Soil geochemical signature of urbanization and industrialization – Chicago, Illinois, USA

The concentrations of 45 elements in ambient (not obviously disturbed) surface soils were determined for 57 sites distributed throughout the city of Chicago, Illinois in the upper Midwestern United States. These concentrations were compared to soils from 105 sites from a largely agricultural region within a 500-km radius surrounding the city and to soils collected from 90 sites across the state of Illinois. Although the bulk composition of the Chicago urban soils reflects largely natural sources, the soils are significantly enriched in many trace elements, apparently from anthropogenic sources. The median concentration of Pb in Chicago soils is 198 mg/kg, a 13-fold enrichment compared to regional concentrations. Zinc (median 235 mg/kg), Cu (59 mg/kg), and Ni (31 mg/kg) are also enriched from 2- to 4-fold in Chicago soils and all four elements show strong mutual correlations. These elevated concentrations are most likely related to vehicular and roadway sources and represent uneven distribution across the city as airborne material. Other airborne particulate material from a combination of fossil fuel combustion, waste incineration, and steel production may contribute to apparent elevated concentrations in Chicago soil of Fe (median 2.9%), Mo (5 mg/kg), V (82 mg/kg) and S (0.09%). Chicago soils are enriched from about 1.6- to 3-fold in these elements. Enrichments in P and Se may be caused by direct addition of phosphate fertilizer to parklands, lawns and gardens. The density of the sampling (1 site per 10 km²) is inadequate to define the distribution of the observed enrichments within the city or to predict soil compositions for most of the areas between sample sites, but does provide a statistically significant signature of the history of urban and industrial activity within the city in contrast to the surrounding agricultural lands.     

Archaeomagnetic record from Modoc Rock Shelter,Illinois, for the time range of 6200–8900 B.P.

The Modoc Rock Shelter is located in Randolph County, Illinois at the base of the Mississippi River bluffs, and is documented as having human occupation from 9000 B.P. to as recently as 800 B.P. Two hundred twenty-eight archaeomagnetic samples were collected from 28 surface hearths in two different excavation areas. Pilot samples from each hearth were A.F. demagnetized to 100 mT to establish the optimum demagnetization level for all samples from a specific hearth. The magnetic directions for individual hearths after appropriate demagnetization have high precision with α-95 values between 2° and 4°. Independent inclination and declination records from the two excavations, which were correlated with conventional radiocarbon dates, overlap in time and show good correlation. The composite record shows a prominent eastward declination swing of 15° from 6500–7800 yr B.P., followed by a westward swing of equal magnitude from 8000–8900 yr B.P. The inclination record is less varied. This secular variation record correlates well with soft sediment records from lakes in the north-central United States and is perhaps the longest and oldest archaeomagnetic secular variation record from a single site in North America. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Hydrogeology and historical assessment of a classic sequential-land use landfill site,Illinois, U.S.A.

The Blackwell site in northeastern Illinois was a classic sequential-use project combining land reclamation, a sanitary landfill, and a recreational park. This paper adds a recent assessment of leachate generation and groundwater contamination to the site's unfinished record. Hydrogeological studies show that (1) the landfill sits astride an outwash aquifer and a till mound, which are separated from an underlying dolomite aquifer by a thin, silty till; (2) leachate leaks from the landfill at an estimated average rate between 48 and 78 m³/d; (3) the resultant contaminant plume is virtually stagnant in the till but rapidly diluted in the outwash aquifer, so that no off-site contamination is detected; (4) trace VOC levels in the dolomite probably indicate that contaminants have migrated there from the landfill-derived plume in the outwash. Deviations from the original landfill concepts included elimination of a leachate collection system, increased landfill size, local absence of a clay liner, and partial use of nonclay cover. The hydrogeological setting was unsuitable for the landfill as constructed, indicating the importance of detailed geological consideration in landfill and land-use planning.     

Geophysical Surveys over Karst Recharge Features,Illinois,USA

Karst aquifers supply a significant fraction of the world's drinking water. These types of aquifers are alsohighly susceptible to pollution from the surface with recharge usually occurring through fractures and solution openings at the bedrock surface. Thickness of the protective soil cover, macropores and openings within the soil cover, and the nature of the weathered bedrock surface all influence infiltration. Recharge openings at the bedrock surface, however, are often covered by unconsolidated sediments, resulting in the inadvertent placement of landfills, unregulated dump sites, tailing piles, waste lagoons and septic systems over recharge zones. In these settings surface geophysical surveys, calibrated by a few soil cores, could be employed to identify these recharge openings, and qualitatively assess the protection afforded by the soil cover. In a test of this hypothesis, geophysical measurements accurately predicted the thickness of unconsolidated deposits overlying karstic dolomite at a site ab     

A strontium isotopic study of formation waters from the Illinois basin, U.S.A.

The isotopic composition of Sr has been measured in 73 formation-water samples from Paleozoic strata in the Illinois basin; ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios range from 0.7079 to 0.7108. With the exception of four samples, the waters are more radiogenic than corresponding Paleozoic sea-water values. The relatively narrow range of slightly elevated ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr rations is uniformly distributed in waters throughout the stratigraphic column and in Silurian waters across the basin. Isotopic analyses of core samples from reservoir rocks show an absence of water-rock Sr isotopic equilibration. Basin lithology and analyses of detrital rock units indicate that clay minerals in shales and in quartz sandstone matrices represent the only significant source of radiogenic Sr for the waters. Silurian and Devonian water show a two-component mixing relation which suggests that they comprise a single hydrogeological system that evolved when radiogenic water from New Albany shales entered Silurian-Devonian carbonate rocks and mixed with marine interstitial water. Regional migration of the waters and associated petroleum within the Silurian-Devonian strata, proposed in other studies, is consistent with the Sr isotopic data. Under favorable circumstances subsurface waters are capable of retaining a Sr isotopic recor of their evolution.     

Fossil flat-slab subduction beneath the Illinois basin, USA

The Illinois basin is one of several well-studied intracratonic sedimentary basins within the North American craton whose formational mechanisms and subcrustal structure are not well understood. We study the S-velocity structure of the upper mantle beneath the Illinois basin and its surrounding area through seismic tomography. We utilize continental scale waveform data of seismic S and surface waves, enhanced by regional earthquakes located near the Illinois basin. Our 3D tomographic model, IL05, confirms the existence of a slow S-velocity structure in the uppermost mantle beneath the Illinois basin region. This anomalously slow region exists from the base of the crust to depths of  90 km, and is slower than the North American cratonic average by about 200 m/s. This anomalous uppermost mantle beneath the Illinois basin is underlain by a faster lithosphere, typical of the surrounding craton, to depths of  200 km. Excluding the formation of the Reelfoot Rift, this area of North American has been stable for over 1.0 Gy. Thus, we do not expect thermal anomalies from before that time to persist into present day S-velocity anomalies and we consider a delamination origin as an explanation of Illinois basin subsidence unlikely. We cannot rule out that the slow mid-lithosphere beneath the Illinois basin is caused by an uppermost mantle enriched by a deep, but weak plume. We attribute the slow mid-lithosphere to the presence of either oceanic, hydrous crust, or, a relatively cool mantle wedge with preserved hydrous minerals in the Illinois basin's uppermost mantle, related to a fossilized flat subduction zone.     

Petrology,geochronology,and geophysical characterization of Mesoproterozoic rocks in central Illinois,USA

The Precambrian basement rocks of the Eastern Granite-Rhyolite Province(EGRP)in central Illinois(midcontinent region of North America)exhibit a complex history of early volcanism,granite emplacement,and intrusion of mafic rocks.A comprehensive suite of dedicated petrographic analyses,geophysical logs,and drill core from four basement-penetrating wells,two-dimensional and three-dimensional seismic reflection data,and U-Pb age data from the Illinois Basin–Decatur Project(IBDP)and Illinois Carbon Capture Storage(ICCS)Project site provide new constraints for interpreting the Precambrian basement of the Illinois Basin.These new data reveal the basement to be compositionally and structurally complex,having typical EGRP felsic volcanic rocks intruded by the first reported gabbro in the Precambrian basement in Illinois.Zircons(n?29)from rhyolite give a U-Pb weighted mean average age of 14679 Ma.Zircons(n?3)from a gabbro dike that intrudes the rhyolite yield a concordia age of 107312 Ma,which corresponds to Grenville-age extension and represents the first Grenville-age rock in Illinois and in the EGRP.A high-resolution three-dimensional seismic reflection volume,coincident with the four wells,provides a context for interpreting the petrological data and implies a high degree of heterogeneity for basement rocks at the IBDP–ICCS site,as also shown by the drill cores.The occurrence of Grenville-age gabbro is related to a prominent bowl-like structure observed on local two-dimensional seismic reflection profiles and the three-dimensional volume that is interpreted as a deep-seated mafic sill complex.Furthermore,heterogeneities such as the brecciated EGRP rhyolite and later gabbro intrusion observed in the basement lithology at the IBDP–ICCS may reflect previously unknown distal elements of the 1.1 Ga Midcontinent Rift in the EGRP and more likely Grenville-age extension.     

Dips, ramps, and rolls — evidence for paleotopographic and syn-depositional fault control on the Western Kentucky No. 4 coal bed, Tradewater Formation (Bolsovian), Illinois Basin

The Western Kentucky No. 4 coal is a high-volatile B to high-volatile C bituminous coal that has been heavily mined along the southern margin of the Western Kentucky Coal Field. The seam has a reputation for rolling floor elevation. Elongate trends of floor depressions are referred to as “dips” and “rolls” by miners. Some are relatively narrow and straight to slightly curvilinear in plan view, with generally symmetric to slightly asymmetric cross-sections. Others are broader and asymmetric in section, with sharp dips on one limb and gradual, ramp-like dips on the other. Some limbs change laterally from gradual dip, to sharp dip, to offset of the coal. Lateral changes in the rate of floor elevation dip are often associated with changes in coal thickness, and in underground mines, changes in floor elevation are sometimes associated with roof falls and haulage problems. In order to test if coal thickness changes within floor depressions were associated with changes in palynology, petrography and coal quality, the coal was sampled at a surface mine across a broad, ramp-like depression that showed down-dip coal thickening. Increment samples of coal from a thick (150 cm), down-ramp and thinner (127 cm), up-ramp position at one surface mine correlate well between sample sites (a distance of 60 m) except for a single increment. The anomalous increment (31 cm) in the lower-middle part of the thick coal bed contained 20% more Lycospora orbicula spores.The rolling floor elevations noted in the study mines are inferred to have been formed as a result of pre-peat paleotopographic depressions, syn-depositional faulting, fault-controlled pre-peat paleotopography, and from compaction beneath post-depositional channels and slumps. Although the association of thick coal with linear trends and inferred faults has been used in other basins to infer syn-depositional faulting, changes in palynology within increment samples of the seam along a structural ramp in this study provide subtle evidence of faulting within a specific increment of the coal itself. The sudden increase in L. orbicula (produced by Paralycopodites) in a single increment of a down-ramp sample of the Western Kentucky No. 4 coal records the reestablishment of a rheotrophic mire following a sudden change in edaphic conditions. Paralycopodites was a colonizing lycopod, which in this case became locally abundant after the peat was well established along a fault with obvious growth during peat accumulation. Because many coal-mire plants were susceptible to sudden edaphic changes as might accompany faulting or flooding, changes in palynology would be expected in coals affected by syn-depositional faulting.     

C-S-Fe relationships and the isotopic composition of pyrite in the New Albany Shale of the Illinois Basin,U.S.A.

The relationship between pyritic sulfur content (S_pyr) and organic carbon content (C_org) of shales analyzed from the New Albany Group depends upon C_org. For samples of <6 wt.% C_org, S_pyt, and C_org are strongly correlated (r = 0.85). For C_org-“rich” shales (>6 wt.%), no S_pty-C_org, correlation is apparent. The degree of Fe pyritization (DOP) shows similar relationships to C_org. These C-S-Fe relationships suggest that pyrite formation was limited by the availability of metabolizable organic carbon in samples where C_org < 6 wt.% and by the availability of reactive Fe for samples where C_org > 6 wt.%. Apparent sulfur isotope fractionations relative to contemporaneous seawater sulfate (Δ³⁴S) for pyrite formation average −40% for non-calcareous shales and −25%. for calcareous shales. Δ³⁴S values become smaller with increasing C_org, S_pyt, and DOP for all C_org-“poar” (<6 wt%) and some C_org-“nch” (<6 wt.%) shales. These trends suggest that pyrite formation occurred in a closed system or that instantaneous bacterial fractionation for sulfate reduction decreased in magnitude with increasing organic carbon content. The isotopic trends observed in the New Albany Group are not necessarily representative of other shales having a comparable range of organic carbon content, e.g. Cretaceous shales and mudstones from the western interior of North America (GAUTIER, 1986). Δ³⁴S values in the remainder of the C_org-rich New Albany Group shales are relatively large (−38 to −47%.) and independent of C_org, S_pyr, and DOP, which suggests that pyrite in these shales formed mostly at or above the sediment-water interface by precipitation from an isotopically uniform reservoir of dissolved H₂S.     

Internal architecture of a till sheet,Tiskilwa Formation,north‐central Illinois,USA: Application of architectural element analysis

Thick till sheets deposited during the Quaternary form significant aquitards in many areas of North America. However, the detailed sedimentary heterogeneity and architecture and depositional history of till units are not well understood. This study utilizes architectural element analysis to delineate the internal sedimentary architecture of the Tiskilwa Formation exposed at two outcrop sections in north‐central Illinois, USA. Architectural element analysis facilitates systematic delineation of sedimentary architecture based on the nature of facies contacts and change in facies associations, delineation of unit geometries and understanding of depositional processes at different scales of resolution; making architectural element analysis suitable for the sedimentological analysis and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of subglacial deposits. Eleven facies types are identified in this study, including sand, gravel and diamict facies that record a suite of subglacial depositional processes. Detailed analysis of facies contacts (bounding surface hierarchy) and change in facies associations allows the delineation of five architectural elements, including coarse‐grained lens, coarse‐grained sheet, mixed zone, diamict lens and diamict sheet elements. The spatial arrangement and genetic interpretation of elements, and their spatial relationship with fifth‐order bounding surfaces, allows the delineation of five larger scale architectural units (‘element associations’), which can be mapped in the local study area and record at least three stacked successions of meltwater accumulation and till deposition. The results of this study can be utilized for architectural analysis of till sheets and provide insight to groundwater flow pathways through till in the study area and elsewhere.     

Modern,Sangamon and Yarmouth soil development in loess of unglaciated southwestern Illinois

The Thebes Section in unglaciated southwestern Illinois contains a well preserved ∼500 kyr loess–paleosol sequence with four loesses and three interglacial soils. Various magnetic, mineralogical, and elemental properties were analyzed and compared over the thickness of soil sola. These proxies for soil development intensity have the following trend: Yarmouth Geosol>Sangamon Geosol>modern soil. Quartz/plagioclase, Zr/Sr, and TiO₂/Na₂O ratios were most sensitive to weathering. Frequency dependent magnetic susceptibility and anhysteretic remanent magnetization, greatest in A horizons, also correspond well with soil development intensity. Neoformed mixed-layered kaolinite/expandables, suggestive of a warm/humid climate, were detected in the Sangamon and Yarmouth soil sola. Clay illuviation in soils was among the least sensitive indicators of soil development. Differences in properties among interglacial soils are interpreted to primarily reflect soil development duration, with climatic effects being secondary. Assuming logarithmic decreases in weathering rates, the observed weathering in the Sangamon Geosol is consistent with 50 kyr of interglacial weathering (Oxygen Isotope Stage 5) compared to 10 kyr for the modern soil (Oxygen Isotope Stage 1). We propose that the Yarmouth Geosol in the central Midwest formed over 180 kyr of interglacial weathering (including oxygen isotope stages 7, 9, and 11).     

Geophysical response of slackwater and sandy terrace deposits near Savanna, Northwestern Illinois

Low-permeability clayey and silty river terrace deposits are an important component in protecting underlying aquifers from contamination by agrochemicals and other contaminants. Such deposits also record deglaciation dynamics, meltwater drainage and local climatic variations. In this study, conducted over Mississippi River terraces near Savanna, Illinois, clayey slackwater terrace deposits and sandy terrace deposits are examined using resistivity soundings, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles and direct-push conductivity logs. The clayey terrace deposits are characterized by low resistivity (10–35 ohm-m) and slow GPR wave velocity (0.07 m/ns), whereas non-clayey terrace deposits exhibit much higher resistivity (169–1,762 ohm-m) and faster GPR wave velocities (0.15 m/ns). Sandy and clayey terrace deposits may thus be differentiated and mapped on the basis of their geophysical response. Models based on resistivity soundings provide reasonably accurate estimates of the thickness of clayey slackwater deposits, but fail to reveal thin sands embedded in the clayey deposits. In some cases, the full thickness of the slackwater deposits was also not revealed. GPR profiles, however, imaged these embedded shallow sands and possibly imaged deeper sands below the base of the slackwater deposits, giving more accurate estimates of thickness. GPR also accurately resolved the thickness and character of sandy terrace deposits. Direct-push conductivity logs provide both accurate estimates of the thickness of clayey slackwater terrace deposits and a means of identifying thin embedded sands. In summary, resistivity soundings image these deposits at the lowest resolution with one-dimensional models, whereas GPR provides much higher resolution showing detailed layering within the upper several meters. Direct-push conductivity logs provide the highest resolution, but are invasive and only reveal stratigraphy at one location.     

Analysis of base flow trends in urban streams, northeastern Illinois, USA

Statistical analysis shows that mean annual base flows in three unregulated urban streams in northeastern Illinois do not display significant trends during periods of substantial watershed urbanization. However, statistically-significant upward trends in median annual base flow (probably emblematic of overall changes in the time-distribution of the base flow), characterized by increases in lower base flow rates, affected the flows in all three streams. The analysis reveals no trends in annual and monthly precipitation during these periods. These results are in contrast to results from studies of other urban streams that have shown decreases in base flow, but these results may be partially explained by the low permeability of the near-surface materials in the watersheds investigated. This study employs formal hypothesis-testing of Kendall tau-a trend statistics computed for monthly and annual base flow and precipitation rates to assess the impact of urban development on base flow rates.

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Resumen El análisis estadístico muestra que el flujo base anual medio en tres arroyos urbanos no regulados en el noreste de Illinois no ostenta tendencias significativas durante los periodos de urbanización sustancial de la cuenca. Sin embargo, el flujo en los tres arroyos fue afectado por tendencias al incremento en el flujo base annual medio. Esto es probablemente emblemático en cambios globales en el tiempo-distribución del flujo base caracterizado por incrementos en las tasas de flujo base bajo y afecta a los tres arroyos. El análisis no revela ninguna tendencia en la precipitación annual y mensual durante estos periodos. Estos resultados contrastan con los resultados de estudios de otros arroyos urbanos que muestran un decrecimiento en el fujo base. Sin embargo, estos resultados pueden explicarse parcialmente por la baja permeabilidad de los materiales cercanos a la superficie en las cuencas investigadas. Este estudio emplea las estadísticas de tendencia tau-a de la hipótesis de prueba formal de Kendall - calculadas según los flujos base mensuales y anuales y las tasas de precipitación. El objetivo es evaluar los impactos del desarrollo urbano sobre las tasas de flujo base.

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Résumé Une analyse statistique démontre que la moyenne annuelle de lécoulement de base dans trois rivières urbaines non réglementées du nord est de lIllinois ne montre pas de tendance significative lors de périodes durbanisation massive du bassin versant. Par contre, une tendance statistiquement significative à la hausse de lécoulement de base médian, probablement représentatif de lensemble des changements dans la distribution temporelle de lécoulement de base caractérisé par une augmentation des faibles taux découlement de base, affecte lécoulement dans les trois rivières. Lanalyse ne révèle pas de tendance dans les précipitations annuelles et mensuelles lors de ces périodes. Ces résultats contrastent avec les résultats dautres études de rivières en milieu urbain qui ont montré une diminution de lécoulement de base. Les résultats obtenus lors de cette étude peuvent partiellement être expliqués par la faible perméabilité des dépôts de surface dans le bassin versant étudié. Cette étude utilise le test dhypothèse tau de Kandall, une tendance statistique calculée pour lécoulement de base annuel et mensuel et des taux de précipitation dans le but de déterminer limpact du développement urbain sur les taux découlement de base.

     

Climate change in southern Illinois, USA, based on the age and δC of organic matter in cave sediments

Matrix-supported diamicton and uniform to laminated, silty, fine-grained sediment deposited from about 42,500 to 27,600 cal yr B.P. under slackwater conditions nearly filled two caves in southwestern Illinois. At some point, most of the sediment was flushed from the caves and from about 22,700 to 4000 cal yr B.P., floods deposited a drape of sandy and silty sediment on remnant slackwater successions, cobbly alluvium, and bedrock (especially from 7700 to 4000 cal yr B.P.). Clay mineral analyses of the slackwater cave sediment reveal a provenance of chiefly Petersburg Silt, a smectite- and illite-rich proglacial lacustrine unit present in the overlying Illinois Episode glacial succession. Today, remnants of the ancient subterranean slackwater deposits nearly fill several secondary passages and, in at least two locations, cover a cobble-mantled strath terrace 1.3 to 1.5 m above active stream channels. Slumping and sinkhole formation appear to have been important mechanisms for deposition of the ancient subterranean deposits. Slumping of these surficial deposits and associated vegetation can occur along the flanks of sinkholes (in addition to sinkhole formation) and enter caves; however, the finer organics, some of them comminuted during transport into the caves, become part of the cave alluvium. This finer organic fraction is the modern analog of the humified organic matter disseminated in slackwater sediment dated in this investigation by radiocarbon methods. Twenty-four ¹⁴C ages on humified organic matter provide chronologic control. The δ¹³C values of the organic matter reflect the proportion of C₄-type to C₃-type vegetation growing in and around swallets and sinkholes at the time of redeposition. Drought-tolerant C₄-type vegetation was more prevalent relative to C₃-type vegetation from 42,500 to 31,200 cal yr B.P. compared to conditions from 28,800 cal yr B.P. to the present. The δ¹³C values are consistent with the results from other investigations of speleothems and organic matter from loessial paleosols.     

Tertiary and Quaternary tectonic faulting in southernmost Illinois

Tertiary and/or Quaternary tectonic faulting is documented in three areas of southernmost Illinois: the Fluorspar Area Fault Complex (FAFC) in Pope and Massac Counties, the Ste. Genevieve Fault Zone (SGFZ) in Alexander and Union Counties, and the Commerce Fault Zone (CFZ) in Alexander County.

In the FAFC, faults that strike NE and NNE displace Mounds Gravel (late Miocene to early Pleistocene) and, locally, the Metropolis terrace gravel (Pleistocene; pre-Woodfordian). No Woodfordian or younger deposits are deformed. Faults typically outline narrow, linear grabens that formed under tension with a component of strike slip.

North-south to NW-trending vertical faults near the southeast end of the SGFZ displace Eocene sediments. Again, faults outline narrow grabens and show indications of strike slip. Deformed Quaternary sediments have not been observed.

The CFZ, which trends northeast, displaces Mounds Gravel in Illinois and units as young as Peoria Silt (Woodfordian) in Missouri. Quaternary movement has been interpreted as right-lateral strike-slip. The CFZ coincides with a subtle gravity and magnetic lineament and seems to reflect a major feature in the basement. Surface expression in Illinois is subtle, but mafic and ultramafic intrusions, hydrothermal alteration and small faults align with the Commerce geophysical lineament. Earthquake foci in Missouri and Illinois lie on or close to the CFZ; some focal mechanisms fit the fault trend.

Among these structures, only the CFZ exhibits slip that conforms to the current stress field (principal compressive stress axis E-W to ENE-WSW). Possibly, the stress field changed during Neogene time. Alternatively, high fluid pressures or local stress concentrations may have induced slip on less favorably oriented fractures. Tighter constraints are needed on timing, magnitude, and direction of Neogene displacement.     

Groundwater geochemistry in shallow aquifers above longwall mines in Illinois, USA

 Aquifers above high-extraction underground coal mines are not affected by mine drainage, but they may still exhibit changes in groundwater chemistry due to alterations in groundwater flow induced by mine subsidence. At two active longwall mine sites in Illinois, USA, glacial-drift aquifers were largely unaffected by mining, but the geochemistry of the bedrock aquifers changed during the post-mining water-level recovery. At the Jefferson site, brackish, high-sulfate water present in the upper bedrock shale briefly had lower values of total dissolved solids (TDS) after mining due to increased recharge from the overlying drift, whereas TDS and sulfate increased in the sodium-bicarbonate water present in the underlying sandstone due to downward leakage from the shale and lateral inflow of water through the sandstone. At the Saline site, sandstones contained water ranging from brackish sodium-chloride to fresh sodium-bicarbonate type. Post-mining recovery of the potentiometric levels was minimal, and the water had minor quality changes. Longwall mining affects geochemistry due to subsidence-related fracturing, which increases downward leakage from overlying units, and due to the temporary potentiometric depression and subsequent recovery, whereby water from surrounding areas of the aquifer recharges the affected zone above and adjacent to the mine. Received, December 1998 / Revised, August 1999 / Accepted, August 1999     

Iterative approach to groundwater flow modeling of the Martinsville Alternative Site,under consideration for low-level radioactive waste storage in Clark County,Illinois, U.S.A.

The regulatory requirements for characterization of the Martinsville Alternative Site (MAS) were fulfilled by applying an iterative approach to the groundwater flow modeling of the site and surrounding area. The approach consisted of field data collection and development of an initial conceptual model. The numerical model was then constructed to be consistent with the data and conceptual model. Next, the calibration results were evaluated statistically, and visually by a groundwater modeling review committee, to determine if the model accurately represented groundwater flow at the site. Initial results failed acceptance criteria because the values of numerical model input parameters had to be varied beyond observed data ranges to calibrate the results, and therefore the model was inconsistent with the initial conceptual model. This led to additional field data collection in areas where the numerical model deviated most from field-determined data. The new data provided sufficient information to revise the conceptual model and calibrate the numerical model successfully. Model calibration was followed by validation. Validation of the numerical model provided additional assurance that the model correctly simulated the observed system. No additional data were found to be necessary during validation of the MAS numerical model. The iterative approach proved to be successful for calibrating and validating this groundwater flow model and should be implemented from the onset of characterization planning in other applications.