Hydrogeological restrictions to saline ground-water discharge in the Red River of the North drainage basin, North Dakota

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992 · Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:5638995

Strobel, M L ^[1]

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1. Geological Survey, Grand Forks, ND (United States) Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States)

Discharge of saline water from bedrock aquifers along the eastern margin of the Williston basin is restricted by surficial glacial till and lacustrine deposits in the Red River of the North drainage basin. Water from these aquifers reaches the surface by (1) diffusion; (2) slow, upward seepage along zones of relatively larger hydraulic conductivity in the till and lacustrine deposits; or (3) flow from artesian wells. Ground-water quality varies near the surface because of mixing of water being discharged from bedrock aquifers with shallower ground water in the surficial deposits. Ground-water quality, hydraulic-gradient, and hydraulic-conductivity data obtained from pumped-well and slug tests indicate that flow in the surficial deposits is eastward, but at slow rates because of small hydraulic conductivities. Base-flow and specific-conductance measurements of water in tributaries to the Red River of the North indicate that focused points of ground-water discharge result in substantial increases in salinity in surface water in the northern part of the basin in North Dakota. Core analyses and drillers' logs were used to generalize hydrogeologic characteristics of the deposits in the basin, and a two-dimensional ground-water-flow model was used to simulate the basin's geohydrologic processes. Model results indicate that the ground-water flow paths in the bedrock aquifers and surficial deposits converge, and that water from the bedrock aquifers contributes to the overall increase in ground-water discharge toward the east. Model results are supported by water-quality data collected along an east-west hydrogeologic section.

• OSTI ID: 5638995
• Report Number(s): CONF-921058--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States) Journal Volume: 24:7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540250 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (1990-)
58 GEOSCIENCES
580000* -- Geosciences
AQUIFERS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DRAINAGE
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
FLOW MODELS
GROUND WATER
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROLOGY
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NORTH AMERICA
NORTH DAKOTA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RIVERS
SALINITY
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
USA
WATER
WATER QUALITY
WILLISTON BASIN