United States water quality assessment

A study conducted by the National Water Quality Assessment program for the USGS sampled over 2100 wells across the nation. The samples were analyzed for up to 219 different properties (pH, pesticiedes, trace elements, radon, ions, nutrients, pesticides, bacteria etc). The data was plotted on a map of the US along with the different lithologies of the aquifers in which the wells were situated. Each plot was plotted as either red or white, red indicates that it has too high of certain concentration for human health, and white means that it is substantial. The study helped understand the water quality of some of the major aquifers that are tapped by domestic supply wells. If you click on the map, you can then keep clicking on the next figure tab above the map so that each level of certain contaminants can be viewed individually for each well.

http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/studies/domestic_wells/index.html

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Geologic Wonders of PA – The Port Royal Tufa

Located in Westmoreland County on mile 37.7 of the Great Alleghany Passage Trail, The port royal tufa is a unique rock formation created by a spring. The Tufa forms much like a stalagtite. Groundwater carries dissolved calcium carbonate. When the water discharges out at the spring the calcium carbonate precipitates out and calcifies anything it touches. Some estimate the Tufa is as much as 18000 years old and the possibility to find pollen ,volcanic ash, historical dust layers from the construction of the nearby railroad, Dust Bowl, and from atomic bombs may be preseved within this unit. Also because of this large source of CaCO3 a unique ecosystem of heavily calcium dependent organisms and organisms that need a basic pH to thrive live in the nearby area. The spring is located roughly 37 feet above the trail, with CaCO3 deposits extending to about 20 feet below the trail grade.

Source: http://www.thelocalhistorycompany.com/books/097118352x/pages/097118352x.html

http://www.geocaching.com

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Older is Better

As I was looking through the internet during some of my free time tonight, I came upon a National Geographic article concerning the receding Arctic Ice. The article went on to explain that one of the main reasons for ice sheet recession was due to the formation of young, thin ice. The arctic ice expanded to some of the lowest levels on record. When compared to records from 1974-2000, as National Geographic shows, arctic ice coverage has decreased at an average of about 278,000 sq miles, or about the size of Texas. Think of all of the implications this can have on many aspects of life on Earth.

Sea levels will rise as a result of less ice formation. I know, who cares about sea level rise. Johnstown, PA is in the mountains and the beach would be a closer travel destination. However, recently I read an article in GSA Today about the impact of sea level rise on Pacific Island Atolls. The author of the article suggests that (I think it’s around a meter) in sea level rise will inundate most of the islands, misplacing thousands of individuals from their homes, making the islands uninhabitable. Furthermore, associated with ice melt is climate change. Global Warming is a touchy subject and I do not wish to become involved in it. However, the evidence is there for a warming climate with less ice at the poles. With climate change comes new human migration. With human migration into other people’s lands comes the tendency for conflict and the start of humanitarian crises. And don’t forget about the polar bears….

I see that I went off on a tangent there. But my point is clear. While the Arctic seems far away, the disappearance of an ice cap will create changes and challenges for the entire world population.

Here’s the link for the ice sheet story:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/090406-sea-ice-younger.html

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Carbonated Oceans

This article discusses how oceanic waters are becoming more acidic, which affects molluscs living in these waters.  Researchers did experiments after 48 hours of exposure to slightly corrosive seawater and it caused shells to become frayed and led eventual dissolution, which lowered the chance of their survival.  Researchers in lab made acidic waters up to levels that might not be seen for another hundred years, however they conclude that the continuation of acidification of these waters could slowly cause destruction of oceanic ecosystems.
This is occuring because humans are burning oil and coal, which releases carbon dioxide and collects in the atmosphere.  About a third of it comes back down and enters the ocean surface.  When ocean water absorbs CO2, carbonic acid is formed, which reacts with carbonate ions, which makes the ions less available for shell forming organisms, which is the main ingredient for their shells.  So the organisms may become able to replenish their shells.  The pH of the water is slowly decreasing, and scientists are working on ways to stop this from occurring.

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Large ice shelf expected to break from Antarctica

I just read this news report on CNN talking about a large ice shelf “Immanently” close to breaking away from the Antarctica peninsula.  There are new cracks in the wilkins ice shelf where it connects to Charcot island, which is a piece of land considered part of the peninsula.  During the last year the ice shelf has lost about 1800 square kilometers.  Wilkins is the size of the state of Connecticut, or about half the area of Scotland. It is the largest ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula yet to be threatened.   It is fascinating how we are able to use satellites to view the global climate changes and hot it effects ice sheets on the planet.

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Matt’s Field Trip

Today we went to Hughes Bore Hole outside Portage PA.  We couldn’t have picked a better day. The weather was perfect and we had the pleasure to hang out with Dr. K.  This and Zion NP are my favorite field trips this semester.  I tried to upload video of the actual discharge but the web browser crashed several times.  The red substance is iron precipitating out of the acid mine drainage and there is plenty of it. Correct me if I’m wrong but the PH level today was 3.83.   We were able to walk on the thick layer of iron without sinking more than an inch or two.  The White substance in the photo is aluminum  precipitate. Good job Matt!

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Geologic Wonders (Disaster) of Pennsylvania – Centralia, Underground Mine Fire

Oh  Centralia and all your smoggy glory! Since I live only about 6 miles as the crow flies from this place it seems only appropriate to tell the story.  It is a small town on the edge of the Anthracite region only a few miles away from Ashland and Shamokin. In short there was an abandon strip mine, somebody was burning garbage, and set an exposed coal seam on fire. After many attempts to put out the fire the Commonwealth determined it was cheaper to buy out the property of landowners than to further attempt to stop the burning coal. The mine fire has resulted in part of Route 61 being permenantly closed and then rerouted as the fire burned a seam underneath the road resulting in some serious subsidence.  In the winter the ground of centralia always has bald spots where no snow can lay because the ground stays warm and after the snow melts or after a rain event the entire area is loaded with steam vents from the water percolating into the ground and then being heated and turned to hot water vapor. Also on long dry spells in the region,  gypsum and sulfur deposits can form near vents  (I’ve collected several of these in the past).  Despite the fire and unstable ground hazards a few people still live in this town.

http://www.geocaching.com

http://www.geocaching.com

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Sinnemahoning Portage Creek NaOH Disaster of 6/30/2006

The Sinnemahoning Portage Creek is located in McKean and Cameron County and is regionally famous for its excellent trout and smallmouth bass fishing. My family has a cabin in the nearby area and my father lived in the area for his entire childhood. So needless to say this accident really hit me hard. On June 30, 2006 in a tributary of the Sinnemahoning Portage Creek a train derailed releasing 45,000 gallons of liquid sodium hydroxide (NaOH).  This highly alkali chemical turned the streams pH from around 7 to 14 causing a devastating aquatic kill which in all reality sterilized the stream of all life. The damaged continued to spread as the contaminated water flowed into Driftwood Branch of Sinnemahoning Creek. In an assessment of the damage from the Sinnemahoning-Portage Creek and Driftwood Branch from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, a total of 517,041 fish (everything from minnow to trout) were killed. Another unfortunate loss was the discovery of 36 dead Hellbenders a unique salamander that can grow to lengths up to 29 inches.

The railroad company responsible for the spill paid $7,350,000 to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

http://www.sizerville.com/Train_wreck/Documents/pon_07-19-2006.pdf

http://www.fishandboat.com/water/streams/sinnemahoning/norfolk_report.pdf

The Good News:

Despite this fact, life rebounded from this catastrophe. On May 12, 2007 I checked the Sinnemahoning Portage Creek for macro invertebrates and was surprised to see the amount of life. Furthermore I managed to hook a native brook trout which gives evidence that fish moved from the small, unharmed tributaries like Four-mile Run and Cowley Run. I also noticed hundreds of Smallmouth Bass fingerlings which I assumed were stocked by the PA Fish & Boat Commission.

Sources:

http://www.sizerville.com/Train_wreck/Documents/pon_07-19-2006.pdf

http://www.fishandboat.com/newsreleases/2007/norfolk.htm

http://www.fishandboat.com/water/streams/sinnemahoning/norfolk_report.pdf

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‘Historical’ Geology

I came across an interesting article in this month’s ‘GSA Today’ magazine concern geology and its importance in warfare. The article explained how geology became prevalent in warfare during the 1st World War with the digging of trenches among other things. Trench warfare was a relatively new fighting ‘technology’ during the war. Obviously you can see the need for geologists here. Also, the article goes on to state that the nation’s with better geologists/engineers (United States, according to the article, had the best Engineering Corps in the war) had a greater advantage than their counterparts with a lesser developed geologic/engineering program.

It goes to show the level of appreciation our science has gained since the early 19th and 20th centuries. Individuals are beginning to see that geology is not the ‘devil’s science’ because it discounts the age of the earth, among other things. Geology has practicality in almost every aspect of human life, because, after all, the geologically active planet we call home does influence most, if not, all of our daily actions of our life.

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The Human Impact of Evolution of “Prey” Species.

I read this interesting article about how human fishing, hunting and agricultural practices are causing negative evolutionary traits to form in many species of plants and animals.  This article is primarily focused on studying fish populations and how over fishing is causing genetic changes in fish populations.  Fish are now becoming smaller and are becoming less healthy in general; this is because the fisherman are killing off the larger healtherfish.  This means that the remaining fish are small and have unfavorable characteristics.  Since only these weak fish are left to reproduce the population gets weaker as a whole.  One may think that it would take thousands of years for this to have a huge impact; but studies show that this genetic change in the fish population happens 300% faster than in natural systems and 50 times faster than in environments altered by pollution.  This study showed this phenomenon is happening to interridal invertabrates, bighorn sheep, and in two different plant species as well.  Here is a link to the news article and not the actual study: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090112201123.htm.  If I can find the actual paper that this article is about I will post it.

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