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Research about West Virginia

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including West Virginia.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
USGS1999

Water resources data, West Virginia, water year 1998

Water-resources data for the 1998 water year for West Virginia consist of records of discharge and water quality of streams and water levels of observation wells. This report contains discharge records for 65 streamflow-gaging stations; discharge records provided by adjacent states for 10 streamflow-gaging stations; annual maximum discharge at 37 crest-stage partial-record stations; water-quality records for 21 stations; and water-level records for 14 observation wells. Locations of these sites are shown on figures 4 and 5. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not involved in the systematic data collection program, and are published as miscellaneous sites. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in West Virginia.

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USGS1998

Summary of ground-water quality in West Virginia

Water-quality data for the 28 sites in the West Virginia ambient ground-water-quality network and for wells in the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (NWIS) data base for West Virginia were analyzed statistically to identify any water-quality trends and relations and to compare data from the two data sets. Data for 10 selected properties and constituents (pH, fecal coliform, iron, manganese, sulfate, hardness, nitrate plus nitrite, chloride, fluoride, and dissolved solids) were grouped by geologic unit, topographic setting, well depth, and season; simple statistical descriptors such as mean, median, maximum, minimum, standard deviation, and 10th and 90th percentiles were computed for each property and constituent and are summarized in tables. Analysis of the data for wells from the NWIS data base showed that highest median concentrations of dissolved iron and dissolved manganese are in samples from the Lower Pennsylvanian units, which are found mainly in the low-sulfur coal fields of southern West Virginia; the highest median concentration of dissolved sulfate is in samples from the Quaternary alluvium along the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers; and the highest median hardness and concentrations of dissolved nitrate plus nitrite are in samples from the Cambrian and Ordovician karst limestone units found mainly in the Eastern Panhandle. The highest median concentrations of dissolved iron and dissolved manganese are in samples from valley wells and wells of shallow depth, and hardness is greatest in samples from hilltop wells. Analysis of data for all wells and springs in the ambient network corroborated statistics for the NWIS data set in that median concentration of total iron is highest in samples from the Lower Pennsylvanian units, median concentration of dissolved sulfate is highest in samples from the Quaternary alluvium, and hardness and median concentrations of total nitrate plus nitrite are highest in samples from the Cambrian and Ordovician units. Data from the ambient network did not show any significant seasonal variations in groundwater quality. Of the additional constituents sampled for in the ambient network, median concentrations of metals were less than U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking-water standards, and organic chemical constituents were rarely detected. Statistical comparisons of data from the NWIS data base and the ambient network data set showed no significant differences except for fecal coliform, iron, and manganese. Median concentrations of these three constituents were several times greater for samples from wells and springs in the ambient network. Statistical differences in values for these constituents could be attributed to differences in the state of constituents sampled (dissolved concentrations of iron and manganese for the NWIS data set as opposed to total concentrations for the ambient network data set) and the smaller number of sites in the ambient network. Statistical resolution could be improved by sampling a greater number of wells and springs that have a greater diversity of geologic and topographic conditions for the ambient network. The present ambient network does not include sites in Silurian or Middle Pennsylvanian geologic units nor sites in hilltop settings. The statistical validity of the ambient network could be improved by sampling additional sites, especially those for aquifers underrepresented in the data set.

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USGS1998

Water resources data, West Virginia, water year 1997

Water-resources data for the 1997 water year for West Virginia consist of records of discharge and water quality of streams and water levels of observation wells. This report contains discharge records for 66 streamflow-gaging stations; annual maximum discharge at 38 crest-stage partial-record stations; water-quality records for 19 stations; and water-level records for 14 observation wells. Locations of these sites are shown on figures 4 and 5. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not involved in the systematic data collection program, and are published as miscellaneous sites. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in West Virginia.

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USGS1997

Water resources data, West Virginia, water year 1996

Water-resources data for the 1996 water year for West Virginia consist of records of discharge and water quality of streams; contents of reservoirs; and water levels of observation wells. This report contains discharge records for 64 streamflow-gaging stations; annual maximum discharge at 39 crest-stage partial-record stations; change in contents for 1 reservoir, water-quality records for 8 stations; and water-level records for 15 observation wells. Locations of these sites are shown on figures 4 and 5. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not involved in the systematic data collection program, and are published as miscellaneous sites. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in West Virginia.

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USGS1996

Water resources data, West Virginia, water year 1995

Water-resources data for the 1995 water year for West Virginia consist of records of discharge and water quality of streams; contents of reservoirs; and water levels of observation wells. This report contains discharge records for 68 streamflow-gaging stations; annual maximum discharge at 18 crest-stage partial-record stations; change in contents for 1 reservoir, water-quality records for 14 stations; and water-level records for 28 observation wells. Locations of these sites are shown on figures 4 and 5. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not involved in the systematic data collection program, and are published as miscellaneous sites. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in West Virginia.

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USGS1996

National Biological Service Research Supports Watershed Planning

The National Biological Service's Leetown Science Center is investigating how human impacts on watershed, riparian, and in-stream habitats affect fish communities. The research will provide the basis for a Ridge and Valley model that will allow resource managers to accurately predict and effectively mitigate human impacts on water quality. The study takes place in the Opequon Creek drainage basin of West Virginia. A fourth-order tributary of the Potomac, the basin falls within the Ridge and Valley. The study will identify biological components sensitive to land use patterns and the condition of the riparian zone; the effect of stream size, location, and other characteristics on fish communities; the extent to which remote sensing can reliable measure the riparian zone; and the relationship between the rate of landscape change and the structure of fish communities.

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USGS1995

Water use in West Virginia, 1990

This fact sheet describes the results of a water-use study for West Virginia that was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey (WVGES), as part of the National Water-Use Information Program of the USGS. The national program is based on Federal and State cooperative agreements to collect, store, and disseminate water-use information nationally and locally.

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USGS1995

Water resources data, West Virginia, water year 1994

Water-resources data for the 1994 water year for West Virginia consist of records of discharge and water quality of streams; contents of reservoirs; and water levels of observation wells. This report contains discharge records for 70 streamflow-gaging stations; annual maximum discharge at 18 crest-stage partial-record stations; change in contents for 1 reservoir, water-quality records for 12 stations; and water-level records for 29 observation wells. Locations of these sites are shown on figures 4 and 5. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not involved in the systematic data collection program, and are published as miscellaneous sites. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in West Virginia.

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USGS1994

Water resources data, West Virginia, water year 1993

Water-resources data for the 1993 water year for West Virginia consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; contents of reservoirs; and water levels of observations wells. This report contains discharge records for 78 streamflow-gaging stations; stage only records for 11 gaging stations; annual maximum discharge at 2 crest-stage partial-record stations; change in contents for 1 reservoir; water-quality records for 13 stations; and water-level records for 29 observation wells. Locations of these sites are shown on figures 4 and 5. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not involved in the systematic data collection program, and are published as miscellaneous sites. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in West Virginia.

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USGS1993

Comparison of the petrography, palynology and paleobotany of the Stockton coal bed, West Virginia and implications for paleoenvironmental interpretations

The Stockton coal bed (Middle Pennsylvanian) is a relatively high ash coal composed primarily of moderately thin banded, sparsely thin banded, and nonbanded coal (splint and cannel coal). Comparisons of petrographic, palynologic, and paleobotanic data gathered from the same sample sets from a single column of the Stockton coal bed indicate that compositional correspondences among the sets exist regardless of coal type. Some correspondences are believed to exist because of original plant constituents and others because of the paleoenvironment of peat formation. Using some combination of these data is critical when interpreting paleoenvironmental conditions because (1) a direct correspondence is lacking between many of the data and (2) each of the three data sets provides a unique and important perspective on the paleomire. The Stockton paleomire in the area of this study supported a diverse flora that consisted of both small and arboreous lycopsids, small ferns and tree ferns, calamites, cordaites, and pteridosperms. There appear to have been two successions of Lycospora spore-dominated, vitrinite-rich, liptinite-poor peat formation, which were followed by inertinite-rich peat formation marked by a tree fern-dominant spore assemblage and abundant unidentifiable plant tissues. These are interpreted to be two water-laden or topogenous peat formational stages followed by slightly domed, better drained peat formation.

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USGS1993

Depositional aspects of the November 1985 Flood on Cheat River and Black Fork, West Virginia

Widespread, intense rainfall in November 1985 produced floods that exceeded all historic events on Cheat River and most of its tributaries. Official discharge estimates for Cheat River ranged from 4,800 to 5,380 m 3 /s (170,000-190,000 ft 3 /s) with a recurrence interval of >100 yr. In addition to considerable property damage and the loss of five lives, the November 1985 flood left a variety of deposits, many of which differ from those produced by moderate floods. Clay or silt deposits were uncommon after the flood; most were restricted to slack-water deposits at the mouths of hydraulically dammed or back-flooded tributaries. These slack-water deposits were composed of four different sedimentary units: basal gravel and sand (unit A), sandy loam (unit B), silt loam (unit C), and upper fine sandy loam (unit D). The four units always occurred in the same stratigraphic order, but low-gradient tributaries lacked the top and bottom units. The silt loam unit was deposited by water from Cheat River, but the other three were derived from the tributaries. Simple one-unit sandy slack-water deposits formed near very large boulders and bridges. Neither type of slack-water deposit proved to be an accurate indicator of flood stage, so these deposits may be imprecise paleohydraulic indicators for central Appalachian streams. Sand dunes and arcuate splays of cobbles and small boulders developed on flood-plain sites downstream from isolated scours or erosional ramps attached to the river channel. Gravel deposits commonly were juxtaposed on top of sandy preflood alluvium, providing evidence of considerable tractive force in what is normally a low energy overbank environment. The flood transported large volumes of cobbles and boulders from the channel margin to sites hundreds of meters from the channel. Most of the mobilized sediment originated on the flood plain. Extremely large boulders (>2.75-m intermediate axes) were transported in two of the steeper reaches of Cheat River. Published empirical equations relating stream competence to mean flow velocity, tractive force, and unit stream power suggest these boulders approached the largest size that a flood of this magnitude could transport. Trees and trash appeared to be the most voluminous sediments left by the November 1985 flood. These nonclastic deposits commonly were scattered widely about the flood plain, but they also occurred as clusters of dunelike forms on unforested surfaces or as thick lobate forms on forested bottomlands. Postflood mitigation has destroyed most of the November 1985 flood deposits, precluding detailed study of some effects of the flood. If the extensive mitigation had not occurred, some of the morphologic and stratigraphic effects of this extreme flood would have persisted in the Cheat River and Black Fork fluvial systems for centuries.

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USGS1993

Flood hydrology and geomorphic effects on river channels and flood plains: The flood of November 4-5, 1985, in the South Branch Potomac River Basin of West Virginia

The November 1985 flood was the largest recorded in the South Branch Potomac River basin. Discharges exceeded values estimated for a recurrence interval of 500 yr at four of six stations in the basin. Flow velocities in the channel were as high as 4.6 m/s and may have exceeded 6 m/s at some locations; estimated values of unit stream power at U.S. Geological Survey gage locations were as high as 988 W/m2 and may have exceeded 2,500 W/m 2 at some locations. Along the three forks of the South Branch Potomac River, discharges of 1,000-7,000 m 3 /s flowed through valley cross sections that ranged in width from less than 70 m to 1,700 m, and, as a result, hydraulic conditions were extremely variable. Valley constrictions and expansions were important determinants of erosion and deposition patterns. Geomorphic impacts on valley floors along the three forks of the South Branch Potomac River included formation of a wide array of erosion and deposition features. Flood-generated erosion features included longitudinal grooves, scour marks, widened channels, stripped flood plains, chutes, anastomosing erosion channels, and jetshaped erosion forms. Deposition features were generally adjacent to eroded areas and included channel gravel bars, gravel splays, gravel and sand sheets, isolated gravel bars and sand dunes on flood plains, wake deposits, and backwater deposits. Mapping of erosion damage classes along 384 km of channel and valley floor revealed that 82.8 percent of the valley length experienced at least incipient erosion, 30.2 percent experienced severe erosion, and 5.7 percent experienced catastrophic erosion of the valley floor. Reach-average values of unit stream power were positively correlated with the percent of the valley reach that experienced severe erosion; percentages of 50 percent or more were associated with average values of 200-500 W/m 2 . These results suggest that, with further research, it should be possible to define threshold conditions for bottomland erosion.

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USGS1993

Water resources data, West Virginia, water year 1992

Water-resources data for the 1992 water year for West Virginia consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; contents of reservoirs; and water levels of observation wells. This report contains discharge records for 82 streamflow-gaging stations; stage only records for 8 gaging stations; annual maximum discharge at 2 crest-stage partial-record stations; change in contents for 1 reservoir; water-quality records for 13 stations; and water-level records for 29 observation wells. Locations of these sites are shown on figures 4 and 5. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not involved in the systematic data collection program, and are published as miscellaneous measurements. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in West Virginia.

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USGS1992

Water resources data, West Virginia, water year 1991

Water-resources data for the 1991 water year for West Virginia consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; contents of reservoirs; and water levels of observation wells. This report contains discharge records for 82 streamflow-gaging stations; stage only records for 7 gaging stations; annual maximum discharge at 2 crest-stage partial-record stations; change in contents for 1 reservoir; water-quality records for 14 stations; and water-level records for 30 observation wells. Locations of these sites are shown on figures 4 and 5. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not involved in the systematic data collection program, and are published as miscellaneous measurements. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in West Virginia.

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