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Results for “Mississippi Geology”

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At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS2020

Field comparison of five in situ turbidity sensors

Five commercially available turbidity sensors were field tested by the U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility for accuracy and data comparability. The tested sensors were the Xylem EXO (EXO), the Hach Solitax sc (Solitax), the In Situ Aqua TROLL sensor installed onto a TROLL 600 sonde (TROLL 600), the Campbell Scientific OBS501 (OBS501), and the Observator ANALITE NEP–5000 (NEP–5000). The sensors were deployed at Pearl River at National Space Technology Laboratories Station, Mississippi (U.S. Geological Survey site 02492620), and were serviced weekly. In addition to the five in situ turbidity sensors, corresponding discrete samples were collected and analyzed during the evaluation on a calibrated Hach 2100N benchtop turbidimeter. The OBS501 malfunctioned early in the evaluation and eventually failed, resulting in few data from the sensor. During this study, the four remaining sensors (minus the OBS501) changed similarly throughout the field test; however, sensor data from the EXO consistently demonstrated lower results than the Solitax, TROLL 600, and NEP–5000, possibly because of the variation in raw signal processing among manufacturers. Results from a single factor analysis of variance test and a Tukey Honestly Significant Difference test verified the low bias observed in the EXO data and indicated there was a significant difference between the EXO data and data from the Solitax, TROLL 600, and NEP–5000 but an insignificant difference among the data when the Solitax, TROLL 600, and NEP–5000 were compared to each other.

Mississippi↗
USGS1996

Neogene and Quaternary geology of a stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound

During April and May, 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) drilled a 510-ft-deep, continuously cored, stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound, as part of a field study of the Neogene and Quaternary geology of the Mississippi coastal area. The USGS drilled two new holes at the Horn Island site. The first hole was continuously cored to a depth of 510 ft; coring stopped at this depth due to mechanical problems. To facilitate geophysical logging, an unsampled second hole was drilled to a depth of 519 ft at the same location.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2023

Status and trends of total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations, loads, and yields in streams of Mississippi, water years 2008–18

To assess the status and trends of conditions of surface waters throughout Mississippi, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), summarized concentrations and estimated loads, yields, trends, and spatial and temporal patterns of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) at 20 stream sites in MDEQ’s ambient water-quality monitoring network and 2 stream sites in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment Project’s monitoring network. Comparison of streamflow at the time of water-quality sample collection to flow-duration curves for each site showed that samples were relatively evenly spread over a wide range of flows, indicating that load estimations were representative of a wide range of flows. Relation of streamflow to concentrations of TN and TP varied among sites and land use. Sites with high agriculture land use in the drainage basin tended to have a positive correlation between streamflow and concentration, suggesting influence of event-driven nonpoint-source runoff. Sites near urban (developed) areas tended to have a negative correlation between streamflow and concentration, suggesting chronic point-source influences during low-flow conditions. Sites with high forest land use and lower agriculture and urban (developed) land use showed little to no association between streamflow and concentration. Seasonal distributions of concentrations of TN and TP also corresponded closely with variations in land use. Sites near urban (developed) land had the highest concentrations in late summer and fall, sites with a high percentage of agricultural land had the highest concentrations in the spring, and sites that were primarily forested or with little developed land did not exhibit substantial changes in concentration across seasons. Eight sites had statistical likelihoods for upward trends of TN loads, and seven sites had statistical likelihoods for downward trends. Trends in TN loads at six sites were considered “about as likely as not,” meaning that a site has an equal chance of having an upward or downward trend. Trend results of mean annual flow-normalized loads of TP for the period of analysis (2008–18) showed that 16 sites had upward trends, 3 sites had downward trends, and 2 sites were considered “about as likely as not.” Results from our study were compared to results from existing regional models to assess accuracy of predictions at a local scale. Comparisons of yields predicted from 2012 regional-scale SPAtially Referenced Regressions on Watershed attributes (SPARROW) to results from this study showed the 2012 SPARROW-predicted estimates varied in consistency with results from this study. The 2012 SPARROW-prediction model underestimated TN yields, more often and by a slightly larger degree, more than it overestimated TN yields. The 2012 SPARROW-predicted model tended to underestimate yields at study sites with higher yields. All four sites in the predominantly agricultural area of northwest Mississippi, locally known as the Mississippi Delta, were underestimated by 2012 SPARROW. For TP, yield comparisons at sites with lower yields were consistent, yields at sites with midrange yields tended to be overestimated by SPARROW, and yields at sites with high yields tended to be underestimated by SPARROW. TP yields at four sites in the Mississippi Delta were underestimated by the 2012 SPARROW-predicted model. Results of select sites from our study were also compared to other published load estimates from an earlier time period to evaluate possible trends. Comparison of TN yields at four sites and TP yields at three sites from the study-derived estimates to estimates made from data spanning 1993–2004 showed decreasing TN yields at all four sites and decreasing TP yields at two of three sites, with increasing yields of TP at the Yazoo River lower site. Also, a third comparison of the TN and TP yields of the Yazoo River lower site of this study to estimates made from data spanning 1996–97 showed decreasing TN yields but similar TP yields. This suggests that TN yields may have decreased over the last 20–30 years, but TP yields remain constant or are increasing.

Mississippi↗
USGS1985

Background hydrologic information in potential lignite mining areas in north-central Mississippi, August 1984

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Geology, is conducting a hydrologic data collection program in potential lignite-producing areas in Mississippi. During the last two weeks of August 1984, hydrologic data were collected at 15 stream sites that drain potential lignite mining areas in Lafayette, Calhoun, and Yalobusha Counties. Main channel widths ranged from approximately 60 feet at three streams (Coon Creek near Toccopula, Muckaloon Creek near Tula, and Hurricane Creek near Velma) to approximately 120 feet at two streams (Potlockney Creek near Tula, and Savannah Creek near Bruce). Maximum water depths ranged from less than 1.0 foot at most streams to over 5.0 feet at sites on Potlockney Creek near Tula and McGill Creek near Sarepta. Stream discharge ranged from 0.32 cubic feet per second in Persimmon Creek near Bruce to 18.5 cubic feet per second in Puskus Creek near Etta. The specific conductance of stream water ranged from 25 to 160 microsiemens and dissolved solids concentrations ranged from 22 to 91 mg/L (milligrams per liter). Most major ion concentrations were less than 10 mg/L with the exception of calcium (11 mg/L), sodium (12 mg/L) and sulfate (18 mg/L) in the water of Persimmon Creek near Bruce. Dissolved oxygen concentrations were greater than 5.0 mg/L at all but one site. Turbidity values were generally less than 50 units. Nitrate plus nitrite concentrations were equal to or less than 0.10 mg/L in all streams except in Potlockney Creek near Tula where the concentration was 0.11 mg/L. Copper and selenium concentrations in the water at all sampling sites ranged from below the detection limits (1 microgram/g) to 4 micrograms/g (micrograms per gram) and mercury concentrations in bottom material samples ranged from less than 0.01 microgram/g to 0.15 microgram/g. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS2018

Nearshore coastal bathymetry data collected in 2016 from West Ship Island to Horn Island, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, conducted bathymetric surveys of the nearshore waters surrounding Ship and Horn Islands, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi. The objective of this study was to establish base-level elevation conditions around West Ship, East Ship, and Horn Islands and their associated active littoral system prior to restoration activities. These activities include the closure of Camille Cut and the placement of sediment in the littoral zone of East Ship Island. These surveys can be compared with future surveys to monitor sediment migration patterns post-restoration and can also be measured against historic bathymetric datasets to further our understanding of island evolution. The USGS collected 667 line-kilometers (km) of single-beam bathymetry data and 844 line-km of interferometric swath bathymetry data in July 2016 under Field Activity Number 2016-347-FA. Data are provided in three datums: (1) the International Terrestrial Reference Frame of 2000 (ellipsoid height); (2) the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) CORS96 realization and the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 with respect to the GEOID12B model (orthometric height); and (3) NAD83 (CORS96) and Mean Lower Low Water (tidal datum). Data products, including x,y,z point datasets, trackline shapefiles, digital and handwritten Field Activity Collection Systems logs, 50-meter digital elevation model, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata, are available for download.

Mississippi↗
USGS2020

Simulation of water-management scenarios for the Mississippi Delta

To compare the effectiveness of proposed alternative water-supply scenarios on future water availability in the Mississippi Delta, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality are collaborating on the update and enhancement of an existing regional groundwater-flow model of the area. Through this collaboration, the model has been updated to include boundary conditions through March 2014 with the most recent water-use data, precipitation and recharge data, and streamflow and water-level observation data. The updated model has been used to evaluate selected alternative water-supply scenarios to determine relative effects on the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer. Alternative water-supply options evaluated in this report include: (1) irrigation efficiency, (2) on-farm storage and tailwater recovery, (3) instream weirs to increase surface-water availability, (4) intrabasin transfer of surface water, and (5) groundwater transfer and injection. A relative comparison approach was used to calculate the simulated water-level response caused by each scenario. Water-level response is the difference between water levels simulated by the alternative water-supply scenario and those simulated by a base or “no action” scenario. Water-level response in the alluvial aquifer varied for each scenario based on the location, magnitude, and (or) adoption rates of the simulated alternative water-supply option. The groundwater transfer and injection scenario showed the largest water-level response.

Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri↗
USGS1993

40Ar-39Ar ages of bentonite beds in the upper part of the Yazoo Formation (Upper Eocene), west-central Mississippi

Bentonite beds recorded from both outcrops and cores in the upper Eocene Yazoo Formation offer opportunities to date the uppermost Eocene of this region and to provide information on the age of the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. This report gives radiometric age dates for three bentonites sampled from the upper Yazoo Formation. Two bentonites are from outcrops near Satartia in western Mississippi and one is from a core hole at Society Ridge in west-central Mississippi. The upper bentonite at Satartia was studied independently at two laboratories using different techniques but with the same results, an age of 34.3 Ma (million years). Results from the Society Ridge bentonite gave the same age. -from Authors

Mississippi Geology↗
USGS1996

Selected reports of the U.S. Geological Survey on Water Resources in Mississippi, 1990-96

Results of water-resources data-collection programs and interpretive hydrologic studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are published in reports and are made available to universities, State and local agencies, other Federal agencies, and the public. The following is a list of selected USGS reports on water resources in Mississippi published since 1990 and categorized according to the major emphasis of the report; these reports are available for inspection at the Mississippi District Office in Pearl, Mississippi.

Mississippi↗
USGS2010

Geomorphology and depositional subenvironments of Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is studying coastal hazards and coastal change to improve our understanding of coastal ecosystems and to develop better capabilities of predicting future coastal change. One approach to understanding the dynamics of coastal systems is to monitor changes in barrier-island subenvironments through time. This involves examining morphological and topographic change at temporal scales ranging from millennia to years and spatial scales ranging from tens of kilometers to meters. Of particular interest are the processes that produce those changes and the determination of whether or not those processes are likely to persist into the future. In these analyses of hazards and change, both natural and anthropogenic influences are considered. Quantifying past magnitudes and rates of coastal change and knowing the principal factors that govern those changes are critical to predicting what changes are likely to occur under different scenarios, such as short-term impacts of extreme storms or long-term impacts of sea-level rise. Gulf Islands National Seashore was selected for detailed mapping of barrier-island morphology and topography because the islands offer a diversity of depositional subenvironments and the islands' areas and positions have changed substantially in historical time. The geomorphologic and subenvironmental maps emphasize the processes that formed the surficial features and also serve as a basis for documenting which subenvironments are relatively stable, such as the beach ridge complex, and those which are highly dynamic, such as the beach and active overwash zones. The primary mapping procedures used supervised functions within a Geographic Information System (GIS) that classified depositional subenvironments and features (map units) and delineated boundaries of the features (shapefiles). The GIS classified units on the basis of tonal patterns of a feature in contrast to adjacent features observed on georeferenced aerial photographs. Land elevations from recent lidar surveys served as supplementary data to assist in delineating the map-unit boundaries.

Mississippi↗
USGS1994

Lateral movement and stability of channel banks near four highway crossings in southwestern Mississippi

Channel meandering in alluvial streams has caused localized channel instability that has resulted in bridge failure and loss of human life in Mississippi. The U.S. Geological Survey, in coopera- tion with the Mississippi Department of Transpor- tation, conducted a study to develop a better methodology for defining and estimating channel meandering. For this report, river reaches near four bridge sites with current lateral movement of channel banks were selected for study. The lateral movement of channel banks was studied by mapping meanders from aerial photographs taken at various times, evaluating available discharge measurements, and measuring existing channel geometry and soil strength properties at these sites. Rapid, unre- stricted meander cuts and sandy banks are charac- teristic of the sites. Lateral movement was signi- ficant upstream from all four sites, and only one bridge site did not have significant lateral channel-bank movement during the study period. The development of cutbanks and localized channel-bank erosion have caused unstable conditions at three of the sites. Maps of tops of channel indicate significant lateral movement of channel banks upstream and downstream of all four sites and near the bridges at three of four sites. No significant movement occurred at the U.S. Highway 98 crossing of the Bogue Chitto near Tylertown from 1941 to 1991 despite large floods in 1983 and 1990. Slope stability analyses indicated this site to be marginally stable. The maximum lateral movement indicated from maps of tops of channel banks was 680 feet of northward movement of the right (north) bank of the Homochitto River near the State Highway 33 crossing at Rosetta from 1941 to 1983.

Mississippi↗
USGS2014

U.S. Geological Survey unconventional petroleum systems research in south Mississippi: Observations on burial history and thermal maturity in the Cretaceous

Shale hydrocarbon ‘resource’ plays have revolutionized the United States energy mix over the last 5 years. These plays are diverse in lithology and age but share the common feature of occurring in ‘tight’ formations which require hydraulic (hydro-) fracturing for economic flow rates. In general, economic success requires an organic-rich reservoir with a quartz- or carbonate-rich mineralogy that responds to artificial stimulation by fracturing. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is tasked with estimating the quantity and quality of undiscovered hydrocarbons reservoired in shales. In support of that mission, we began an investigation of unconventional petroleum systems in the southern part of the Mississippi Salt Basin in 2012, building on earlier reconnaissance work that identified this area as potentially prospective for ‘shale’ gas (Enomoto et al., 2012). While our recent studies (Valentine et al., 2014a; Hackley et al., 2014) have suggested poor ‘shale’ gas prospectivity (due to low organic content, low porosity, high clay content, and significant depth), at least for the Aptian section, they also have generated a wealth of new information about thermal maturity in the Cretaceous of south Mississippi. In addition, our work to-date has set the stage for future USGS evaluation of unconventional hydrocarbons reservoired in the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS). Here, we summarize recent USGS thermal maturity studies in the south Mississippi Salt Basin.

Mississippi↗
USGS1995

Changes in the volume of water in the Mississippi River alluvial aquifer in the Delta, northwestern Mississippi, 1980-94

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Land and Water Resources, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, estimated the volumetric changes of water in the Mississippi River alluvial aquifer in northwestern Mississippi from 1980 through 1994. Volumetric changes of water in the alluvial aquifer were estimated for the entire Delta and for five selected areas within the Delta. The volume of water per square mile in the alluvial aquifer in the Delta changed from 17,886 acre-feet during fall 1980 to 17,719 acre-feet during fall 1994, a decrease in volume per square mile of 167 acre-feet. The minimum volume of water per square mile in the alluvial aquifer in the Delta during 1980-94 was 17,640 acre-feet during fall 1988. Of five selected areas within the Delta, an area near Cleveland in Bolivar County had the greatest change in volume of water in the alluvial aquifer. During fall 1980 this area had 20,790 acre-feet of water per square mile in the aquifer; by fall 1994, the volume had decreased to 19,947 acre-feet of water per square mile. An area located in the vicinity of the Sunflower-Leflore County line has within its boundaries a large cone of depression in the potentiometric surface of the alluvial aquifer. The volume of water per square mile in this area decreased from 17,857 acre-feet during fall 1980 to 17,075 acre-feet during fall 1994.

Mississippi↗
USGS2024

Hypothetical CO2 leakage into, and hydrological plume management within, an underground source of drinking water at a proposed CO2 storage facility, Kemper County, Mississippi, USA

A large Geologic Carbon Sequestration (GCS) hub has been proposed in Kemper County, Mississippi. The target injection interval consists of numerous Cretaceous-aged deep saline aquifers overlain by a competent and extensive regional sealing layer. Above the seal, the deepest Underground Source of Drinking Water (USDW) at the site is the Eutaw aquifer of the Eutaw Group and McShan Formation, undifferentiated. To assess potential risks of leakage from the deep sequestration reservoir, a model of a portion of the Cretaceous Eutaw Group was constructed in this study. Simulations tested various permeabilities, hypothetical leakage rates, and plume mitigation strategies utilizing existing wells. Results suggest that, under the influence of regional groundwater flow fields, leaking CO 2 would effectively bypass the existing wells, and to influence this migration would require very large water extraction rates. Therefore, to ensure plume detection, monitoring for leakage at the injection wells themselves is very important.

Mississippi↗
USGS1998

Soil, environmental, and watershed measurements in support of carbon cycling studies in northwestern Mississippi

Measurements including soil respiration, soil moisture, soil temperature, and carbon export in suspended sediments from small watersheds were recorded at several field sites in northwestern Mississippi in support of hillslope process studies associated with the U.S. Geological Survey's Mississippi Basin Carbon Project (MBCP). These measurements were made to provide information about carbon cycling in agricultural and forest ecosystems to understand the potential role of erosion and deposition in the sequestration of soil organic carbon in upland soils. The question of whether soil erosion and burial constitutes an important net sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide is one hypothesis that the MBCP is evaluating to better understand carbon cycling and climate change. This report contains discussion of methods used and presents data for the period December 1996 through March 1998. Included in the report are ancillary data provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ARS National Sedimentation Laboratory and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research on rainfall, runoff, sediment yield, forest biomass and grain yield. Together with the data collected by the USGS these data permit the construction of carbon budgets and the calibration of models of soil organic matter dynamics and sediment transport and deposition. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has established cooperative agreements with the USDA and USFS to facilitate collaborative research at research sites in northwestern Mississippi.

Mississippi↗