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Research about New Jersey

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including New Jersey.

At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources
USGS1990

Eocene-Oligocene sea-level changes on the New Jersey coastal plain linked to the deep-sea record

We use magnetostratigraphy and Sr-isotope stratigraphy to improve stratigraphic control for the Eocene to Oligocene of the New Jersey coastal plain (ACGS4 borehole). Magnetostratigraphy in many cases is complicated in outcrop sections of shallow-water (<200 m paleodepth) sediments by low remanence and weathering; we minimize these problems by analyzing large samples obtained from the ACGS4 borehole and construct a firm magnetochronology for the early to middle Eocene. Sr-isotope stratigraphy confirms biostratigraphic evidence for a previously unknown uppermost Eocene to lowermost Oligocene unit and delineates a "middle" Oligocene hiatus that is unresolvabie using biostratigraphy alone. We recognize hiatuses and associated unconformities on the New Jersey margin near the lower Eocene/middle Eocene boundary, within the middle Eocene, and in the "middle" Oligocene and correlate these events with similar hiatuses observed in other continental-shelf, slope, and epicontinental settings. In addition, a hiatus probably occurred near the middle Eocene/upper Eocene boundary. We conclude that the interregional distribution of these Eocene-Oligocene hiatuses indicates a global cause: eustatic change.

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USGS1990

Ground-water flow in the New Jersey coastal plain

Flow was simulated in 10 aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain using a multilayer finite-difference model for prepumping steady-state conditions and transient conditions from 1896-1981. The highest transmissivity, greater than 10,000 sq ft/day, is in Camden and Gloucester Counties in the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifers; Monmouth and Ocean Counties in the middle aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan Magothy aquifer system; and Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic, and Cape May Counties in the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system. Confining unit leakance is highest, > than 0.001 ft/day/ft in updip areas and lowest, < 0.00001 ft/day/ft, in downdip areas. Areas near the center of the major cones of depression approximate steady-state conditions. However, downdip and offshore areas are under transient conditions. Simulated head changes along the saltwater- freshwater interface boundary indicate that the lower aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system and the confined Kirkwood aquifer have the greatest potential for updip movement of chlorides. The simulated sources of water to wells in 1978 include: (1) 3% from aquifer storage; (2) 3% from boundary flows; (3) 4% from the ocean and bays; and (4) 90% from streamflow. (USGS)

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USGS1989

Aquifer-test analysis of the upper aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system, Union Beach Borough, Monmouth County, New Jersey

The hydraulic properties of the upper aquifer of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system and of the overlying and underlying confining units were determined from and aquifer test in the vicinity of Union Beach Borough, New Jersey, near Raritan Bay. The April 1986 test included the pumping of 2 test wells for 72 hours at a combined discharge rate of 1,375 gal/min, and the measurement of water levels in 10 observation wells. No lateral recharge boundary in Raritan Bay affected the observed water-level changes. Assuming leaky artesian conditions, the average transmissivity and storage coefficient of the upper aquifer are 7,754 sq ft/day and 0.00044 respectively. The leakance of the combined confining units ranges from 0.000030 to 0.000076/day/ft. On the basis of lithologic samples from a nearby well, the overlying and underlying confining units were assumed to have similar hydraulic properties. By using this assumption, the vertical hydraulic conductivity of the confining units ranges from 0.010 to 0.027 ft/day.

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USGS1989

Water-quality data for the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system in the northern coast plain of New Jersey, 1923-86

Ground-water-quality data for the upper and middle aquifers of the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties are compiled for the period 1923-86. A total of 330 wells were sampled: 192 wells in the upper aquifer and 138 wells in the middle aquifer. Most of the complete water-quality analyses were collected after September 1984, as part of a regional ground-water assessment. Well-construction data for the sampled wells also are presented. Public-supply, domestic-supply, industrial, commercial, irrigation, and observation wells were sampled for the study. Field measurements made at the time of sample collection include water temperature, specific conductance , dissolved oxygen, pH, alkalinity, and bicarbonate concentration. Laboratory determinations include common ions, silica, dissolved solids, trace metals, volatile organic compounds, and pesticides. A quality-assurance program was followed to evaluate and assure the quality of the data. The report also contains a table of lithologic and hydrologic characteristics of the geologic units in the study area, a table of chloride concentrations and field measurements from 1923-86, and statistical summaries of selected water-quality data for the upper and middle aquifers. Many constituents were found in a wide range of concentrations. Water from more than 25 percent of the wells sampled contained lead concentrations above the detection limit of 10 ug/L (micrograms per liter). Included in this number are some wells that had lead concentrations greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) primary drinking-water regulation of 50 ug/L. Cadmium concentrations, although lower than lead concentrations, followed a similar pattern. Water from approximately 25 percent of the wells in the upper aquifer, contain cadmium concentrations equal to or greater than the detection limit of 1 ug/L. Dissolved iron concentrations ranged from 5 ug/L to 480,000 ug/L. Water from more than 50 percent of the wells sampled contained iron concentrations in excess of the USEPA secondary drinking-water recommended limit of 300 ug/L. Chloride concentrations greater than the USEPA secondary drinking-water recommended limit of 250 milligrams per liter were found in samples from wells located in the cities of Perth Amboy and South Amboy; in the boroughs of Keansburg, Sayreville, Keyport, and Union Beach; and in the townships of Old Bridge and Woodbridge. Of 21 samples collected from wells screened in the upper aquifer and analyzed for 30 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), 5 samples contained at least 1 VOC at or above the detection limit. In the middle aquifer, 12 of the 21 samples collected and analyzed for VOCs contained at least 1 VOC greater than the detection limit. Concentrations of pesticides generally were low. Of the 43 samples collected from wells screened in the upper aquifer and analyzed for pesticides, 4 samples contained concentrations of pesticides at or greater than the detection limit. In the middle aquifer, 6 of 38 samples collected and analyzed for 32 pesticides had at least 1 pesticide with a concentration greater than the detection limit.

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USGS1988

Eocene to Miocene biostratigraphy of New Jersey core ACGS #4; implications for regional stratigraphy

Lower Eocene through probable upper Miocene sediments were recovered in a 945-foot core (ACGS #4) taken near Mays Landing, New Jersey. Calcareous nannofossils and planktic foraminifers are common to abundant in most of the lower part of the core. All standard calcareous nannofossil zones from lower Eocene Zone NP 12 through lower Oligocene Zone NP 21 are identified, and the midlatitude Eocene planktic foraminifer zones based on the Turborotalia cerroazulensis lineage are recognized. The Paleogene section of this core is unique for the New Jersey coastal plain because it includes a nearly continuous lower Eocene to lower Oligocene sequence of marine sediments. In contrast, previous analyses of this area indicate that a major unconformity is present between the middle Eocene and the Oligocene. A time versus depth plot controlled primarily by nannofossil zone boundaries shows that sediment accumulation rates during the early and middle Eocene were in the range of 6 to 15 feet per million years. During the late Eocene, accumulation rates were much higher, perhaps exceeding 70 feet per million years. The only clear hiatus detected in the Paleogene part of ACGS #4 on the basis of microfossils is between the early and (?)late Oligocene. However, hiatuses are suspected at the early-middle Eocene boundary and within the late Eocene. Occurrences of calcareous nannofossils and planktic foraminifers are documented, and a number of key taxa are illustrated.

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USGS1987

Middle to late Miocene canyon cutting on the New Jersey continental slope: Biostratigraphic and seismic stratigraphic evidence (DSDP/Site 612)

We have identified and dated a major Miocene erosional surface (M1) on the New Jersey continental slope. This surface was penetrated at Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Site 612, which was drilled near the thalweg of a buried V-shaped canyon. Biostratigraphic data at Site 612 firmly constrain the age of strata above the buried canyon surface as Zones CN7 (=NN9) and N16 (lowermost upper Miocene); the upper Miocene surface at Site 612 lies above lowermost Oligocene strata because of coalesced unconformities. We traced the M1 erosional surface to the COST B-3 well where upper middle Miocene strata underlie it. Biostratigraphic studies of other New Jersey continental slope boreholes (ASP 14, ASP 15) suggest that elsewhere the sediments immediately below the M1 surface encompass the Globorotalia fohsi robusta Zone (= Zone N12-earliest N13; middle middle Miocene). The best age estimate is that M1 was eroded between 11.5 and 10.0 Ma. This erosional event apparently correlates with a similar event on the Irish and Florida continental margins and with oxygen-isotope evidence for a glacio-eustatic lowering.

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