SEARCH · Search USGS
Results for “Oklahoma Geology Notes”
Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Statistics in Oklahoma's petroleum industry, 1980 ( USA).
Using graphs and tables, outlines statistics for oil and gas drilling activity in the state, for discovery and production levels, established reserve quantities, and the market value of hydrocarbons.-L.Martin
Water-level changes in the Ogallala aquifer, northwestern Oklahoma.
The Ogallala aquifer, that part of the High Plains aquifer in Oklahoma, is part of a regional aquifer system that underlies parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. In 1978 the US Geological Survey began a 5- year study of the High Plains regional aquifer system to provide hydrologic information for evaluation of the effects of long-term development of the aquifer and to develop a capability for predicting aquifer response to various ground-water-management alternatives (Weeks, 1978). -from Author
Overview of hydrologic-data collection by the US Geological Survey in Oklahoma.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) collects hydrologic data from 1332 stream, lake, and ground-water sites in Oklahoma. Information on the quantity of water from a network of 123 streamflow stations, 30 lakes, 42 peak-flow stations, three low-flow stations, and on the quality of water from 40 stream locations is published each year in the USGS publication Water Resources Data for Oklahoma. Information on water levels from 1134 ground-water wells is currently published in cooperation with the State of Oklahoma in the USGS publication Ground-Water Levels in Observation Wells in Oklahoma. The data also are made available to the public as printouts from several computerized databases maintained by the USGS. -Author
Physical and chemical characteristics of water in coal-mine ponds of eastern Oklahoma.
Coal-mine ponds cover 4000 acres and have a storage capacity of about 100 000 acre-feet. They are important wild-life habitats and contribute locally to agricultural and municipal water supply. The physical and chemical properties of the water are very variable. By and large, the pond waters showed a lack of mixing and thermal stratification with bottom to surface temperatures differing by up to 30oC over 20 ft depth in July. The medium pH was 7.7, except for ponds associated with the Secor coal bed (pH 3.3). Sulphate was the principal ion in the mine pond water. Other chemicals varied with the associated coal-bed. Chloride concentrations were 11 mg/L or less, except for ponds associated with the Dowson coal (140 mg/L). Dissolved concentration was low 40 mu g/L, except in ponds associated with the Secor (3000 mu g/L and Dowson (2100) coals. Dissolved manganese was less than 1500 micrograms/L except for Secor (35 000), Dowson (4300) and Weir-Pittsburg (3700 micrograms/L). -M.J.Haigh
Chapter G: Tentative Correlation Between CIPW Normin pl (Total Plagioclase) and Los Angeles Wear in Precambrian Midcontinental Granites-Examples from Missouri and Oklahoma, with Applications and Limitations for Use
The normative chemical classification of Cross, Iddings, Pirsson, and Washington (CIPW) is commonly used in igneous petrology to distinguish igneous rocks by comparing their magmatic chemistries for similar and dissimilar components. A potential use for this classification other than in petrologic studies is in the rapid assessment of aggregate sources, possibly leading to an economic advantage for an aggregate producer or user, by providing the opportunity to determine whether further physical testing of an aggregate is warranted before its use in asphalt or concrete pavement. However, the CIPW classification currently should not be substituted for the physical testing required in specifications by State departments of transportation. Demands for physical testing of aggregates have increased nationally as users seek to maximize the quality of the aggregate they purchase for their pavements. Concrete pavements are being laid with increased thicknesses to withstand increasing highway loads. New pavement mixes, most notably Superior Performance Asphalt Pavement ('Superpave'), are designed for additional service life. For both concrete and asphalt, the intent is to generate a durable pavement with a longer service life that should decrease overall life-cycle costs. Numerous aggregate producers possess chemical-composition data available for examination to answer questions from the potential user. State geological surveys also possess chemical-composition data for stone sources. Paired with the results of physical testing, chemical- composition data provide indicative information about stone durability and aggregate strength. The Missouri Department of Transportation has noted a possible relation among coarse-grained Precambrian granites of the midcontinental region, correlating the results of abrasion testing with the contents of normative minerals, also known as normins, calculated from chemical composition data. Thus, normin pl ( total plagioclase) can predict, by way of simple regression, the Los Angeles wear for granite samples collected in Missouri. The results of this abrasion testing were extended to another granite in Oklahoma where normin pl predicted Los Angeles wear to within 0.6 percent. This relation may also exist for granitic rocks outside the Oklahoma-Missouri region, as well as for other igneous-rock types.
Summary of annual records of chemical quality of water of the Arkansas River in Oklahoma and Arkansas, 1945-1952
This report summarizes information collected to date in the Arkansas River Basin in Oklahoma and Arkansas, and shows, within the limitations of present information, the chemical quality of water in the Arkansas River downstream from the Oklahoma-Kansas State line to its junction with the Mississippi River, and the influence of tributary in-flows. Additional data are being collected and further studies are planned. Hence, conclusions reached herein may be modified by more complete information at a later date. The Arkansas River is subject to many types of pollution downstream from the Oklahoma-Kansas State line, and its inferior quality along with an erratic flow pattern has caused it to be largely abandoned as a source of municipal and industrial water supply. Currently, the Arkansas River is not directly used as a source of public supply in any part of the basin in either Oklahoma or Arkansas. In general, the river water increases in chemical concentration downstream from the Oklahoma-Kansas State line to Tulsa due mainly to tributary inflow from the Salt Fork Arkansas River and the Cimarron River, both streams being sources of large amounts of both natural salts and industrial wastes. A decrease in chemical concentration is noted downstream from Tulsa due to tributary inflow from the Verdigris, Neosho, and Illinois rivers, with an increase in chemical concentration then noted due to tributary inflow from the Canadian River which is largely oil field wastes. A steady decrease in concentrations is then noted as the river progresses through Arkansas to the Mississippi River, as all major tributaries below the Canadian River have a dilution effect upon the chemical concentration of the Arkansas River water. Proposals for storage and regulating reservoirs on the Arkansas River in both Oklahoma and Arkansas have been made by the Corps of Engineers and others. Additional proposals are bing considered in the present Arkansas-White-Red River Basin Inter-Agency Sub-Committee studies. If constructed, these reservoirs will provide an opportunity for control of flow and beneficial use of Arkansas River water both at and downstream from these sites. Impoundment alone will greatly reduce the extremes in water-quality, and by reasonable control of municipal and industrial wastes, the water at some points on the river would be comparable in quality to many existing municipal and industrial supplies in the basin. (available as photostat copy only)
Changes in chemical quality of the Arkansas River in Oklahoma and Arkansas (1946-52)
Systematic chemical quality-of-water investigations have been carried on in both Oklahoma and Arkansas by the Geological Survey in cooperation with State and Federal agencies during the past several years. Results of the Survey's quality-of-water investigations are usually published in the annual Water-Supply Papers. However, as the Geological Survey has made no sediment investigations in the Arkansas River Basin in Oklahoma and Arkansas, the published data do not include information on sediment concentrations or loads. This report attempts to summarize information collected to date in the Arkansas River Basin of the two States, and to show as clearly as possible from present information how the chemical quality of water in the Arkansas River changes downstream from the Oklahoma-Kansas State line to its confluence with the Mississippi River, and how it is affected by tributary inflows. Additional information is being collected and further studies are planned. Hence, the conclusions reached herein may be modified by more adequate information at a later date. The Arkansas River enters Oklahoma near Newkirk on the northern boundary just east of the 97th meridian, crosses the State in a general southeasterly direction flowing past Tulsa, enters Arkansas at its western boundary north of the 35th parallel near Fort Smith, still flowing in a general southeasterly direction past Little Rock near the center of the State, and empties into the Mississippi River east of Dumas. The Arkansas River is subject to many types of pollution downstream from the Oklahoma-Kansas State line, and its inferior quality along with an erratic flow pattern has caused it to be largely abandoned as a source of municipal and industrial water supply. At the present time, the Arkansas River is not directly used as a source of public supply in any part of the basin in either Oklahoma or Arkansas. In general, the river water increases in chemical concentration downstream from the Oklahoma-Kansas State line to Tulsa, due mainly to tributary inflow from the Salt Fork Arkansas River and the Cimarron River, both streams being sources of large amounts of both natural and artificial pollution. A decrease in chemical concentration is noted downstream from Tulsa due to tributary inflow from the Verdigris, Neosho, and Illinois rivers with an increase in chemical concentration then noted due to tributary inflow from the Canadian River which is largely artificial pollution. A steady decrease in concentration is then noted as the river progresses through Arkansas to the Mississippi River, as all major tributaries below the Canadian River have a dilution effect upon the chemical concentration of the Arkansas River water. Proposals for storage and regulating reservoirs on the Arkansas River in both Oklahoma and Arkansas have been made by the Corps of Engineers and others. Additional proposals are being considered in the present Arkansas-White-Red River Basin Inter-Agency Committee studies. If constructed, these reservoirs will provide an opportunity for control of flow and beneficial use of Arkansas River water, both at and downstream from these sites. Impoundment alone will greatly reduce the extremes in water quality, and by reasonable control of municipal and industrial wastes, the water would be comparable in quality to many existing basin municipal and industrial supplies. (available as photostat copy only)