Date of Award
4-22-2016
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science - Geology
Department
Geology
First Advisor
Dr. Kevin Stafford Professor Department of Geology
Second Advisor
Dr. Wesley Brown Chair Department of Geology
Third Advisor
Dr. Matthew McBroom Assistant Chair College of Forestry
Abstract
Lab analyses of groundwater chemistry from monitoring wells completed in the Paleozoic Aquifers surrounding the Llano Uplift of Central Texas has been recorded and made available to the public through the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). This study evaluated the results of these data dating back to the 1940s to determine changes over time, the dynamics of the hydrologic system, and the locations where hydraulic connectivity is most probable. The initial results established two distinct hydrologic systems that required the separation of the northern from the southern region. The northern sub-region (NSR) contains the largest expanse of continuity of both aquifers, while the southern sub-region (SSR) has experienced extensive compartmentalization of the aquifers due to numerous northeast-southwest trending normal faults. Potentiometric surface maps determined the direction of groundwater flow and specific monitoring wells along flowpaths for analyses. Chemical distribution maps processed by ArcGIS 10.2 provided an aerial view of major constituents during each timeline. This information coupled with the depth vs. concentration graphs has developed a three dimensional representation of the distribution of major constituents in the Paleozoic Aquifers. The majority of samples are dominated by Ca-HCO3 type waters with some locations down gradient evolving into Na-K-HCO3 type in the northern sub-region (NSR) and Ca-SO4 type in the southern sub-region (SSR). The implementation of GIS techniques provides the ability to interpret large quantities of data for broad-scale and local patterns that would be problematic when examining using point-to-point evaluations.
Repository Citation
Harris, Garrett R., "Evaluation of Groundwater Quality in Paleozoic Aquifers Using GIS Techniques, Central Texas" (2016). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 45.
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/45
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Dr. Kevin Stafford, for his patience and contribution towards the completion of my work. Your enthusiasm and insight towards the project was essential and I am very grateful. This work would have never been conducted without the guidance of my previous advisor at Angelo State University, Dr. James Ward. You are the person the sparked my interest in this field and you continue to support all of your current and former students. For that, I will be forever grateful. Lastly, I would like to thank my committee members for their time and effort in reviewing my work.