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Research about Cape Cod

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Cape Cod.

105 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
USGS1987

Monodisperse ferrous phosphate colloids in an anoxic groundwater plume

Groundwater samples collected near a secondary-sewage infiltration site on Cape Cod, Massachusetts were examined for colloidal materials (10–1000 nm). In two wells the water contained a population of monodisperse 100-nm particles, detected using laser-light scattering and autocorrelation data processing. SEM and SEM-EDAX analysis of these colloidal materials collected on ultrafilters confirmed the laser light scattering result and revealed that these microparticles consisyed of primarily iron and phosphorus in a 1.86 Fe to 1.0 P stoichiometric ratio. Chemical analyses of the water samples, together with equilibrium solubility calculations, strongly suggest that the ion-activity product should exceed the solubility product of a 100-nm diameter predominantly vivianite-type (Fe 3 (PO 4 ) 2 · 8H 2 O) colloidal phase. In light of our results, we conclude that these microparticles were formed by sewage-derived phosphate combining with ferrous iron released from the aquifer solids, and that these colloids may be moving in the groundwater flow. Such a subsurface transport process could have major implications regarding the movement of particle-reactive pollutants traditionally viewed as non-mobile in groundwater.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1987

Growth determinations for unattached bacteria in a contaminated aquifer

Growth rates of unattached bacteria in groundwater contaminated with treated sewage and collected at various distances from the source of contamination were estimated by using frequency of dividing cells and tritiated-thymidine uptake and compared with growth rates obtained with unsupplemented, closed-bottle incubations. Estimates of bacterial generation times [(In 2)/ μ ] along a 3-km-long transect in oxygen-depleted (0.1 to 0.7 mg of dissolved oxygen liter -1 ) groundwater ranged from 16 h at 0.26 km downgradient from an on-land, treated-sewage outfall to 139 h at 1.6 km and correlated with bacterial abundance ( r 2 = 0.88 at P < 0.001). Partitioning of assimilated thymidine into nucleic acid generally decreased with distance from the contaminant source, and one population in heavily contaminated groundwater assimilated little thymidine during a 20-h incubation. Several assumptions commonly made when frequency of dividing cells and tritiated-thymidine uptake are used were not applicable to the groundwater samples.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1984

Movement and fate of solutes in a plume of sewage-contaminated ground water, Cape Cod, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey toxic waste ground-water contamination program

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has begun a nationwide program to study the fate of toxic wastes in groundwater. Several sites where groundwater is known to be contaminated are being studied by interdisciplinary teams of geohydrologists, chemists, and microbiologists. The objective of these studies is to obtain a thorough quantitative understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological processes of contaminant generation, migration, and attenuation in aquifers. One of the sites being studied by the USGS under this program is a plume of sewage contaminated groundwater on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The plume was formed by land disposal of treated sewage to a glacial outwash aquifer since 1936. This report summarizes results obtained during the first year of research at the Cape Cod s under the USGS Toxic-Waste Ground-Water Contamination Program. The seven papers included in this volume were presented at the Toxic Waste Technical Meeting, Tucson, Arizona, in March 1984. They provide an integrated view of the subsurface distribution of contaminants based on the first year of research and discuss hypotheses concerning the transport processes that affect the movement of contaminants in the plume. (See W89-09053 thru W89-09059)

Massachusetts↗
USGS1984

Sewage plume in a sand and gravel aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Secondarily treated domestic sewage has been disposed of on surface sand beds at the sewage treatment facility at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, since 1936. Infiltration of the sewage through the sand beds into the underlying unconfined sand and gravel aquifer has resulted in a plume of sewage-contaminated ground water that is 2,500 to 3,500 feet wide, 75 feet thick, and more than 11,000 feet long. The plume extends south and southwest of the sand beds in the same direction as the regional flow of ground water, and is overlain by 20 to 50 feet of ground water derived from precipitation that recharges the aquifer. The bottom of the plume generally coincides with the contact between the permeable sand and gravel and underlying finer grained sediments. The distributions in the aquifer of specific conductance, temperature, boron, chloride, sodium, phosphorus, nitrogen (total of all species), ammonia, nitrate, dissolved oxygen, and detergents are used to delineate the plume. In ground water outside the plume, the detergent concentration is less than 0.1 milligrams per liter as MBAS (methylene blue active substances), the ammonia-nitrogen concentration is less than 0.1 milligrams per liter, the boron concentration is less than 50 micrograms per liter, and specific conductance is less than 80 mircromhos per centimeter. In the center of the plume, detergent concentrations as high as 2.6 milligrams per liter as MBAS, ammonia-nitrogen concentrations as high as 20 milligrams per liter, boron concentrations as high as 400 micrograms per liter, and specific conductance as high as 405 micromhos per centimeter were measured. Chloride, sodium, and boron are transported by the southward-flowing ground water without significant retardation, and seem to be diluted only by hydrodynamic dispersion. The movement of phosphorus is greatly restricted by sorption. Phosphorus concentrations do not exceed 0.05 milligrams per liter farther than 2,500 feet from the sand beds. Detergent concentrations in the plume are highest between 3,000 and 10,000 feet from the sand beds and reflect the introduction of nonbiodegradable detergents in 1946 and the conversion to biodegradable detergents in 1964. The center of the plume as far as 5,000 feet from the sand beds contains nitrogen as ammonia, but no nitrate and no dissolved oxygen. Ammonia is gradually oxidized to nitrate between 5,000 and 8,000 feet from the sand beds, and at distances greater than 8,000 feet oxidation of ammonia is essentially complete. Ammonia also is oxidized to nitrate along the top and sides of the plume within 5,000 of the beds where the contaminated ground water mixes with uncontaminated ground water that contains up to 11 milligrams per liter dissolved oxygen.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1983

Estimating highest ground-water levels for construction and land use planning — A Cape Cod, Massachusetts, example

High ground water is a major cause of septic-system failures, wet basements, and other problems for suburban and rural residents. A technique for estimating the level to which groundwater can rise as a consequence of weather and seasonal factors has been developed. Water-level records from about 160 sites were used to make four maps of ranges of annual water-level change: 0-2 feet, 2-3 feet, 3-4 feet, 4-5 feet, and 5-6 feet. Nine observation wells with 16 or more years of record were used to index water-level fluctuations throughout Cape Cod. To estimate high water levels, measurements of the current depth to water at test sites are cross referenced with current depth to water in the index wells. The technique assumes good correlation between water-level fluctuations at septic-system sites and the index wells. Eighty-seven percent of the correlation coefficients determined from correlating water-level fluctuations from 146 sites with water-level fluctuations in the index wells were greater than 0.8.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1982

Sewage plume in a sand and gravel aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Secondarily treated domestic sewage has been disposed of on surface sand beds at the sewage treatment facility at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, since 1936. Infiltration of the sewage through the sand beds into the underlying unconfined sand and gravel aquifer has resulted in a plume of sewage-contaminated ground water that is 2,500 to 3,500 feet wide, 75 feet wide, and more than 11,000 feet long. The plume extends south and southwest of the sand beds in the same direction as the regional flow of around water, and is overlain by 20 to 50 feet of ground water derived from precipitation that recharges the aquifer. The bottom of the plume generally coincides with the contact between the permeable sand and gravel and underlying finer grained sediments. The distributions in the aquifer of specific conductance, temperature, boron, chloride, sodium, phosphorus, nitrogen (total of all species), ammonia, nitrate, dissolved oxygen, and detergents are used to delineate the plume. In ground water outside the plume, the detergent concentration is less than 0.1 milligrams per liter as MBAS (methylene blue active substances), the ammonia-nitrogen concentration is less than 0.1 milligrams per liter, the boron concentration is less than 50 micrograms per liter, and specific conductance is less than 80 micromhos per centimeter. In the center of the plume, detergent concentrations as high as 2.6 milligrams per liter as MBAS, ammonia-nitrogen concentrations as high as 20 milligrams per liter, boron concentrations as high as 400 micrograms per liter, and specific conductance as high as 405 micromhos per centimeter were measured. Chloride, sodium, and boron are transported by the southward-flowing ground water without significant retardation, and seem to be diluted only by hydrodynamic dispersion. The movement of phosphorus is greatly restricted by sorption. Phosphorus concentrations do not exceed 0.05 milligrams per liter farther than 2,500 feet from the sand beds. Detergent concentrations in the plume are highest between 3,000 and 10,000 feet from the sand beds and reflect the introduction of nonbiodegradable detergents in 1946 and the conversion to biodegradable detergents in 1964. The center of the plume as far as 5,000 feet from the sand beds contains nitrogen as ammonia, but no nitrate and no dissolved oxygen. Ammonia is gradually oxidized to nitrate between 5,000 and 8,000 feet from the sand beds, and at distances greater than 8,000 feet oxidation of ammonia is essentially complete. Ammonia also is oxidized to nitrate along the top and sides of the plume within 5,000 feet of the beds where the contaminated ground water mixes with uncontaminated ground water that contains up to 11 milligrams per liter dissolved oxygen.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1981

Digital models of ground-water flow in the Cape Cod aquifer system, Massachusetts

The Cape Cod aquifer system was simulated with three-dimensional finite-difference ground-water-flow models. Five areas were modeled to provide tools that can be used to evaluate the hydrologic impacts of regional water development and waste disposal. The model boundaries were selected to represent the natural hydrologic boundaries of the aquifer. The boundary between fresh and saline ground water is treated as an interface along which there is no dispersion. The saline-water zone is treated as static (nonflowing). Comparisons of calculated and observed values of head, position of the boundary between fresh and saline water, and ground-water discharge at locations where data are available indicate that the simulated ground-water reservoirs generally agree with field conditions. Model analyses indicate that the total steady-state freshwater-flow rate through the five modeled areas is approximately 412 cubic feet per second.

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USGS1980

Cape Cod Aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Ground water was the major source of drinking water on Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 1978. Withdrawals from over 100 municipal wells averaged 17.5 million gallons per day in 1978. Private wells on Cape Cod are estimated to number 15,000. Ground water occurs primarily under unconfined or water-table conditions. Artesian conditions exist where fine silt and clay beds have been deposited along Cape Cod's north shore from Bourne to Brewster, locally along the south shore, and in parts of Chatham and Orleans. Natural recharge to the aquifer is entirely from precipitation. Discharge is by pumping; evapotranspiration; direct evaporation from the water table; and seepage to rivers, marshes, and the ocean. Ground-water quality is generally suitable for domestic uses, although some public and private water wells have been contaminated. Contaminants can enter the ground water by infiltration from land surface, ponds, streams, and swamps. Infiltration from sewage lagoons, sand filter beds, septic tanks, cesspools, recharge pits, wells, or intrusion of saline water may also contaminate the aquifer. Alternative sources of drinking water, including desalination, transport from the mainland, and rainwater cisterns, are many times more expensive.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1979

Chemical quality of ground water on Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Cape Cod is a 440 square mile hook-shaped peninsula which extends 40 miles into the Atlantic. Freshwater in Pleistocene sand and gravel deposits is the source of supply for nearly 100 municipal and thousands of private domestic wells. Most ground water on Cape Cod is of good chemical quality for drinking and other uses. It is characteristically low in dissolved solids and is soft. In 90 percent of the samples analyzed, dissolved solids were less than 100 mg/l (milligrams per liter) and pH was less than 7.0. Highway deicing salt, sea-water flooding due to storms , and saltwater intrusion due to ground-water withdrawal are sources of sodium chloride contamination. Chloride concentrations have increased from 20 to 140 mg/l, owing to saltwater intrusion at Provincetown 's wells in Truro. In Yarmouth, contaminated ground water near a salt-storage area contained as much as 1,800 mg/l chloride. Heavy metals, insecticides, and herbicides were not found at concentrations above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 's recommended limits for public drinking-water supplies, but iron and manganese in some samples exceeded those limits. Ninety percent of 84 samples analyzed for nitrate reported as nitrogen contained less than 1.3 mg/l and 80 percent contained 0.5 mg/l or less of nitrate as nitrogen. Water containing nitrogen in excess of 0.5 mg/l has probably been affected by municipal or domestic sewage or fertilizer, and water with less than this amount may have been affected by them. (Woodard-USGS)

Massachusetts↗
USGS1974

Evaluation of data availability and examples of modeling for ground-water management on Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Cape Cod is a seashore resort area of national renown. It is a hookshaped peninsula which extends 40 miles into the Atlantic Ocean and is separated from the mainland by Cape Cod Canal, a salt-water channel connecting Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod Bay (fig. 1). It is 440 square miles in area and is underlain by unconsolidated earth materials that contain a lens-like reservoir of fresh ground water "floating" on salty ground water. The fresh ground-water reservoir is the principal source of supply for the rapidly growing population of Cape Cod. Because of increasing resident population and increasing numbers of summer vacationers, there is local and State concern for problems of meeting increased water demands, deterioration of water quality, changes of water table and pond levels, and changes in ecology owing to changes in salinity of water in brackish-water bodies.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1965

Eocene and miocene rocks off the northeastern coast of the United States

A grab sample from a depth of 1675 m at a point south of Cape Cod contains early Eocene planktonic Foraminifera and is correlated with the Globorotalia rex zone of Trinidad. The assemblage indicates a depth comparable to that existing today. Regional relations suggest that the Cretaceous and Eocene deposits deepen to the west toward New Jersey. Two mollusk-bearing blocks dredged from the northern side of Georges Bank are correlative with the Miocene Yorktown Formation. Rocks from two other stations are probably Miocene. Benthonic Foraminifera in one sample indicate deposition in cool temperate waters of less than 60 m depth.

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USGS1962

Preliminary results of recent deep drilling on Cape Cod, Massachusetts

In 1961 a 1000-foot drill hole near Harwich on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, penetrated 435 feet of Pleistocene deposits above 50 to 60 feet of crystalline limestone and phyllitic schist, and more than 500 feet of phyllitic schist with abundant quartz veins. Similar rock is known in the Pennsylvanian and Precambrian (?) sections of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Material of Eocene age was found in earlier drilling near Provincetown, but none was identified from this hole.

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