Groundwater Flow, Quality (2007-10), and Mixing in the Wind Cave National Park Area, South Dakota PDF Download

Author: Andrew J. Long
Publisher: Geological Survey (USGS)
ISBN: 9781411333208
Category : Groundwater flow
Languages : en
Pages : 50

Get Book

Book Description
A study of groundwater flow, quality, and mixing in relation to Wind Cave National Park in western South Dakota was conducted during 2007-11 by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Park Service because of water-quality concerns and to determine possible sources of groundwater contamination in the Wind Cave National Park area. A large area surrounding Wind Cave National Park was included in this study because to understand groundwater in the park, a general understanding of groundwater in the surrounding southern Black Hills is necessary. Three aquifers are of particular importance for this purpose: the Minnelusa, Madison, and Precambrian aquifers. Multivariate methods applied to hydrochemical data, consisting of principal component analysis (PCA), cluster analysis, and an end-member mixing model, were applied to characterize groundwater flow and mixing. This provided a way to assess characteristics important for groundwater quality, including the differentiation of hydrogeologic domains within the study area, sources of groundwater to these domains, and groundwater mixing within these domains. Groundwater and surface-water samples collected for this study were analyzed for common ions (calcium, magnesium, sodium, bicarbonate, chloride, silica, and sulfate), arsenic, stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen, specific conductance, and pH. These 12 variables were used in all multivariate methods. A total of 100 samples were collected from 60 sites from 2007 to 2010 and included stream sinks, cave drip, cave water bodies, springs, and wells.