Hydrology and water quality of the copper-nickel study region, northeastern Minnesota

Siegel, Donald I.; Ericson, Donald W.

doi:10.3133/ofr80739

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…However, chloride in ground water in drift in northern Minnesota commonly is less than 10 mg/L 20.28mgll and 373 kg 1' . These values are about (Siegel and Erickson, 1981). Furthermore, the residual at Royalton may also be a function of the error caused by assuming Junge and Werby's (1958) chloride concentrations for average precipitation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Chloride Budget for the Mississippi River, Headwaters to Mouth1

Siegel

Livermore

1984

J American Water Resour Assoc

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Mass budgets for chloride were estimated from 1975‐1978 for the Mississippi River from headwaters to near the mouth to determine the magnitudes of natural and anthropogenic sources. Annual chloride input from precipitation ranged from about 200 kg mi‐2yr‐1 at Royalton, Minnesota, to about 350 kg mi‐2yr‐1 at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Mass export ranged from about 900 kg mi‐2yr‐1 at Royalton to about 8000 kg mi‐2yr‐1 at Vicksburg. As much as 80 percent of the residual, the difference between input and export, probably is contributed by anthropogenic sources. In particular, semi‐logarithmic scatterplots of monthly total discharge against chloride concentration show that, during early spring, chloride elevations in the Mississippi River and Ohio River are elevated, possibly because of flushing of road salt and leaching of chloride from the accumulated snowpack.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Chloride Budget for the Mississippi River, Headwaters to Mouth1

Siegel

Livermore

1984

J American Water Resour Assoc

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“…The basin is in a humid, continental climate characterized by appreciable precipitation, hot summers, and cold winters (Pidwirny, 2006). Regionally, groundwater is present in the unconsolidated deposits and in fractures in the upper bedrock (Siegel and Ericson, 1980). The conceptual model of the study area was derived from existing geologic information about the Quaternary deposits (Minnesota Geological Survey, 2013), bedrock lithology (Jirsa and others, 2011), and existing hydrologic studies in the region (Cotter and others, 1965;Oakes, 1970;Stark, 1977;Olcott and others, 1978;Lindholm and others, 1979;Siegel and Ericson, 1980;Jones, 2002;Tetra Tech, 2014;Barr Engineering Company [Barr], 2014.…”

Section: Hydrogeologic Setting and Conceptual Model Of The Flow Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The crystalline bedrock has little primary porosity, and most permeability is from fractures. Locally, secondary porosity via leaching in the Biwabik Iron-Formation has increased the permeability of this unit by up to 50 percent (Siegel and Ericson, 1980). Only a simplified representation of the uppermost bedrock was considered for purposes of the regional model.…”

Section: Hydrogeologic Setting and Conceptual Model Of The Flow Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation of the regional groundwater-flow system in the St. Louis River basin, Minnesota

Haserodt¹,

Hunt²,

Cowdery³

et al. 2019

Scientific Investigations Report

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The St. Louis River Basin (SLRB) covers 3,600 square miles in northeastern Minnesota, with headwaters in the Mesabi Range and extensive wetlands and lakes throughout the basin. To better understand the regional groundwater system in the SLRB, a two-dimensional, steady-state groundwater-flow model of the SLRB was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Minnesota Ojibwe Bands, using the analytic-element computer code GFLOW. The parameter-estimation software suite PEST was used to obtain a best fit of the modeled to measured groundwater levels and streamflows. The calibrated regional model was locally refined to create a smaller version of the model, the central SLRB model, that was used to evaluate hydrologic effects from extensive ditching in wetlands of the central SLRB. The refinements included adding ditches that were not represented in the regional model and modifying the aquifer base elevation to be more representative of the localized area. The central SLRB model was recalibrated to better match the distribution of mapped wetlands. Two scenarios were run of the central SLRB model: one with ditches and one without ditches. The model results were compared between the two scenarios to assess the effect of ditching on the groundwater system and potential changes to hydrologic conditions that support wetlands. Calibration of the regional SRLB model resulted in average horizontal hydraulic conductivity values of 6-39 feet per day for the glacial deposits and 3-4 feet per day for the uppermost fractured bedrock in the Biwabik Iron-Formation on the Mesabi Range. Average recharge across the calibrated model was 5.9 inches per year. Linesink resistance for the routed stream network was calibrated by using resistance categories based on the mapped soil hydrologic groups. The modeled regional groundwater-flow direction was generally to the south near the Mesabi Range topographic high and south or southwest across the rest of the basin. The updated calibration of the central SLRB model resulted in average horizontal hydraulic conductivity values of 5-36 feet per day for the glacial deposits and 3 feet per day for the uppermost fractured Biwabik Iron-Formation of the Mesabi Range. Average recharge across the ditch scenarios was 4.1 inches per year. Comparison of the preditch and postditch model scenarios showed that ditching reduced the area where the modeled water table was within 1 foot of the land surface (a wetland hydrology indicator) in as much as 40,000 acres, or 37 percent, of mapped permanent wetlands in the SLRB. An increase in the depth to the water table in wetland areas has the potential to degrade wetland persistence or function.

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“…groundwater that conservatively might have discharged to the creek is at least an order of magnitude too small to increase the concentration of surfate in Filson Creek from 2 to 15 mg/l. The calculations assumed (1) two-dimensional groundwater flow from the wetlands to the creek, (2) a hydraulic conductivity of the peat ranging from 10 -6 to 10 -3 cm/s [Boelter, 1969], (3) hydraulic gradients ranging from 0.9 to 3.7 m/km [Siegel and Erickson, 1980;Stark, 1977], (4) a saturated peat thickness of 0.6 m discharging groundwater to the creek, and ß (5) groundwater discharge occurring along the entire length of the creek. Calculations were done by Darcy's law and indicate that total groundwater discharge to the creek probably ranges from 3 X 10 -n to 3 X 10 -3 m3/s.…”

Section: Mass Balance Calculations Indicate That the Amount Ofmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of snowmelt on the water quality of Filson Creek and Omaday Lake, northeastern Minnesota

Siegel

1981

Water Resources Research

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Sulfate concentration and pH were determined in surface water, groundwater, and precipitation samples collected in the Filson Creek watershed to evaluate the sources of sulfate in Filson Creek. During and immediately after snowmelt, sulfate concentrations in Filson Creek increased from about 2 to 14 mg/l. Concurrently, H + ion activity increased from an average of 10 -6-6 to 10 -5'5. These changes suggest that sulfate acidity is concentrated in the snowpack at snowmelt, which is similar to changes reported in Scandinavia in areas subject to acid precipitation. Mass balance calculations indicate that the surfate contribu. tion from groundwater during snowmelt was minimal in comparison to that from snow. During base flow, sulfate did not appreciably increase from the headwaters of Filson Creek to the mouth, even though sulfate was as high as 58 mg/l in groundwater discharging to the creek from surficial materials overlying a sulfide-bearing mineralized zone in the lower third of the watershed. Approximately 10.6 kg of surfate per hectare per year was retained in 1977. ' INTRODUCTION Acid precipitation caused by the oxidation and hydrolysis of SO,, and NO,, emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels has lowered the pH of poorly buffered surface waters in Canada [Beamish, 1976], Scandinavia [Braekke, 1976], and the Adirondack Mountains of New York [Schofield, 1976]. Acidification of poorly buffered surface waters results in reduced diversity and abundance of fish, zooplankton, benthos, phytoplankton, and aquatic macrophytes [Gorham, 1976]. Acid precipitation especially impacts surface water quality at snowmelt. Gjessing et al. [1976], Haapala et al. [1975], and Henrikson and Wright [1977] found that fractionation and concentration of pollutants in the snowpack during the early phases of snowmelt caused large decreases in the pH of surface waters in Scandinavia. Johannessen and Henrikson [1978], and Johannessen et al. [1975] found from field and experimental studies in Norway that the concentrations of major cations and anions, H + ions, and heavy metals were from 3 to 5 times higher in the first fractions of meltwater than in the bulk snowpack.

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Hydrology and water quality of the copper-nickel study region, northeastern Minnesota

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

A Chloride Budget for the Mississippi River, Headwaters to Mouth1

A Chloride Budget for the Mississippi River, Headwaters to Mouth1

Simulation of the regional groundwater-flow system in the St. Louis River basin, Minnesota

The effect of snowmelt on the water quality of Filson Creek and Omaday Lake, northeastern Minnesota

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