USGS Science⌕ Search

Geology topics

Research about Pennsylvania

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Pennsylvania.

At least 487 records · Page 27Linked to original sources
USGS1985

Effects of low-level dams on the distribution of sediment, trace metals, and organic substances in the lower Schuylkill River basin, Pennsylvania

Heavy use of the Schuylkill River for municipal water supplies and a history of accidental spills and discharges of trace metals and organic substances have been a concern of State and local officials for many years. The U.S. Geological Survey, as part of their River Quality Assessment Program, developed a study to assess the occurrence and distribution of trace substances that pose a threat to human health and aquatic life. This report presents the results of the part of the study that evaluates the effects of low-level dams in the lower basin on the distribution and transport of sediment and trace substances. A combination of historical and current data were used in the assessment. Suspended-sediment data collected at several mainstem and tributary sites from 1954 to 1979 and sedimentation surveys of the six pools in the lower basin were used to define the sediment-transport characteristics of the river. These data provided a base for assessing the transport of trace substances, which are associated closely with riverbed sediments and suspended particles. Water and riverbed samples were collected for analyses of trace substances at numerous sites in the lower basin from 1978 to 1980. The six dams on the river between Pottstown and Philadelphia have had a significant effect on the transport of sediment and trace substances. Between 1954 and 1970, more than 4.7 million cubic yards of sediment accumulated in the pools formed by the dams. The quantity of sediment deposited in the pools ranged from 150,000 cubic yards in Plymouth Pool to 1.6 million cubic yards in Fairmount Pool. The rate of accumulation in the pools was a function of pool size and geometry and the frequency of storms. About 35 percent of the total sediment discharged by the river was stored in the six pools from 1954 to 1970. Since 1970, the net change in sediment accumulation has been minimal. More than 24 percent of the sediment in Fairmount Pool in 1970 was scoured from the pool during Hurricane Agnes in 1972; however, total sediment accumulation returned to the 1970 level within 2 years. Analyses of water samples showed that some trace substances are associated closely with particulate material transported by the river. The concentration of suspended and total cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc correlated well with the concentration of suspended sediment and suspended organic carbon. The average annual discharge of metals in suspension as a percentage of total average annual discharge ranged from 46 percent for nickel to 94 percent for lead for the Schuylkill River at Manayunk. The average annual discharge of each metal remained about the same or decreased between Pottstown and Philadelphia. Synoptic sampling of the inflow and outflow of several pools during storm runoff showed that the pools limit the transport of trace metals. More than 50 percent of the suspended copper transported by the river at Pottstown was deposited in Vincent Pool during the storm of May 12-15, 1980. Similar reductions were observed between Port Kennedy and Manayunk as the storm runoff passed through Norristown, Plymouth, and Flat Rock Pools. Analyses of riverbed sediments showed that concentrations of trace substances were higher in sediments that included all particles finer than 0.062 millimeter than in sediments that included only particles finer than 0.016 millimeter. This suggests that medium and coarse silt particles or conglomerates of finer particles sorb as much or more trace constituents as the individual fine silts and clay particles. Concentrations of trace metals were as much as 90 percent higher in the sediments that included coarse silt. Concentrations of trace organic substances were several times higher in the sediments that included coarse silt than in sediments consisting of only fine silt or clay. Surficial and core samples of riverbed sediments were used to define the present and historical distribution of trace substances in

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1985

Heavy metals in white-tailed deer living near a zinc smelter in Pennsylvania

White-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann)) shot within 20 km of the zinc smelters in the Palmerton, Pennsylvania area contained extremely high renal concentrations of cadmium (372 ppm dry weight (dw)) and zinc (600 ppm dw). The deer with the highest renal zinc concentration was shot 4 km from the smelters and had joint lesions similar to those seen in zinc-poisoned horses from the same area. The highest concentrations of lead in both hard and soft tissues were relatively low, 10.9 ppm dw in a sample of teeth, 17.4 ppm dw in a metacarpus, and 4.9 ppm dw in a kidney.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1984

White clays of Pennsylvania

The white clays of Pennsylvania are composed chiefly of kaolinite and various amounts of illite. Most of the white clays are silty and a few are sandy. Quartz or chert is the only nonclay mineral in the whitest material; goethite is also present in the colored samples high in iron. The average alumina content is slightly more than 20 percent in samples from three clay pits and less than 15 percent in samples from five clay pits. The white clay deposits are found in eastern, south-central, and central Pennsylvania. They occur in rocks of the Appalachian basin that range in age from Cambrian to Devonian; however, their age of formation is Cretaceous or later. Some of the deposits are the result of katamorphic alteration, and some are the result of weathered material being transported and deposited in sinkaoles or caverns. The presence of alunite in one deposit suggests the possibility that the clay may be the result of both katamorphic and hydrothermal alteration.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1984

Geochemical maps of the Cornplanter Roadless Area, Warren County, Pennsylvania

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) made a reconnaissance geochemical survey of the Cornplanter Roadless Area (fig. 1) to test for indistinct or unexposed mineral deposits that might be recognized by their geochemical halos or patterns formed by the distribution of trace elements. Lesure, assisted by Andrew E. Grosz, collected 22 stream-sediment, 63 soil, and 23 rock samples from within and dear the study area during October 1980. All samples were analyzed for 31 elements using semi-quantitative spectrographic methods by Day in USGS laboratories, Denver, Colo. (table 1). In addition, the samples were also analyzed for zinc by means of an atomic absorption method by B.F. Arbogast and W.C. Martin, USGS laboratories, Denver Colo. J.T. Hanley and P.G. Schruben formatted the analytical data by computer methods for table 1.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1984

Ground-water levels in the carbonate rocks of central Chester County, Pennsylvania, May 18 to June 15, 1984

A water-table contour map of the carbonate rocks of central Chester Valley in Chester County, Pennsylvania was constructed based on water levels measured in 104 wells in May and June 1984 , the altitude of 10 springs, and the level reported in 16 wells and one active quarry. The area of carbonate rock underlies parts of East Whiteland, West Whiteland, East Caln, and Caln Townships, the Borough of Downingtown, an the city of Coatesville. Water-level altitudes in the carbonate rocks range from 396 ft above sea level in the western part of East Whiteland Township to 232 ft in Downingtown Borough. (USGS)

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1984

Water resources data, Pennsylvania, water year 1983. Volume 2: Susquehanna and Potomac River basins

Water resources data for the 1983 water year for Pennsylvania consist of records of discharge and water quality of streams; contents of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels, and water quality of ground-water wells. This volume contains records for water discharge at 84 stations; contents at 13 lakes and reservoirs, water quality at 18 gaging stations; and water levels at 26 network observation wells. Also included are data for 12 crest-stage, 98 low flow, and 3 water-quality, and 85 ground water-quality partial-record stations. Locations of these sites are shown on figures 7-10. Additional water data were collected at various sites not involved in-the systematic data-collection program and are published as miscellaneous measurements and analysis. These data together with the data in Volumes 1 and 3 represent that part of the National Water Data System operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State, local, and Federal agencies in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1984

Flow routing in the Susquehanna River basin: Part V – Flow-routing models for the West Branch Susquehanna River basin, Pennsylvania

Digital-computer, daily-flow routing models were developed for four consecutive reaches of the West Branch Susquehanna River between Curwensville and Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. These models will enable water-resources managers to evaluate efficiently the effect of present and future water-resources developments on streamflows at six locations along the West Branch Susquehanna River. The models utilize a unit-response, convolution technique of flowrouting based on diffusion analogy and multilinearization. Estimates of streamflow from the intervening areas of each reach, wave celerity, and wave-dispersion coefficients are the model parameters. These were adjusted until simulated outflow hydrographs and flow statistics adequately approximated those for observed flow data. The overall accuracy of the models is considered good. Average, absolute, daily flow errors between observed and simulated flows ranged from 8.82 to 13.70 percent for the periods that were evaluated. Volume errors for the same periods were between -0.01 and 1.61 percent. Estimates of the 7-day, 10-year low flows for simulated conditions were within 5 percent of those computed for observed flows.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1984

Water-quality and chemical loads of the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, April 1980 to March 1981

Water samples were analyzed for 42 chemical constituents to determine the water quality of the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania from April 1, 1980, to March 31, 1981. The investigation was part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program's Fall Line Monitoring Project to provide information on the Susquehanna River's freshwater input to the Chesapeake Bay. Streamflow and sediment discharge at Harrisburg during the study were 77 and 72 percent, respectively, of the average annual discharges. Precipitation was 16 percent lower than normal. Streamflow for February 1981 was 140 percent higher than the average monthly flow and transported 61 percent of the total annual sediment discharge. Approximately 2,300,000 tons of suspended sediment and 2,990,000 tons of dissolved solids were transported during the study. About 76 percent of the 42,000-ton nitrogen load was dissolved. Nearly 84 percent of the 2,930-ton phosphorus load and 95 percent of the 111,000-ton iron, aluminum and manganese loads were associated with suspended sediment. The herbicides atrazine and 2,4-Dichloro-phenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) were the only pesticides measured in significant concentrations during the study period. Concentrations of 2,4-D varies throughout the year, and atrazine varied mostly during the spring and summer. Seasonal variations for other constituent concentrations and loads were directly related to streamflow. The concentrations of many constituents varies with distance along the sampling cross-section. Maximum concentrations of suspended sediment differed between the east and west channels and fluctuated from one channel to the other. Specific conductance, dissolved nutrients, and dissolved major ions were consistently higher along the east and west banks. Dissolved nitrate concentrations were significantly higher in the vertical section closest to the west bank of the river. Diel variations of water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and specific conductance recorded for the period 1974 through 1978 were greatest during the months of June, July, August, and September. However, no trends in the amount of daily variation were determined for the five years of data. Regular diel variation patterns were observed for water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH for all streamflow conditions except peak flow and ice melt conditions. Specific conductance showed no regular diel variation, and was inversely related to streamflow. All four constituents were greatly influenced for short durations by melting ice.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1983

A reconnaissance geochemical survey of the Clarion River Roadless Area, Allegheny National Forest, Elk County, Pennsylvania

Semiquantitative emission spectrographic analyses for 31 elements were determined on 9 stream-sediment samples and 18 bedrock samples from the Clarion River Roadless Area, Elk County, Pennsylvania. All sample localities are given in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates. Brief descriptions of bedrock samples are also included. Rocks analyzed are mostly sandstone, and siltstone. The analytical data do not indicate the presence of mineralized rock in the study area.

Pennsylvania↗