Digital elevations and extents of regional hydrogeologic units in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system

Dates

Publication Date: 2016-08-31
Time Period: 2016
Revision: 2021-02-01

Citation

Pope, J.P., Andreasen, D.C., McFarland, E.R., and Watt, M.K., 2016, Digital elevations and extents of regional hydrogeologic units in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system from Long Island, New York, to North Carolina (ver. 1.1, January 2021): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F70V89WN.

Summary

A digital model of the sedimentary Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system is composed of 20 rasters and hydrogeologic unit extent polygons. Rasters describe the top elevations of regional aquifers and confining units at a resolution of 2640 feet (1/2 mile). The rasters are clipped to the extent polygons, which represent the spatial extents of the hydrogeologic units onshore and several miles offshore. This three-dimensional hydrogeologic model was constructed as part of a U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Resources Program study of groundwater availability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain (NACP) aquifer system, including parts of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. Digital elevations [...]

Summary

A digital model of the sedimentary Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system is composed of 20 rasters and hydrogeologic unit extent polygons. Rasters describe the top elevations of regional aquifers and confining units at a resolution of 2640 feet (1/2 mile). The rasters are clipped to the extent polygons, which represent the spatial extents of the hydrogeologic units onshore and several miles offshore. This three-dimensional hydrogeologic model was constructed as part of a U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Resources Program study of groundwater availability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain (NACP) aquifer system, including parts of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. Digital elevations of major regional aquifers and confining units were compiled from published digital elevation models (DEM) of various parts of the NACP aquifer system to provide a consistent regional model of hydrogeologic unit geometries. The many studies incorporated within these data include the interpretation and analysis of thousands of well logs and other related information spanning at least a century of study. These regional units are derived from published unit-elevation contours interpreted by geologists at the state and local level, and incorporate little additional interpretation of unit elevations beyond the correlation of individual units across geographic boundaries and some extrapolation of units to the edges of the modeled area. This regionally consistent hydrogeologic framework was used as the foundation of a MODFLOW groundwater flow model of the NACP, which informed modifications to the regional hydrogeologic units that have now been incorporated into the framework data.

Hydrogeologic units in the digital model include, from top to bottom 1) surficial aquifer, 2) upper Chesapeake confining unit, 3) upper Chesapeake aquifer, 4) lower Chesapeake confining unit, 5) lower Chesapeake aquifer, 6) Calvert confining unit, 7) Piney Point aquifer, 8) Nanjemoy-Marlboro confining unit, 9) Aquia aquifer, 10) Monmouth-Mount Laurel confining unit, 11) Monmouth-Mount Laurel aquifer, 12) Matawan confining unit, 13) Matawan aquifer, 14) Magothy confining unit, 15) Magothy aquifer, 16) Potomac confining unit, 17) Potomac-Patapsco aquifer, 18) Potomac-Patuxent confining unit, 19) Potomac-Patuxent aquifer, and 20) basement.

A related digital elevation model (DEM) for the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain (NACP) from Long Island New York to northeastern North Carolina represents the elevation of the topographic and bathymetric surface at a uniform horizontal grid spacing of 100 feet and vertical units of 1 (integer) foot. The land-surface elevations are derived from U.S. Geological Survey 30-meter National Elevation Dataset (NED), and the bathymetric elevations are derived from 3 arc-second (90-meter-nominal) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) U.S. Coastal Relief Model (CRM).

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Contacts

Point of Contact :: U.S. Geological Survey, Water Availability and Use Science Program
Originator :: Jason P Pope
Metadata Contact :: U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher :: U.S. Geological Survey
Author :: Jason P Pope, David C Andreasen, E Randolph McFarland, Martha K Watt
USGS Mission Area :: Water Resources
SDC Data Owner :: Office of Planning and Programming
Distributor :: U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase

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nacp_datarelease_image.jpg “NACP Framework Cover Image”		3.31 MB	image/jpeg
nacp_digital_elevations_extents_version_history.txt “Version History File”		1.06 KB	text/plain
nacp_fmwk_datarelease_08312016_ver1_1.xml “Metadata File” Original FGDC Metadata	View	21.45 KB	application/fgdc+xml

Related External Resources

Type: Related Primary Publication

Pope, J.P., Andreasen, D.C., McFarland, E.R., and Watt, M.K., 2016, Digital elevations and extents of regional hydrogeologic units in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system from Long Island, New York, to North Carolina: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 996, 28 p.	http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ds996

Type: Publication that references this resource

Charles, E.G., 2016, Regional chloride distribution in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system from Long Island, New York, to North Carolina: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5034, 37 p., appendixes, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20165034.	https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165034
Masterson, J.P., and Pope, J.P., 2016, Sustainability of groundwater supplies in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2016–3046, 6 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20163046.	https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20163046
Masterson, J.P., Pope, J.P., Fienen, M.N., Monti, Jack Jr., Nardi, M.R., and Finkelstein, J.S., 2016, Documentation of a groundwater flow model developed to assess groundwater availability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system from Long Island, New York, to North Carolina (ver. 1.1, December 2016): U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5076, 70 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20165076.	https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20165076
Masterson, J.P., Pope, J.P., Fienen, M.N., Monti, Jack, Jr., Nardi, M.R., and Finkelstein, J.S., 2016, Assessment of groundwater availability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system from Long Island, New York, to North Carolina: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1829, 76 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/pp1829.	https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1829

Purpose

The hydrogeologic-unit elevations included in this regional compilation incorporate the work of many geologists and hydrologists and span more than a century of investigation. The unit extents and elevations included here were constructed to support regional analysis of the groundwater flow system and are appropriately used only at this scale because of the assumptions, approximations, and generalizations necessary for regional analysis. Individual referenced studies and data should be used for investigations at the local and state levels. The DEM was assembled to provide a consistent model of the land surface and estuary-/bay-/sea-bottom surface to represent the upper limit of the NACP aquifer system from its western limit in the Fall Zone to the edge of the Atlantic continental shelf in the east, and from Long Island New York in the north to the Pamlico River and Pamlico Sound of North Carolina in the south. It may be useful for other applications requiring a digital elevation model continuous over this large area and continuous across the onshore (emergent) and offshore (submerged) extent of the NACP.

Digital elevations and extents of regional hydrogeologic units in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system

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