Geology topics

Meghan T. Bell

Publications and source records attributed to Meghan T. Bell.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2025

Collaborative drought science planning in the Colorado River Basin

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is using collaborative, interdisciplinary planning to develop data and tools needed to optimize the management of water resources and land use by resource management agencies during an ongoing, multidecadal drought in the Colorado River Basin. The USGS Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology team works to build relationships with resource management agencies and other stakeholders who can benefit from the use of USGS data and products. In 2023, the Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology team hosted a series of collaborative workshops to bring together representatives of resource management agencies and other stakeholders (any person or entity with interests in a resource or location) with USGS program managers, scientists, and multidisciplinary subject matter experts to codevelop concepts for interdisciplinary drought science and technology projects to address pressing needs related to drought in the Colorado River Basin. Workshop participants identified current and recent scientific data that could be shared through a centralized online data portal. Workshop participants also identified drought science and technology needs and developed project concepts to address those science needs. Participants categorized project concepts based on their potential to develop short-, mid-, and long-term drought science data and tools, provide for the spatial or temporal expansion of ongoing USGS science projects, and address high-priority science needs. Participants developed nine project concepts: (1) understanding shifting ecohydrologic baselines, (2) San Juan River Basin synthesis, (3) incorporating dynamic land cover into hydrologic models, (4) aridification compared to drought, (5) surface water-groundwater interactions, (6) cascading effects of drought on dust, (7) cascading effects of drought on water availability, (8) cascading effects of drought on socioeconomic factors, and (9) the value of water in the Colorado River Basin. This report provides an overview of the 2023 Codesign Workshop Series, synthesized outcomes from workshop materials and discussions, and science project concepts that emerged from the collaborative meetings that will continue to be refined into science project proposals through codevelopment processes. This report also highlights lessons learned and next steps needed to receive feedback and testing of the USGS Science Collaboration Portal, continue collaboration to develop detailed specifics and steps for short-term wins, develop interdisciplinary project proposals, and implement science planning and studies.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico,↗

USGS2025

Aquifer storage change and storage properties, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, 2019–23

To better understand changes in groundwater storage and groundwater elevations, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Rio Rancho, New Mexico, carried out a multiyear groundwater monitoring project. Groundwater-level data were collected at 27 locations, including sites having multiple wells screened at different depths and those having long-term records. A repeat microgravity network of 20 stations was established, and surveys were carried out three times per year. The microgravity method provides a direct, quantitative measurement of mass change caused by aquifer filling or draining. Data collected during the 2019–23 study period indicate generally stable groundwater conditions, with small fluctuations in groundwater levels (increasing at some wells, declining at others), and small declines in groundwater storage over the period of record at most gravity locations (average = −0.33 foot of water per year). The discrepancy between the water-level and microgravity data may have been caused by a loss of soil moisture in the unsaturated zone, which is as much as 1,000 feet thick in some areas. At the Rio Rancho Advanced Water Treatment Facility, where the city recharges water through direct injection, there may be seasonal correlations in storage related to injection but no longer-term accumulation of recharged water in the immediate vicinity of the facility, indicating water is moving efficiently into the aquifer.

New Mexico↗

USGS2023

Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2022

The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is hydrologically defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift between San Acacia to the south and Cochiti Lake to the north. Drinking-water supplies throughout the basin were obtained primarily from groundwater resources until December 2008, when the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) began treatment and distribution of surface water from the Rio Grande through the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project. An initial network of wells was established by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque from April 1982 through September 1983 to monitor changes in groundwater levels throughout the Albuquerque Basin. In 1983, this network consisted of 6 wells with analog-to-digital recorders and 27 wells where water levels were measured monthly. As of water year 2022, the network consisted of 120 wells and piezometers at 54 locations. The USGS, in cooperation with the ABCWUA, the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, and Bernalillo County, measures water levels at the wells and piezometers in the network; this report, prepared in cooperation with the ABCWUA, presents water-level data collected by USGS personnel at the sites through water year 2022 (October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2022). Water-level data that were collected in previous water years from wells that were later discontinued were published in previous USGS reports.

New Mexico↗

USGS2023

Regression equations for estimating the 4-day, 3-year low-flow frequency and adjusted harmonic mean streamflow at ungaged sites for unregulated, perennial streams in New Mexico

The Federal Clean Water Act stipulates that States adopt water-quality standards to protect and enhance the quality of water in those States and to protect water quality through the creation of planning documents and discharge permits. Critical low-flow values, including the 4-day, 3-year low-flow frequency (4Q3) and harmonic mean streamflows, are necessary for developing those planning documents and permits. The U.S. Geological Survey computed the 4Q3 and adjusted harmonic mean streamflows using data from 96 streamgages on perennial streams, and regression equations were developed for the estimation of these parameters at ungaged, perennial streams in the State of New Mexico using weighted least-squares regression and readily accessed basin and climatic characteristics. Six equations were developed for the 4Q3 statistic, and five equations were developed for the adjusted harmonic mean statistic. Separate equations were developed for sites located in basins with mean elevations equal to or greater than 8,000 feet above the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (except where noted as the North American Vertical Datum of 1988), as well as for sites on streams that are tributary to the San Juan River. Pseudo R-squared values ranged from 0.53 to 0.87 (4Q3) and adjusted R-squared values ranged from 0.69 to 0.89 (adjusted harmonic mean). For sites in basins with mean elevations of less than 8,000 feet above the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (except where noted as the North American Vertical Datum of 1988), equations were developed based on contributing drainage area size. Drainage area, mean basin elevation, basinwide mean annual precipitation, and mean basin slope were found to have relations to the 4Q3; drainage area, mean basin elevation, basinwide mean annual precipitation, mean basin slope, and mean basinwide precipitation for the winter period, defined as the months of October through April, were found to have relations to the adjusted harmonic mean. Comparison to previous 4Q3 regression equations using fit statistics indicate an overall improvement in performance.

New Mexico↗

USGS2023

Potentiometric surface map of the Southern High Plains aquifer in the Cannon Air Force Base area, Curry County, New Mexico, 2020

Declining water levels and the potential impact on water resources on and around Cannon Air Force Base (AFB), New Mexico, has necessitated an up-to-date review of the potentiometric surface to evaluate the availability of water resources for future use. Analysis of groundwater-flow directions and hydraulic gradients can provide an understanding of depletion by heavy groundwater pumping and recharge through playa lakes, as well as the relationship between the groundwater levels and underlying geology. The objectives of this study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center, are to assist Cannon AFB in understanding and interpreting current and local hydrologic conditions and to evaluate groundwater-level change from 2015 to 2020 using new and historical data. A groundwater potentiometric surface contour map was constructed to better understand the Southern High Plains aquifer around Cannon AFB and to show the altitude of the water-table surface and groundwater-flow patterns. Four hydrographs were created from periodic measurements of groundwater levels in wells on and around Cannon AFB to provide information about historical groundwater-level changes and visualize trends from the water-level records. The long-term trend present in all four hydrographs is a steady decline in groundwater levels, with some areas declining faster than others. The groundwater-level change map presented in this study provides a visual representation of the change in groundwater level from the winter 2015 to winter 2020 measuring events. Results show that among corresponding wells measured in 2015 and 2020, 50.7 percent indicated a decline in water levels, 29.9 percent indicated neutral water levels, and 19.4 percent indicated a rise in water levels. The region to the north of the groundwater trough on Cannon AFB contained most of the groundwater-level rises, whereas the regions located near the trough and just west of Clovis, N. Mex., contained most of the declines. These results suggest that continued monitoring of declining groundwater levels in the area would provide valuable decision-support information for assessing the sustainability of this water resource.

New Mexico↗

USGS2023

Measuring basin-scale aquifer storage change and mapping specific yield in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, with repeat microgravity data

Study Region The groundwater basin underlying the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Study Focus The study focuses on changes in groundwater storage and how those changes relate to groundwater-level changes. Groundwater storage change was measured using repeat microgravity at 35 stations from 2016 to 2021. Usually, storage is monitored by converting groundwater-level changes to storage changes using the aquifer storage coefficient, a difficult property to measure. With gravity, storage change can be measured directly. The storage coefficient, or specific yield in an unconfined aquifer, was estimated using the gravity method at individual sites, and a map created showing how this property varies over the region. New Hydrological Insights for the Region For the first time, a map of specific yield was produced based on interpolated maps of gravity-derived storage change and groundwater-level change, allowing inference of this property over a broad region even without collocated monitoring wells and gravity stations. Gravity data indicate aquifer drawdown and recovery mainly occurs in the central part of the basin where pumping is greatest. This spatial distribution is not captured by the more widely spaced monitoring well network. Because the aquifer is recovering from historically greater-magnitude pumping, net-neutral storage change (inflow=outflow) occurs when pumping from the central part of the well field is about 1.54 × 10 7 cubic meters (12,500 acre-feet) per year.

New Mexico↗

USGS2023

Determining seasonal recharge, storage changes, and specific yield using repeat microgravity and water-level measurements in the Mesilla Basin alluvial aquifer, New Mexico, 2016–2018

Increasing water demand and multi-year drought conditions within the Mesilla/Conejos-Médanos Basin near the New Mexico-Texas- Chihuahua border have resulted in diminished surface-water supplies and increased groundwater withdrawals. To better understand recharge to the shallow aquifer, the spatial and temporal groundwater storage changes, and the variability of specific yield (Sy) in the aquifer, seasonal groundwater elevation and repeat microgravity measurements were made during the irrigation release and non-release seasons of 2016, 2017, and 2018 at a network of locations near Las Cruces, New Mexico. The data collected during this investigation were able to capture seasonal change in groundwater elevations and storage from various sources of recharge at multiple sites in the shallow aquifer. Seasonal recharge in the study area was attributed to streamflow, the application and conveyance of irrigation water, and large or sustained precipitation events. However, increasing groundwater gradients in recent decades between piezometers close to the river and those more than a kilometer from the river suggests that recharge from river seepage has become localized at the seasonal scale. Overall, there was a net increase in storage of almost 8.4 cubic hectometers in the study reach between the start and end of the study, largely following the increased surface-water availability and above average precipitation in 2017. Specific yield, estimated by comparing the groundwater-level changes and storage changes at six sites in the study area, ranged from 0.14 (+/− 0.05) to 0.30 (+/− 0.06), which is slightly greater than previously reported estimates (0.10 to 0.25), but still within the error of the estimates. Most of the variability in the estimated storage change, that was not well-correlated with groundwater elevation change, is thought to be from soil moisture in the unsaturated zone. This investigation demonstrates the value of adding repeat microgravity measurements to conventional groundwater monitoring to better understand the sources and extent of recharge as well as the variability of Sy in the aquifer. Continued monitoring, under a variety of available surface water and meteorological conditions, could provide a more comprehensive understanding of the water budget and reduce the specific yield estimation uncertainty. Evaluating water-levels and storage conditions prior to, and following, local recharge events may help managers identify threshold conditions for aquifer storage depletions and recoveries.

New Mexico↗

USGS2022

Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2021

The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is hydrologically defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift between San Acacia to the south and Cochiti Lake to the north. A 20-percent population increase in the basin from 1990 to 2000 and a 22-percent population increase from 2000 to 2010 resulted in an increased demand for water in areas within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the basin were obtained primarily from groundwater resources until December 2008, when the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) began treatment and distribution of surface water from the Rio Grande through the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project. An initial network of wells was established by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque from April 1982 through September 1983 to monitor changes in groundwater levels throughout the Albuquerque Basin. In 1983, this network consisted of 6 wells with analog-to-digital recorders and 27 wells where water levels were measured monthly. As of water year 2021, the network consisted of 120 wells and piezometers at 54 locations. The USGS, in cooperation with the ABCWUA, the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, and Bernalillo County, measures water levels at the wells and piezometers in the network; this report, prepared in cooperation with the ABCWUA, presents water-level data collected by USGS personnel at the sites through water year 2021 (October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021). Water-level data that were collected in previous water years from wells that were later discontinued were published in previous USGS reports.

New Mexico↗

USGS2021

Utilizing multiple hydrogeologic and anthropogenic indicators to understand zones of groundwater contribution to water-supply wells near Kirtland Air Force Base Bulk Fuels Facility in southeast Albuquerque, New Mexico

In 1999, a jet-fuels release was discovered at the Bulk Fuels Facility on Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Contaminants had reached the water table and migrated north-northeast toward water-supply wells. Monitoring wells were installed downgradient from the facility to determine the primary zones of groundwater production for water-supply wells and assess contaminant presence. The monitoring wells are screened within the Santa Fe Group aquifer system, which includes clay units, at depths as great as 445 meters below land surface, and were categorized as water table, shallow, middle, deep, and aquifer-test pumping wells. Water-supply wells are screened across multiple water-bearing units within the aquifer system. All wells were sampled for major ions, trace elements, nutrients, stable isotopes, dissolved gases, tritium, carbon isotopes, and chlorofluorocarbons. The deeper and water-supply wells have evidence of longer groundwater residence times, as much as thousands of years, and water from the shallower wells shows evidence of anthropogenic nutrient inputs. Aquifer recharge is derived from either the mountain front or seepage from the Rio Grande. Dissolved-gas data indicate that the middle, deep, and aquifer-test pumping, and water-supply wells have cooler recharge temperatures than the shallower wells. Inferred groundwater age varies by method but indicates that the deeper, aquifer-test pumping, and water-supply wells have older water, as much as 15,000 years before present. Results indicate that the water-supply wells draw primarily from the middle and deeper portions of the aquifer system below the clay units and have not been affected by the contaminant plume, although some data indicate a potential for modern water entering some of the deeper and water-supply wells.

New Mexico↗

USGS2021

Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2020

The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is hydrologically defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift between San Acacia to the south and Cochiti Lake to the north. A 20-percent population increase in the basin from 1990 to 2000 and a 22-percent population increase from 2000 to 2010 resulted in an increased demand for water in areas within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the basin were obtained solely from groundwater resources until December 2008, when the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) began treatment and distribution of surface water from the Rio Grande through the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project. An initial network of wells was established by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque from April 1982 through September 1983 to monitor changes in groundwater levels throughout the Albuquerque Basin. In 1983, this network consisted of 6 wells with analog-to-digital recorders and 27 wells where water levels were measured monthly. As of 2020, the network consisted of 120 wells and piezometers. A piezometer is a specialized well open to a specific depth in the aquifer, often of small diameter and nested with other piezometers screened at different depths. The USGS, in cooperation with the ABCWUA, the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, and Bernalillo County, measures water levels from the wells and piezometers in the network; this report, prepared in cooperation with the ABCWUA, presents water-level data collected by USGS personnel at the sites through water year 2020 (October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2020). Water levels that were collected from discontinued wells in previous water years were published in previous USGS reports.

New Mexico↗