Publications

The map shows the altitude of water table surface above seal level in the glacial deposits that form Block Island. Because the sediments are only moderately permeable, the water table is close to the to the surface in most parts of the island, even in hilly areas. The map represents a generalized water-table configuration on the basis of data from many different sampling periods; because the data

Equations developed by multiple-regression analysis of data from 49 drainage basins in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and southwestern Maine indicate that low flow of streams in this region is largely a function of the amount of water available to the basin and the extent of surficial sand and gravel relative to the extent of till and fine-grained stratified drift. Low flow p

Water-use data collected in Rhode Island by different State agencies or maintained by different public suppliers and wastewater- treatment facilities need to be integrated if these data are to be used in making water- resource management decisions. Water-use data for the town of Cumberland, a small area in northeastern Rhode Island, were compiled and integrated to provide an example of how the pr

Observation-well, ground-water-level, and ground- water-quality data were collected for a study of ground-water contamination in stratified drift at Country Pond in Kingston, New Hampshire. The report includes drilling records for 30 wells installed at various depths in stratified drift beneath Country Pond. Ground-water levels are recorded for nine wells drilled under the direction of the U.S. Ge

Potential public water-supply areas of the Cape Cod aquifer, Massachusetts, were identified using a geographic information system (GIS) to aid regional and local ground-water resource management efforts. Criteria were selected to identify potential areas on the basis of data restrictions in addition to State requirements for siting new public water- supply wells, Federal or local restrictions on l

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-capaci

Proper discretization of a ground-water-flow field is necessary for the accurate simulation of ground-water flow by models. Although discretiza- tion guidelines are available to ensure numerical stability, current guidelines arc flexible enough (particularly in vertical discretization) to allow for some ambiguity of model results. Testing of two common types of vertical-discretization schemes (hor

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 Feder

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 q

Estimates of future high, median, and low ground- water levels are needed for engineering and architectural design decisions and for appropriate selection of land uses. For example, the failure of individual underground sewage-disposal systems due to high ground-water levels can be prevented if accurate water-level estimates are available. Estimates of extreme or average conditions are needed beca

Hydrologic controls on sulfate mobility were investigated in a forested catchment in the Georgia Piedmont using a watershed mass balance approach. Variations in annual sulfate export were governed primarily by differences in runoff rather than by differences in sulfate deposition or in total annual precipitation. However, 2 years with similar total runoff had substantially different sulfate export

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