Delineating and quantifying ground water discharge zones using streambed temperatures

Streambed temperature mapping, hydraulic testing using minipiezometers, and geochemical analyses of interstitial water of the streambed were used to delineate the pattern of ground water discharge in a sandy streambed and to develop a flux-based conceptual model for ground water/surface water interactions. A new and simple empirical method was used to relate fluxes obtained from minipiezometer data to streambed temperatures. The relationship allowed flux to be calculated at locations where only streambed temperature measurements were made. Slug testing and potentiomanometer measurements at 34 piezometers indicated ground water discharge ranged from 0.03 to 446 L/m2/day (and possibly as high as 7060 L/m2/day) along a 60 m long by 11 to 14 m wide reach of river. Complex but similar plan-view patterns of flux were calculated for both summer and winter using hundreds of streambed temperatures measured on a 1 by 2 m grid. The reach was dominated by ground water discharge and 5% to 7% of the area accounted for approximately 20% to 24% of the total discharge. < 12% of the total area consisted of recharge zones or no-discharge zones. A conceptual model for ground water/surface water interactions consisting of five different behaviors was developed based on the magnitude and direction of flux across the surface of the streambed. The behaviors include short-circuit discharge (e.g., high-flow springs), high discharge (e.g., preferential flowpaths), low to moderate discharge, no discharge (e.g., horizontal hyporheic or ground water flow), and recharge. Geological variations at depth played a key role in determining which type of flow behavior occurred in the streambed.     

Chalk fields along the Lindesnes Ridge, Eldfisk

Eldfisk field lies on the Lindesnes Ridge northwest of the Valhall and Hod fields and to the southeast of Edda in Block 2/7 of the Norwegian North Sea. The field has a complex geological history and reservoir geometry. Seismic reflection data is strongly gas affected and degraded over the majority of the field. The geological model of the field was based exclusively on well data and the model was inadequate to explain some of the production characteristics or to identify additional prospective well locations. In 1982 a programme of Vertical Seismic Profiling (VSP) was started in the northern part of the field. The seismic data provided by VSP have improved and confirmed the geological model, provided some explanations for production variances and identified further areas of interest.     

Cyanide Chemistry in Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1)

Observations of comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) have been carried out near perihelion (1997 March) at millimeter wavelengths using the NRAO 12 m telescope. The J=1-->0, 2-->1, and 3-->2 lines of HCN at 88, 177, and 265 GHz were measured in the comet as well as the J=3-->2 lines of H13CN, HC15N, and HNC. The N=2-->1 transition of CN near 226 GHz was also detected, and an upper limit was obtained for the J=2-->1 line of HCNH+. From the measurements, column densities and production rates have been estimated. A column density ratio of [HCN]/[HNC] = 7+/-1 was observed near perihelion, while it was found that [HCN]/[HCNH+] greater, similar 1. The production rates at perihelion for HCN and CN were estimated to be Q(HCN) approximately 1x1028 s-1 and Q(CN) approximately 2.6x1027 s-1, respectively, resulting in a ratio of [HCN]/[CN] approximately 3. Consequently, HCN is sufficiently abundant to be the parent molecule of CN in Hale-Bopp, and HCNH+ could be a source of HNC. Finally, carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of 12C/13C = 109+/-22 and 14N/15N = 330+/-98 were obtained from HCN measurements, in agreement with previous values obtained from J=4-->3 data. Such ratios suggest that comet Hale-Bopp formed coevally with the solar system.     

Alkalinity production as an indicator of failure in steel slag leach beds treating acid mine drainage

Acid mine drainage is a serious environmental problem throughout mining regions of the US and around the world. In Appalachia, reuse of steel slag from steel production as a source of alkalinity for treatment of acid mine drainage has become a common practice. In these systems, dubbed steel slag leach beds, relatively clean surface water is percolated through a bed of steel slag to add large amounts of alkalinity to the water before mixing it with acidic, metalliferous mine water. These beds do not operate consistently and their failure mechanisms are poorly understood. Using the experience of Raccoon Creek watershed in southern Ohio, the alkalinity distribution of the discharge of six steel slag leach beds is compared. Two of these beds are still functional, one has been abandoned and three are operating poorly. The difference in alkalinity distribution between these beds suggests that a carbonate-dominated alkalinity system is an indicator of a poorly performing steel slag leach bed, while a more even distribution between hydroxide, carbonate and bicarbonate may point to more ideal operating conditions. In eight laboratory column experiments, this evidence was then expanded upon by testing different mixed media substrates (differing mixes of steel slag, wood chips and river gravel) to see which provided the most ideal alkalinity distributions. The columns that had steel slag mixed either with wood chips or wood chips and river gravel outperformed the column with slag only in terms of alkalinity distribution, perhaps due to microbial processes or increased hydraulic conductivity without significant added calcium or carbon that could drive calcium carbonate precipitation within the beds and causing them to fail.