The Maryland Coastal Plain Aquifer Information System: A GIS-based tool for assessing groundwater resources

Abstract

Groundwater is the source of drinking water for ~1.4 million people in the Coastal Plain Province of Maryland (USA). In addition, groundwater is essential for commercial, industrial, and agricultural uses. Approximately 0.757 × 10 9 L d -1 (200 million gallons/d) were withdrawn in 2010. As a result of decades of withdrawals from the coastal plain confi ned aquifers, groundwater levels have declined by as much as 70 m (230 ft) from estimated prepumping levels. Other issues posing challenges to long-term groundwater sustainability include degraded water quality from both man-made and natural sources, reduced stream base fl ow, land subsidence, and changing recharge patterns (drought) caused by climate change. In Maryland, groundwater supply is managed primarily by the Maryland Department of the Environment, which seeks to balance reasonable use of the resource with long-term sustainability. The chief goal of groundwater management in Maryland is to ensure safe and adequate supplies for all current and future users through the implementation of appropriate usage, planning, and conservation policies. To assist in that effort, the geographic information system (GIS)-based Maryland Coastal Plain Aquifer Information System was developed as a tool to help water managers access and visualize groundwater data for use in the evaluation of groundwater allocation and use permits. The system, contained within an ESRI ArcMap desktop environment, includes both interpreted and basic data for 16 aquifers and 14 confi ning units. Data map layers include aquifer and confi ning

A Contemporary Systematic Review of Cyberinfrastructure Systems and Applications for Flood and Drought Data Analytics and Communication

“…Recent developments in information and internet technologies provide a great opportunity to enhance all the aforementioned data processes and sharing of flood and rainfall-related data and information and to improve the timeliness of flood warnings (Demir and Krajewski, 2013). The domain of flood cyberinfrastructures has seen transformative advancements in recent years (Curtis and Fowler, 2012;Andreasen et al, 2016;Escudier et al, 2016;Jones et al, 2017;Borsch et al, 2018;De Filippis et al, 2022). This growth is underscored by the development of multi-hazard and multi-criteria platforms (Ries et al, 2010;Heil et al, 2014;Kochilakis et al, 2016;Ong et al, 2017;Abily et al, 2020;Lin et al, 2020;Mamassis et al, 2021).…”

Utilizing Data-Driven Approaches to Forecast Fluctuations in Groundwater Table

“…Groundwater plays a pivotal role in sustaining both the environment and human activities in Maryland, underscoring its significance in the region. As a primary source of freshwater, groundwater in Maryland supports diverse ecosystems, maintaining the flow of rivers and wetlands while nurturing vital habitats for wildlife [1]. Furthermore, it serves as a dependable source of drinking water for a substantial portion population in Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic region, with approximately 3.3 million residents relying on groundwater in Maryland alone for their domestic water needs [1,2].…”

“…As a primary source of freshwater, groundwater in Maryland supports diverse ecosystems, maintaining the flow of rivers and wetlands while nurturing vital habitats for wildlife [1]. Furthermore, it serves as a dependable source of drinking water for a substantial portion population in Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic region, with approximately 3.3 million residents relying on groundwater in Maryland alone for their domestic water needs [1,2]. In addition, stresses induced by climate change and growing populations has resulted in increased withdrawals from the confined aquifers, thus requiring timely management of this vital resource for the future sustainability of freshwater.…”

Underground Barrier Wall Evaluation for Controlling Saltwater Intrusion in Sloping Unconfined Coastal Aquifers

“…The following sentences present the approximate bed slope values of different coastal aquifers according to published papers and reports: Nile Delta aquifer (Egypt) 0.30-0.40% [51], Cyprus aquifer (Carpus) 1.7% [52]), Mediterranean aquifer (Mediterranean coastal area) 1.0% [53], Gaza aquifer (Palestine) 1.33% [54], Tripoli aquifer (Libya) 2.0-2.5% [55], Buraydah aquifer (Saudi Arabia) 0.72% [56], Laizhou bay aquifer (China) 0.27% [57], Biscayne aquifer (USA) 0.0% [58], Karst Coastal aquifer (Central Italy) 0.0% [59], Gulf coastal aquifer (USA) 1.46% [60], Ethiopian coastal aquifer (Ethiopia) 1.25% [61], Maryland coastal aquifer (USA), 1.26% [62], Germasogeia aquifer (Cyprus) 1.0% [63], Ravenna aquifer (Italy) 0.1% [64], North Carolina aquifer (USA) 0.55% [65], and Hypothetical aquifer (from −244% to 2%) [49].…”