 3 , NH 4 , and dissolved organic N do enter estuaries in amounts likely to affect the function of the receiving ecosystem. Because of increasing human occupancy of the coastal zone, the nutrient loads borne by groundwater have increased in recent decades, in spite of substantial interception of nutrients within the land and aquifer components of watersheds. Groundwater-borne nutrient loads have increased the N content of receiving estuaries, increased phytoplankton and macroalgal production and biomass, decreased the area of seagrasses, and created a cascade of associated ecological changes. This linkage between land use and eutrophication of estuaries occurs in spite of mechanisms, including uptake of land-derived N by riparian vegetation and fringing wetlands, “unloading” by rapid water removal, and direct N inputs to estuaries, that tend to uncouple the effects of land use on receiving estuaries. It can be expected that as human activity on coastal watersheds continues to increase, the role of groundwater-borne nutrients to the receiving estuary will also increase.

New England↗
USGS2005

Summer low flows in New England during the 20th Century

High springtime river flows came earlier by one to two weeks in large parts of northern New England during the 20th Century. In this study it was hypothesized that late spring/early summer recessional flows and late summer/early fall low flows could also be occurring earlier. This could result in a longer period of low flow recession and a decrease in the magnitude of low flows. To test this hypothesis, variations over time in the magnitude and timing of low flows were analyzed. To help understand the relation between low flows and climatic variables in New England, low flows were correlated with air temperatures and precipitation. Analysis of data from 23 rural, unregulated rivers across New England indicated little evidence of consistent changes in the timing or magnitude of late summer/early fall low flows during the 20th Century. The interannual variability in the timing and magnitude of the low flows in northern New England was explained much more by the interannual variability in precipitation than by the interannual variability of air temperatures. The highest correlation between the magnitude of the low flows and air temperatures was with May through November temperatures (r =−0.37, p = 0.0017), while the highest correlation with precipitation was with July through August precipitation (r = 0.67, p > 0.0001).

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, ↗
USGS2005

Changes in the magnitude of annual and monthly streamflows in New England, 1902-2002

Selected annual and monthly streamflow statistics for 27 streamflow-gaging stations in New England were computed and tested for changes over time. These 27 stations were considered to be free of substantial human influences such as regulation, diversion, and land use-changes and have an average of 71 years of record. The longest streamflow record extended from 1902 to 2002. March mean streamflows increased significantly over time (Mann-Kendall test, p < 0.1) at 14 streamflow-gaging stations in northern New England, primarily in northern or mountainous sections of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. March mean flows increased by 76 to 185 percent at the seven stations with the longest continuous records in areas of New England with the largest seasonal snowpack depths. These streamflow-gaging stations had continuous records from the late 1920's and the early 1930s through 2002. May mean streamflows significantly decreased at 10 stations in northern or mountainous sections of Maine and New Hampshire. May mean flows decreased by 9 to 46 percent at the seven stations with the longest continuous records. Despite the fact that March percentage increases were much larger than May percentage decreases, March streamflow increases (in cubic feet per second) were smaller than May decreases, except at one streamflow-gaging station. Increased March and April air temperatures over time may have caused earlier snowmelt and thus increased streamflows in March and decreased streamflows in May. There were no significant changes over time in annual mean streamflows at the 27 stations; however, there were significant increases over time in various annual percentile streamflows (minimum, 25th percentile, median, 75th percentile, or maximum flows) at 22 of the stations. This indicates that flows increased over time at many streams in New England, but the increase was not enough to have caused significant changes in annual mean flows. October mean streamflows increased significantly at five stations in western New England. December minimum streamflows increased significantly at 13 stations in northern and southern New England.

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, ↗
USGS2003

Generalized lithology and lithogeochemical character of near-surface bedrock in the New England region

This geographic information system (GIS) data layer shows the dominant lithology and geochemical, termed lithogeochemical, character of near-surface bedrock in the New England region covering the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The bedrock units in the map are generalized into groups based on their lithological composition and, for granites, geochemistry. Geologic provinces are defined as time-stratigraphic groups that share common features of age of formation, geologic setting, tectonic history, and lithology. This data set incorporates data from digital maps of two NAWQA study areas, the New England Coastal Basin (NECB) and the Connecticut, Housatonic, and Thames River Basins (CONN) areas and extends data to cover the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The result is a regional dataset for the lithogeochemical characterization of New England (the layer named NE_LITH). Polygons in the final coverage are attributed according to state, drainage area, geologic province, general rock type, lithogeochemical characteristics, and specific bedrock map unit.

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, ↗
USGS1994

National Water-Quality Assessment Program: the Northern New England Basins study unit

In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Department of the Interior, began a full-scale National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. The objectives of the NAWQA program are to describe the present and future water quality of large, representative parts of the United States's surface- and ground-water resources and to identify the primary natural and man-made factors that affect the quality of these resources. The final product of the program will be information that may be used by water-resource policy makers and managers at national, State, and local levels. The NAWQA program encompasses 60 study units. These units are delineated by hydrologic systems that include parts of most of the Nation's major river basins and aquifer systems. Study units range in size from 1,000 mi 2 (square miles) to more than 60,000 mi 2 and represent 60 to 70 percent of the Nation's water use and population served by public water supplies. The first group of 20 study-unit investigations began in 1991. A second group of 20 study-unit investigations began in 1994, which includes the Northern New England Basins study unit.

Maine;Massachusetts;New Hampshire↗
USGS1990

Earthquakes in New England

Believe it or not, New England is earthquake country. No, it does not have the high frequency of earthquakes of California or Japan. nevertheless, New England has experienced its fair share of tremors. New England has a long history of earthquakes. Some of the first explorers were startled when they experienced strong shaking and rumbling of the earth below their feet. they soon learned from the Indians that this was not an uncommon occurrence in the New World. the Plymouth Pilgrims felt their first earthquake in 1638. that first shock rattled dishes, doors, and buildings. The shaking so frightened those working in the fields that they threw down their tools and ran panic-stricken through the countryside.

New England↗
USGS1986

Application of seismic refraction methods in groundwater modeling studies in New England (USA)

Seismic refraction studies were conducted over unconfined glacial aquifers in New England to determine: 1) depth of the underlying bedrock; 2) depth of the water table; 3) saturated thickness of the aquifer in areas not accessible to heavy drilling equipment; 4) areas where thick, unsaturated sediments overlie thickly saturated parts of the aquifer; and 5) locations of test holes and type of drilling equipment needed. These data were used in groundwater models and provided parameter values that required few adjustments during calibration. -from Author

New England↗
USGS1982

Summary appraisals of the nation's ground-water resources – New England region

The New England Region has a total area of about 62,400 square miles (160,000 km 2 ) and includes the States of Maine and New Hampshire, eastern Vermont, most of Massachusetts and Connecticut, all of Rhode Island, and a small part of southeastern New York. The longest stream is the Connecticut River, which extends from northern Vermont and New Hampshire, through western Massachusetts and central Connecticut, and drains into Long Island Sound. Other major streams are the Penobscot and Kennebec Rivers in Maine, the Androscoggin in Maine and New Hampshire, the Merrimack in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and the Housatonic in western Massachusetts and Connecticut. Of the smaller streams, some, like the Charles River in the Boston area, are widely known because of their proximity to large population centers. Ground water occurs in two types of geologic materials: consolidated rocks and unconsolidated sedimentary rocks. The consolidated rocks underlie the entire region. They include crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks and consolidated sedimentary rocks-shale, sandstone, and limestone and other carbonate rocks. The most productive unconsolidated rocks are sand and gravel of glacial origin. These deposits occur all over Cape Cod and nearby islands in southeastern Massachusetts and in many valleys throughout the region. Ground water is derived from precipitation. It can be intercepted for use by pumping from wells (1) before it discharges to the streams as base flow and (2) before it drains directly into coastal wetlands, bays, Long Island Sound, or the ocean. Withdrawals of fresh ground water in 1975 aggregated about 220 billion gallons (830 hm 3 ), or about 12 percent of the total freshwater withdrawals (from all sources) of 1,800 billion gallons (6,800 hm 3 ). In view of the available ground-water reserves, considerable additional water, for the anticipated continuing increase in population and economic activity, could be developed.

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts New Hampshire, N↗
USGS1981

Geochemical evidence for modern sediment accumulation on the continental shelf off southern New England

An area of fine-grained sediment approximately 170 km x 74 km in size, located in water depths between 60 m and 150 m, south of Martha's Vineyard, Mass., is a site of modern sediment deposition. The 14 C ages systematically increase with sediment depth from about 1,300 years B.P. at the surface to 8,000-10,000 years B.P. at the depth of maximum core penetration. The old age for the surface sediments probably results from a combination of deposition of old carbon and faunal mixing. In the finest sediments, the sedimentation rates were approximately 130 cm/1,000 yrs when deposition began and have decreased to about 25 cm/1,000 yrs. The decreasing sedimentation rate reflects a diminishing source of fine sediments, which presumably came from the Georges Bank and Nantucket Shoals area. Inventories of excess 210 Pb in undisturbed cores average 70 dpm/cm 2 (disintegrations per minute per square centimeter), more than two times higher than the flux of 210 Pb from the atmosphere and from 226 Ra decay in the overlying water. This additional influx of 210 Pb either must be with new fine-grained sediment material or from solutions that are stripped of their 210 Pb by particulates in the bottom nepheloid layer. Stable Pb concentrations in surface sediments are about 28 ppm, as much as two times higher than concentrations at depth. The high accumulation rates, 210 Pb inventories, and trace-metal profiles imply that this area is a modern sink for fine-grained sediments and for pollutants associated with particulate matter in the water column. To our knowledge, this is the only site of present-day natural deposition on the Continental Shelf off the eastern United States, exclusive of the Gulf of Maine. Because the net currents on the outer half of this Continental Shelf flow from northeast to southwest, this fine-grained deposit may receive its sediments and possible contaminants from the Nantucket Shoals and Georges Bank regions.

Massachusetts↗