William M. Kappel

Effects of solution mining of salt on wetland hydrology as inferred from tree rings

Radial growth and concentrations of selected elements within rings were studied in white pine (Pinus strobus) trees from a wetland in central New York approximately 5 km north of a salt-solution mining field that operated from 1889 to 1988. Trees seemingly document three sequential episodes of mine-induced alterations of groundwater discharge irrigating the wetland during the 100-year period. The radial growth of trees established before the onset of mining declined abruptly in the early 1890s and remained suppressed until about 1960, as did growth of numerous other trees that became established after the onset of mining. Suppressed pre-1960 radial growth coincided with the interval that surface water was injected into the saltbeds, suggesting that losses of injected water to the bedrock and/or unconsolidated deposits increased groundwater flow into the wetland. An abrupt and sustained enhancement of radial growth beginning about 1960 indicates that the wetland became drier, and thus more conducive to tree growth, when injection practices were discontinued in the late 1950s despite the continued pumping of brine. Following the cessation of mining in the late 1980s, head pressures again increased in the upper valley, driving chloride-enriched flow northward along regional bedding-plane fractures and into the wetland. Large concentrations of chloride were detected within the most recently formed rings of some trees. As the result of chloride-enriched irrigation, the radial growth of some trees declined, and some trees died. Thus trees have preserved evidence of a century of hydrologic alterations, unobtainable by other means, where the effects of brine mining have not been documented previously.

Assessment of surface water chloride and conductivity trends in areas of unconventional oil and gas development—Why existing national data sets cannot tell us what we would like to know

Heightened concern regarding the potential effects of unconventional oil and gas development on regional water quality has emerged, but the few studies on this topic are limited in geographic scope. Here we evaluate the potential utility of national and publicly available water-quality data sets for addressing questions regarding unconventional oil and gas development. We used existing U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data sets to increase understanding of the spatial distribution of unconventional oil and gas development in the U.S. and broadly assess surface water quality trends in these areas. Based on sample size limitations, we were able to estimate trends in specific conductance (SC) and chloride (Cl−) from 1970 to 2010 in 16% (n = 155) of the watersheds with unconventional oil and gas resources. We assessed these trends relative to spatiotemporal distributions of hydraulically fractured wells. Results from this limited analysis suggest no consistent and widespread trends in surface water quality for SC and Cl− in areas with increasing unconventional oil and gas development and highlight limitations of existing national databases for addressing questions regarding unconventional oil and gas development and water quality.

Geomorphic studies of landslides in the Tully Valley, New York: implications for public policy and planning

On April 27, 1993, a large landslide in the Tully Valley, Onondaga County, NY, destroyed three houses and resulted in the evacuation of four others; it also triggered a loss of potable drinking water for about 15 homes north of the slide area and affected a total of 20 ha of land. In the 7 years following this slide, several studies have been conducted by federal and state environmental agencies and by local universities. The goal of these investigations has been to determine what caused this slide, document the history of past landslides in the region, and establish whether future slides are likely to occur. This paper reports on the results of these investigations and examines their effect on the Tully Valley community.

Infiltration and hydraulic connections from the Niagara River to a fractured-dolomite aquifer in Niagara Falls, New York

Abstract The spatial distribution of hydrogen and oxygen stable-isotope values in groundwater can be used to distinguish different sources of recharge and to trace groundwater flow directions from recharge boundaries. This method can be particularly useful in fractured-rock settings where multiple lines of evidence are required to delineate preferential flow paths that result from heterogeneity within fracture zones. Flow paths delineated with stable isotopes can be combined with hydraulic data to form a more complete picture of the groundwater flow system. In this study values of δD and δ 18 O were used to delineate paths of river-water infiltration into the Lockport Group, a fractured dolomite aquifer, and to compute the percentage of river water in groundwater samples from shallow bedrock wells. Flow paths were correlated with areas of high hydraulic diffusivity in the shallow bedrock that were delineated from water-level fluctuations induced by diurnal stage fluctuations in man-made hydraulic structures. Flow paths delineated with the stable-isotope and hydraulic data suggest that river infiltration reaches an unlined storm sewer in the bedrock through a drainage system that surrounds carrying river water to hydroelectric power plants. This findings is significant because the storm sewer is the discharge point for contaminated groundwater from several chemical waste-disposal sites and the cost of treating the storm sewers discharge could be reduced if the volume of infiltration from the river were decreased.

Hydrogeology of the Owego-Apalachin Elementary School Geothermal Fields, Tioga County, New York

The hydrogeology of the Owego-Apalachin Elementary School geothermal fields, which penetrate saline water and methane in fractured upper Devonian age bedrock in the Owego Creek valley, south-central New York, was characterized through the analysis of drilling and geophysical logs, water-level monitoring data, and specificdepth water samples. Hydrogeologic insights gained during the study proved beneficial for the design of the geothermal drilling program and protection of the overlying aquifer during construction, and may be useful for the development of future geothermal fields and other energyrelated activities, such as drilling for oil and natural gas in similar fractured-bedrock settings. The southwest geothermal field consists of 204 closedloop wells that penetrate a major saline water-bearing zone associated with bedding-plane fractures near the middle of an interbedded sandstone and shale interval at depths of 238 to 263 feet below land surface (ft bls). The northeast geothermal field consists of 80 closed-loop wells that penetrate a major saline water-bearing zone associated with bedding-plane fractures near the base of the interbedded sandstone and shale interval at depths of 303 to 323 ft bls. Transmissivity estimates for the major saline waterbearing fractured zones range from 735 to 3,400 feet squared per day. The saline water-bearing zone in the southwest field is hydraulically connected over a horizontal distance of at least 350 feet. The hydraulic connection between subhorizontal, stacked bedding-plane fractures is limited by the number and transmissivity of interspersed higher angle fractures; locally, greater stratigraphic separation results in reduced connectivity to a greater degree than does horizontal distance. The specific conductance of the saline water from the shallower fractured zone in the southwest field was about 16,000 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius (μS/cm at 25° C), and that from the fractured zone in the northeast field was about 65,000 μS/cm at 25° C. The saline waters were characterized by a chemical composition similar to that of deep formation brines collected from oil and gas wells in the Appalachian Basin. About 40 percent of the geothermal wells discharged methane gas to land surface during and (or) following drilling. Sandstone beds at depths of 348 to 378 ft bls are the likely source of the methane gas, which was determined to be early thermogenic in origin. Introduction During September 7–11, 2011, flooding associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee caused major property losses in south-central New York. The OwegoApalachin Elementary School (OAES) in the Town of Owego, Tioga County, New York, (figs. 1 and 2) was heavily damaged. Following assessment of the damage, the OwegoApalachin Central School District (OACSD) decided to rebuild the elementary school at the same location but at a higher elevation. A closed-loop geothermal system was selected as the source for heating and cooling of the new elementary school. The closed-loop geothermal system for the OAES consists of two geothermal fields within the Owego Creek valley (figs. 1 and 2). The OAES geothermal fields are arrayed in two rectangular grids. The southwest geothermal field consists of 204 boreholes, and the northeast field consists of 80 boreholes. The boreholes are spaced 20 feet (ft) apart, cased through the valley-fill deposits, and completed in bedrock at a depth of 495 feet below land surface (ft bls). The land surface gently slopes toward Owego Creek from 815 feet above sea level (ft asl) at eastern edge of the northeast field to 812.5 ft asl at the western edge of the southwest field. As described by Reynolds and Garry (1990), the Owego Creek and Susquehanna River valleys at Owego are underlain by alluvial, glaciofluvial, glaciolacustrine, and till deposits (fig. 1). In the OAES geothermal fields, the valleyfill sediments are about 130 ft thick, most of which are variably silty sand and gravel deposits of glaciofluvial origin (fig. 3). Upper Devonian sedimentary bedrock underlies the valley fill and is mantled by till in the surrounding uplands. The sedimentary bedrock is folded into broad anticlines and synclines in south-central New York. Owego is on the north limb of the Elmira Anticline and the south limb of the Horseheads Syncline. The axial traces of the anticlinal and synclinal structures locally trend east–west. The bedrock strata generally dip about 30 feet per mile (ft/mi) to the north in the Owego area (Wedel, 1932). 2 Hydrogeology of the Owego-Apalachin Elementary School Geothermal Fields, Tioga County, New York