UMass Sesquicentennial

Articles by MGS Staff

Several faults in south-central New Hampshire can be extended into Massachusetts (MA) as a result of detailed mapping in both states since publication of the MA state bedrock geologic map in 1983...

Recent STATEMAP-sponsored geologic mapping of several 7.5' quadrangles in east-central Massachusetts describe a new tectonostratigraphy and structural history for migmatitic gneisses of the Cambro...

Engineered resupply of sand to coastal environments, i.e. nourishment, offers an attractive short-term strategy to address beach erosion in Massachusetts. For efficient nourishment, site-specific...

The past decade has seen a dramatic shift in the public perception of a map as a static paper document to a dynamic digital interface for addressing a specific geographic question. The adoption of...

The CT and MA Geological Surveys are collaborative partners in the National Geothermal Data Project funded by DOE through the Association of American State Geologists. The goal is to develop...

In New England, earthquakes pose a risk to the built environment. New England state geological surveys partnered with the Northeast States Emergency Consortium to integrate geologic information...

Four landslides (3 translational debris flows and 1 rotational slide) occurred along the Cold River within the Deerfield River watershed (1440 km (super 2) ) in northwestern Massachusetts closing...

The exhumation and tectonic significance of the migmatitic Cambro-Ordovician arc-complex of the Nashoba terrane, located between lower-grade rocks of the Avalon and Merrimack terranes in...

A method is devised for estimating the potential permeability of fracture networks from attributes of fractures observed in outcrop. The technique, which is intended as a complement to traditional...

The practice of geologic mapping is undergoing conceptual and methodological transformation. Profound changes in digital technology in the past 10 yr have potential to impact all aspects of...

The Connecticut and Massachusetts Geological Surveys are collaborating on a National Geothermal Data Project funded by the US Department of Energy through the Association of American State...

In the absence of volcano-derived hydrothermal activity and high heat flow, granitic plutons provide an alternative geothermal resource from which heat may be usefully extracted. Compared with...

Estimating geothermal potential in southern New England in the absence of borehole heat flow data or geophysical studies has led to a focus on models based on thermal conductivity, geochemistry,...

William O. Crosby studied the islands of Boston Harbor in the late 1800s, producing excellent verbal descriptions but no maps. Many of his observations stand unchallenged. His detailed maps of the...

(GSA Special Paper) In New England, earthquakes pose a risk to the built environment. Emergency preparedness and mitigation planning are prudent in this region as older unreinforced...

Devonian-aged plutonic rocks that are interpreted to be part of the Fall River pluton, along the southern edge of the Narragansett Basin, appear to have potential as a source of deep geothermal...

The search for geothermal resources is rapidly expanding into tectonic regions that have not been previously considered to be suitable for exploitation. Many of these regions, such as the...

Across the New England "arsenic belt," groundwater arsenic (As) concentrations often exceed the EPA's 0.01-mg/L drinking water standard. In overburden groundwater at a site within this belt in...

Core samples of the Ayer Granodiorite along the eastern margin of the Merrimack Belt in northeastern Massachusetts host a series of sulfide and oxide phases that resulted from interaction with...

During the late Pleistocene the Merrimack River paleodelta formed as post-glacial rebound produced a local low stand in sea level. Drowned as sea level rose, the paleodelta is now being reworked...

Groundwater movement and availability in crystalline and metamorphosed rocks is dominated by the secondary porosity generated through fracturing. The distributions of fractures and fracture zones...

Three methods of fracture data collection are tested against each other in layered dolomitic rocks to evaluate the effectiveness of each method in sampling fracture properties. The methods tested...

The Dynamic Digital Map of Selected Sedimentary Rocks in Western Massachusetts (DDM-SedRxWMa) is an example of what can be developed for all National Park Administered land. On starting the...

Advancements in GIS and digital mapping techniques have improved the efficient production and visualization of geologic data. The Office of the Massachusetts State Geologist (OMSG) utilizes these...

The orientation and geographic distribution of joints, veins, and brittle faults show a conspicuous correlation with the heterogeneous distribution of foliation and lineation intensity in Neo-...

Attributes (i.e. trace-length, spacing, termination and orientation) of joints and foliation-parallel fractures (FPFs) are used to assess the influence of lithology and fabric on fracture type and...

While traditional bedrock geologic maps contain valuable information, they commonly lack data on fractures and physical properties of the rock. The increased need for better understanding of...

Fractured crystalline bedrock aquifers are good sources of potable water in many parts of the world. However, siting of highly productive wells in these rock units remains a challenging and...

The integration of structural data and field-based observations is becoming increasingly critical in understanding groundwater flow behavior and recharge potential. Over the past 3 years, the...

Aquifers located in isolated stratified drift deposits in the northeastern portion of the US are extremely fragile and important groundwater resources. These aquifers, when restricted to bedrock...

A study examining the relationship between fracture characteristics and groundwater was undertaken in the crystalline Nashoba Terrane of eastern Massachusetts. The Nashoba Terrane, a fault-bounded...

Integration of a wide array of structural data with well-field hydrologic testing is increasingly recognized as a critical step in understanding groundwater flow behavior and recharge in...

Despite the state's relatively high population density and decades of detailed study of the bedrock geology, only about half of the 7.5' quadrangles in Massachusetts have been published as GQ...

Integration of a wide array of structural data with well-field hydrologic testing is increasingly recognized as a critical step in understanding groundwater flow behavior and recharge in...

MassGIS and the Office of the Massachusetts State Geologist are working collaboratively with the USGS to vectorize 85, published 7.5-minute surficial geologic maps in order to prepare a statewide...

High-resolution compositional mapping and dating of monazite on the electron microprobe is a powerful addition to microstructural and petrologic analysis and an important tool for tectonic studies...

A key issue in constructing models for the southward growth of Laurentia during the Proterozoic is distinguishing the effects of approximately 1650 Ma and approximately 1400 Ma tectonism. These...

Lineaments derived from three image types (1:80,000 black and white, 1:58,000 color infrared, and 1:250,000 side-looking airborne radar) were compared to water-bearing features within a 9.6 km...

The influence of approximately 1.65 vs. 1.4 Ga tectonism on the evolution of the Proterozoic orogenic belt in the southwestern United States has been an issue of considerable debate. This belt was...

Preliminary results of in-situ microprobe dating of monazite from the Ortega Quartzite suggest an increasing influence of 1.4 Ga tectonism from north to south within the in the Tusas Mountains of...

Lineaments derived from three image types (1:80,000 black and white (BW), 1:58,000 color infrared (CIR), and 1:250,000 side-looking airborne radar (SLAR)) were compared to water-bearing features...

Undergraduate students, high school teachers, and university faculty representing ACRES (Atlanta Consortium for Research in Earth Sciences) studied lineated gneiss (LG) exposed at Flat Rock Park (...

Lineaments derived from three platforms; 1:250,000 Side-Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR) images, 1:58,000 Color Infrared (CIR) and 1:80,000 Black and White aerial photographs (BW), were compared to...

As part of the evaluation of the ability of lineaments to map subsurface structures, the coincident lineaments which intersect the tunnel (Curry et al., this volume), were evaluated to isolate...

Major fracture sets (dip >45 degrees ), their geographic distributions (domains), and their characteristics (spacing, trace length, and planarity) were measured in surface outcrops and in a 9...

All occurrences of groundwater inflows in a 9 km long, 5-m diameter section of tunnel, 70 to 90 m below grade, were compared with subsurface fracture density, bedrock topography, surface...

Samples of ground and surface waters in and above the tunnel (Curry et al., this volume) were collected to characterize the chemistry of groundwater discharging from fractures and faults. Forty-...

Lineament data derived from three platforms, 1:58,000 color infrared photography (N = 770), 1:80,000 black and white photographs (N = 1106), and 1:250,000 SLAR imagery (N = 521), were used to...

A case study was conducted of 79 outcrops within 150 meters of the nine, 7590 m deep boreholes at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) Fracture Hydrology Field Site in Raymond, California, USA,...

A new method is proposed for collecting and reducing large collections of lineament data. The method consists of three steps: (1) collection of lineament data using multiple observers, multiple...

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University of Massachusetts
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Amherst, MA 01003-9297

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