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Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

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At least 973 records · Page 54Linked to original sources
USGS1999

Summary of the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer-System Analysis, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho

This report summarizes the results of the U.S. Geological Survey's Regional Aquifer-System Analysis program study of the Columbia Plateau aquifer system. The report describes the geologic framework, hydraulic characteristics of rock materials that compose the aquifer system, ground-water movement in the aquifer units, estimates of ground-water recharge, estimates of ground-water pumpage, and effects of surface-water irrigation and ground-water pumpage. The construction and use of a numerical ground-water flow model is described. Based on model results, the effects of potential water-development practices are presented. The ground-water quality and geochemistry of the aquifer system is then discussed.

Idaho, Oregon, Washington↗
USGS1996

Analysis of regional aquifers in the central Midwest of the United States in Kansas, Nebraska, and parts of Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming: Summary

Large quantities of ground water are available for use from three regional aquifer systems in the central Midwest of the United States. Parts of the lowermost aquifer contain nearly immobile brine and may be hydrologically suitable for material storage or waste disposal. Results of numerical modeling and geochemical analyses confirm general concepts of ground-water flow in the regional aquifer systems.

Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Ne↗
USGS1993

Regional aquifers in Kansas, Nebraska, and parts of Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming: Geohydrologic framework

Regional aquifers are described within a 370,000-square-mile area extending from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado to the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers in eastern Nebraska and Missouri, and from South Dakota to the Ouachita, Arbuckle, and Wichita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The present geohydrologic framework of aquifers and confining units in this area is controlled by topography, geologic structures, and hydraulic properties. All of these characteristics are the result of past geologic and hydrologic processes. From the end of the Precambrian to Late Cambrian time, the area was above sea level, and an uneven erosional surface had developed on the fractured crystalline rocks. From Late Cambrian through Middle Ordovician time, a transgressive but cyclic sea covered the area. The oldest deposits were mostly permeable sand followed by slightly permeable calcareous mud consisting of aragonite and algal remains.

Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Ne↗
USGS1997

Geohydrology and simulation of steady-state flow conditions in regional aquifer systems in Cretaceous and older rocks underlying Kansas, Nebraska, and parts of Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming

Three regional aquifers systems are the basis for describing the geohydrology of bedrock aquifers in the central United States. The Great Plains aquifer system, composed of Lower Cretaceous sandstone, generally contains brackish water (1,000 to 10,000 milligrams per liter dissolved solids); the Western Interior Plains aquifer system of lower Paleozoic rocks contains saline water and is laterally adjacent to the freshwater-bearing Ozark Plateaus aquifer system composed of rocks of the same age.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1995

Application of surface-geophysical methods to investigations of sand and gravel aquifers in the glaciated Northeastern United States

Combined use of seismic-refraction, direct-current resistivity, very-low-frequency terrain-resistivity, and inductive terrain-conductivity methods were demonstrated at sites in Connecticut, New York, and Maine. Although no single method can define both the hydrogeologic boundaries and general grain-size characteristics of sand and gravel aquifers, a combination of these methods can. Comparisons of measured electrical properties of aquifers with logs of test holes and wells indicate that, for a given conductivity of ground water, the bulk electrical resistivity of aquifers in the glaciated Northeast increases with grain size.

Northeastern United States↗
USGS2001

Hydrogeologic framework of stratified-drift aquifers in the glaciated Northeastern United States

Stratified glacial deposits in major valleys or lowlands constitute important aquifers in the Northeastern United States. In many locations, stratified drift can be divided into a series of morphosequences, which represent successive time intervals during deglaciation. Deposits are more heterogeneous proximal to the ice contact that at the distal end of the sequence. Coarse-grained sand and gravel deposits, which are usually productive aquifers, tend to be more abundant in the southern part of the glaciated Northeast than farther north. The glaciated region of the Northeastern United States can be classified into several broad hydrophysiographic regions that have distinctive aquifer properties.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1998

Summary of hydrology of the regional aquifer systems, Gulf Coastal Plain, south-central United States

There is potential for further development of ground-water supplies in the Gulf Coastal Plain because of the abundance of water in streams, lakes, and swamps and the generally good hydraulic connection between the water table and underlying water-yielding units. The most favorable conditions for further development of ground-water supplies are generally in the upper permeable zones and aquifers, and the potential for development typically increases from west to east.

Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahom↗
USGS1991

Geohydrologic units of the Mississippi embayment and Texas coastal uplands aquifer systems, south-central United States

As part of the U.S. Geological Survey's Regional Aquifer-System Analysis (RASA) program, the Gulf Coast RASA was initiated to investigate all Tertiary and Quaternary aquifers underlying the Coastal Plain in the south-central United States. Geohydrologic units that make up two of the three regional aquifer systems Mississippi embayment and Texas coastal uplands in the area are described in this report. The gulfward boundary of the outcrop of the two aquifer systems is the southernmost outcrop or subcrop of the Vicksburg-Jackson confining unit, and the updip boundary is the contact between Cretaceous and Tertiary deposits, extending northward to the southern tip of Illinois. The uppermost Cretaceous aquifer, the McNairy-Nacatoch aquifer in the northern part of the Mississippi embayment, is also included where it may be hydraulically connected to the younger sediments. Major regional geohydrologic units generally are coincident with previously defined geologic units. Most of the geohydrologic units consist of alternating sand and clay; however, the entire sequence becomes a clay and carbonate facies gulfward. The regional geohydrologic units delineated in this study, from youngest to oldest, are (1) Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, (2) Vicksburg-Jackson confining unit, (3) upper Claiborne aquifer, (4) middle Claiborne confining unit, (5) middle Claiborne aquifer, (6) lower Claiborne confining unit, (7) lower Claiborne-upper Wilcox aquifer, (8) middle Wilcox aquifer, (9) lower Wilcox aquifer, (10) Midway confining unit, and (11) McNairy-Nacatoch aquifer. The Mississippi embayment aquifer system contains all of these units and has a maximum thickness of about 5,000 feet. The Texas coastal uplands aquifer system, which is contiguous with the Mississippi embayment aquifer system and extends westward and southwestward from the Sabinc uplift, contains all of the foregoing geohydrologic units except the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, the lower Wilcox aquifer, and the McNairy-Nacatoch aquifer. The Texas coastal uplands aquifer system has a maximum thickness of about 7,000 feet.

Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, ↗
USGS1996

Hydrology of the Mississippi River valley alluvial aquifer, south-central United States

Ground-water flow simulation indicates that pumpage from the aquifer since the early 1900's has caused a decrease in ground-water outflow to rivers, an increase in flow from rivers into the aquifer, and an increase in flow to the aquifer through the overlying confining unit. By the mid-1970's, rivers became a source of more than 30 percent of total flow into the aquifer rather than the sink of net outflow, and by 1982 inflow through the overlying confining unit increased about 60 percent. Areas with the greatest potential for additional pumpage are northwestern Mississippi and northern parts of the area east of Crowleys Ridge.

Professional Paper↗
USGS2001

Ground-water flow in the Gulf Coast aquifer systems, south-central United States

The Gulf Coast regional aquifer systems constitute one of the largest, most complicated, and most interdependent aquifer systems in the United States. Ground-water flow in a 230,000-square-mile area of the south-central United States was modeled for the effect of withdrawing freshwater at the rate of nearly 10 billion gallons per day in 1985 from regional aquifers in the Mississippi Embayment, the Texas coastal uplands, and the coastal lowlands aquifer systems. The 1985 rate of pumping was three times the average rate of recharge to the aquifers before development. The report also estimates the effects of even greater withdrawal rates in the aquifer systems. About two-thirds of the water in the aquifers is saline to brine, which complicates the modeling. Land subsidence due to water withdrawal also was modeled.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1996

Regional stratigraphy and subsurface geology of Cenozoic deposits, Gulf Coastal Plain, south-central United States

The Gulf Coast Regional Aquifer-System Analysis study includes all major Cenozoic aquifer systems in the Gulf Coastal Plain of Alabama, Arkansas, westernmost Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. Although Cenozoic deposits are not uniformly differentiated, interstate correlations of major Paleocene and Eocene units are generally established, and the altitude of the top and thickness of seven units were mapped. Younger deposits are not as well differentiated; therefore, only three of the younger units were mapped.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1999

Hydrology of the coastal lowlands aquifer system in parts of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi

Existing data on water levels, water use, water quality, and aquifer properties were used to construct a multilayer digital model to simulate flow in the aquifer system. The report describes the geohydrologic framework of the aquifer system, and the development, calibration, and sensitivity analysis of the ground-water-flow model, but it is primarily focused on the results of the simulations that show the natural flow of ground water throughout the regional aquifer system and the changes from the natural flow caused by development of ground-water supplies.

Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi↗