Solution mining and resultant evaporite karst development in Tully Valley, New York

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:5625453

Rubin, P A ^[1]; Ayers, J C ^[2]; Grady, K A ^[3]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
2. Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)
3. Law Environmental, Inc., Albany, NY (United States)

A solution mining operation was conducted in Tully Valley, New York from 1889 to 1988. In excess of 37 million m{sup 3} of halite was removed from 335 to 518 meters below the ground surface. An interbedded sequence of gypsum, shales, limestones, and sandstone overlie the halite beds. This sequence is capped by thick, unconsolidated deposits of till, sand and gravel, and lacustrine clay. As a result of this mining, large void cavities were created, followed by numerous fractures extending upward to the ground surface. The resulting settlement area is in excess of 550 hectares. Within this area sinkholes formed, gaping fractures developed and streams were pirated into the subsurface. Interformational mixing of groundwater now occurs between formerly separate flow systems, providing substantial recharge to deep formations. Some 2 kms downvalley of the brine fields, in a smaller settlement area, and volcanos'' effuse weakly saline groundwater that flows into Onondaga Creek. The clay fraction of the effluent gives Onondaga Creek the appearance of chocolate milk for the {approx}26 kms it takes to reach Onondaga Lake. The location of the mud volcanos appears to coincide with an upvalley moving salt front. The number of mud boils and their areal extent has substantially increased since the onset of brining operations. By characterizing the chemistry of groundwaters in local formations and performing mixing calculations based on mass balance, the volcano effluents were shown to represent a mixture of groundwaters from 3--4 formations. Several working hypotheses are advanced and critically evaluated in an effort to define the dynamics necessary for rapid mud volcano growth in a karst setting.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 5625453
• Report Number(s): CONF-911285-1; ON: DE92006604
• Resource Relation: Conference: 3. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Ground Water Association's (NGWA) conference on hydrogeology, ecology, monitoring, and management of Karst Terranes, Nashville, TN (United States), 4-6 Dec 1991
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES
SOLUTION MINING
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
EVAPORITES
GROUND SUBSIDENCE
GROUND WATER
HALITE
HYDROLOGY
NEW YORK
STRATIGRAPHY
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
GEOLOGY
HALIDE MINERALS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MINERALS
MINING
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
USA
WATER
540210* - Environment
Terrestrial- Basic Studies- (1990-)
580000 - Geosciences