Record Display for the EPA National Library Catalog

RECORD NUMBER: 23 OF 127

Main Title Characterization of Groundwater Discharge to Hampton Harbor.
Author R. P. Ballestero ; R. Roseen
CORP Author New Hampshire Univ., Durham. Environmental Research Group.; Environmental Protection Agency, Boston, MA. Region I.
Year Published 2003
Stock Number PB2011-106719
Additional Subjects Groundwater discharge ; New Hampshire ; Goals ; Methods ; Objectives ; Recommendations ; Project products ; Saltwater marshes ; Figures ; Hampton Harbor ; Intertidal groundwater discharge zones ; Great Bay Estuary ; Contaminant loading estimates
Holdings
Library Call Number Additional Info Location Last
Modified
Checkout
Status
NTIS  PB2011-106719 Some EPA libraries have a fiche copy filed under the call number shown. 07/26/2022
Collation 17p
Abstract
The project goals were to assess inter-tidal groundwater discharge and concurrent nutrient loading to Hampton Harbor. This will include maps of suspected groundwater discharge zones and measurements of nutrient loading. The principal means of assessment was an aerial survey of the study area during low tide using thermal infrared (TIR) imagery. The TIR imagery was used to detect and locate upwelling groundwater discharge zones within the harbor. The location of groundwater discharge zones as it relates to up gradient land use can be instructive for water quality. Recent research in thermal infrared imagery coupled with field verification has been shown to be an effective and affordable means to assess inter-tidal groundwater discharge. Therefore in tidal environments, a direct assessment of groundwater discharge to coastal waters has some advantages over conventional methods in that it evaluates the groundwater at the point of discharge into surface waters. Many researchers have found that in brackish waters, the bulk of groundwater discharge appears limited to a narrow horizon at the perimeter of the water body. This has been explained by the occurrence of a zone of diffusion at the interface between a seaward saltwater wedge and up gradient freshwater discharge. This phenomenon forces the exit of groundwater below the high tide line and at the contact with the saltwater wedge, called submarine groundwater discharge (at depth), or inter-tidal groundwater discharge (between the low tide and high tide limits). This can be further controlled by the occurrence of seaward-thickening marine clays. Because of this phenomenon, TIR is ideal for evaluating inter-tidal groundwater discharge.