Browsing by Subject "sinkhole"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 45
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    19 June 2006 Dye Trace of the Cave Farm Blind Valley Stream Sink (MN23:B0058)
    (2006-08) Costello, Daniel E; Alexander Jr., E. Calvin
    A qualitative fluorescent dye trace has established that water sinking in the Cave Farm Blind Valley resurges at Bly’s Spring on Bear Creek in Fillmore County, Minnesota. This trace establishes the resurgence point for the Cave Farm Blind Valley and a lower limit of > 1 kilometer per day on the groundwater flow velocity. This trace documents the potential impact of a break in the British Petroleum pipeline, which is directly below the blind valley, could have on the Spring Valley karst. The Spring Valley karst also may act as an underground flow path that pirates water from Deer Creek to Bear Creek.
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    2017 York Blind Valley Dye Trace Fillmore County, MN
    (2018-10) Larsen, Martin R; Green, Jeffrey A; Barry, John D; Kasahara, Sophie M; Wheeler, Betty J; Alexander Jr., E Calvin
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    Ahrensfeld Creek and Borson Northeast Dye Trace Report 2007-2010 Winona County, MN
    (2017) Green, Jeffrey A; Alexander Jr., E. Calvin; Alexander, Scott C; Luhmann, Andrew J; Runkel, Anthony C; Peters, Andrew J
    Southeastern Minnesota’s karst lands support numerous trout streams. These trout streams are formed by springs discharging from Paleozoic bedrock. Dye tracing has been the tool of choice for mapping the springsheds (karst groundwater basins) that feed these springs. Previous work was focused on the Galena limestone karst. In order to accelerate springshed mapping, a two-year study was funded by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). Across southeastern Minnesota, numerous springs discharge from the Cambrian St. Lawrence formation. The St. Lawrence is considered to be a confining unit under the Minnesota well code. A dye trace was initiated when a stream sink was discovered in the upper St. Lawrence Formation. The sampling points included springs, stream crossings, and a municipal well that may be at risk for surface contamination. Dye was recovered at one spring in less than two weeks and at two other springs in less than three weeks. This translates into travel times of 200-300 meters/day. The springs all discharge from the lower St. Lawrence Formation. The St. Lawrence contains beds of dolostone; the dye trace demonstrates that there is a karst conduit flow component in this formation. This is evidence that these springs are significantly more susceptible to degradation than previously thought.
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    Altura Minnesota lagoon collapses
    (Proceedings of the First Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes. Orlando, Florida 15-17 October 1984. "Sinkholes: Their Geology, Engineering and Environmental Impact. Edited by Barry F. Beck of the Florida Sinkhole Research Institute, University of Central Florida, Orlando. Page 311 - 318. Taylor & Francis, London, UK. Offprint, 1984-10-17) Book, Paul R; Alexander Jr., E. Calvin
    In April 1976, a series of karst sinkholes opened in the holding lagoon of the Altura, Minnesota Waste Treatment Facility. This major failure was preceded by minor sinkhole formation during the construction of the facility in 1974. Subsequent detailed field mapping of the region around the community revealed at least 23 sinkholes not shown on existing maps. The distribution of the sinkholes as well as post-failure investigations of the lagoon indicate that catastrophic collapse is related to the presence of a thin, poorly indurated, jointed sandstone overlying a thick carbonate unit. The sandstone served to collect solutionally aggressive vadose water and to concentrate that water onto specific areas of the underlying carbonate. The resulting differential solution produced voids into which the overlying materials collapsed.
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    Altura, MN Waste Treatment Lagoon Failures: A Hydrogeologic Study
    (1984-02) Book, Paul R; Alexander Jr., E. Calvin
    In April 1976, a series of karat sinkholes opened in the holding lagoon of the Altura MN Waste Treatment Facility. Subsequent detailed field mapping of the region around the community revealed at least 22 sinkholes not shown on existing maps. The distribution of the sinkholes as well as post-failure investigations of the lagoon indicate that catastrophic collapse is related to the presence of a thin, poorly indurated, jointed sandstone overlying a thick carbonate unit. The sandstone served to collect solutionally aggressive vadose water and to concentrate that water onto specific areas of the underlying carbonate. The resulting differential solution produced voids into which the overlying materials collapsed. The disabled facility has been diverting partially treated effluent into a nearby dry run since the lagoon collapsed. A dye trace documented that the effluent after sinking underground reemerges from three local springs and then flows into a river which is a regional trout fishery. However, a second dye trace from the sinkhole in the lagoon failed to establish a connection to any local well or spring.
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    Canton Area Dye Tracing- Canton Stormwater Estavelle and Highway Runoff Receptor Sinkholes, Fillmore County, MN
    (2020-06) Green, Jeffrey A.; Alexander, E. Calvin Jr.; Alexander, Scott C.; Barry, John D.
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    Contamination of Water Supplies in Limestone Formation
    (American Water Works Association. Vol 35, p. 1450-1456, 1943-11) Kingston, S.P.
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    Crystal Creek Dye Trace Report Fillmore County, Minnesota
    (2017-05) Kuehner, Kevin J; Green, Jeffrey A; Barry, John D; Rutelonis, J. Wes; Wheeler, Betty J; Kasahara, Sophie M; Luhmann, Andrew J; Alexander Jr., E. Calvin
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    Daley Creek Dye Trace Report 2009 Houston County, Minnesota
    (2009-12) Green, Jeffrey A; Peters, Andrew J; Luhmann, Andrew J; Alexander Jr., E. Calvin
    A dye trace was conducted from a stream sink on Daley Creek in Houston County. Daley Creek is a state designated trout stream west of the City of Houston (Figure 1). This trace was run to begin to delineate springsheds in this area.
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    Dye Tracing Sewage Lagoon Discharge in a Sandstone Karst, Askov, Minnesota
    (Proceedings of the 10th Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst. © 2005 American Society of Civil Engineers. Published online: April 26, 2012, 2005-09-28) Alexander Jr., E. Calvin; Alexander, Scott C; Piegat, James J; Barr, Kelton D; Nordberg, Brad
    An investigation of the sandstone karst at Askov, Pine County, Minnesota was conducted utilizing fluorescent dye tracing techniques. Connections were documented between the effluent from WWTF lagoons discharged into a sinking stream and local residential water supply wells southwest of the stream sink, over kilometer-scale distances. The apparent velocity of dye from the steam sink to the residential well was 57 m/day, much faster than would be expected for porous-media flow in a sandstone but slower than expected for well-developed conduit karst in carbonate rock. The traces also document stage-dependent, divergent flow to the northeast and west from recharge to a sinkhole adjacent to the lagoons. A well-developed conduit system extends a few hundred meters under the northern portion of the lagoons with flow velocities greater than 128 m/day to the northeast. A slower flow system extends for at least a kilometer to the west and northwest with a range of apparent flow velocities that average about 9 m/day. The slower flow system reached a broad “fan” of residential wells to the west but was not detected in other wells in the same direction.
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    Dye Tracing to Camp Coldwater Spring, Minneapolis, MN
    (Minnesota Ground Water Association Newsletter Volume 20 Number 4: December 2001 Page 4 - 6. Additional results from Sophie Kasahara's Senior Thesis "A Hydrological Study of Coldwater Spring, Minneapolis, MN." - UM Geoengineering Department, 2016., 2017-06) Alexander Jr., E. Calvin; Alexander, Scott C; Barr, Kelton D; Kasahara, Sophie M; Wheeler, Betty J
    Camp Coldwater Spring is a ~6.3 liter/sec spring that emerges from a Platteville Limestone ledge at the top of the west side of the Mississippi River gorge. It was the original water supply for Ft. Snelling in the early-mid 1800’s and is a registered Minnesota State Landmark. Potential impacts from nearby highway construction led to two successful dye traces to help define the groundwater basin feeding the spring. These traces are the first traces through the Platteville in the Twin Cities. Dye input trenches were dug with a backhoe to the top of the water table. Input B reached the top of the Platteville and the water table was a few inches above the bedrock surface. Eosin dye input into the trench reached Camp Coldwater Spring, 125 meters away in less than 1.5 hours. The minimum flow velocity in the fractured Platteville Limestone was 83 m/hr. Input C reached the water table while still in glaciofluvial sediments and was 305 meters from the spring. Fluorescein dye from Input C reached the spring in 16 days. The slower flow velocity is a combination of flow through the glaciofluvial sediments and through the fractured Platteville Limestone. These two positive traces demonstrate that Inputs B and C are inside the ground-watershed that supplies the Spring and support concerns about the potential impact of dewatering and construction activities on the Spring. The trace is ongoing.
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    Dye Tracing to Understand Karst Groundwater Flow Systems In Southeastern Minnesota
    (2009) Greene, Julie; Alexander Jr., E. Calvin
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    Dye Tracing Within the St. Lawrence Confining Unit in Southeastern Minnesota
    (Proceedings of the 11th Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst. © 2008 American Society of Civil Engineers. Published online: June 20, 2012, 2008-09-26) Green, Jeffrey A; Luhmann, Andrew J; Peters, Andrew J; Runkel, Anthony C; Alexander Jr., E. Calvin; Alexander, Scott C
    Southeastern Minnesota’s karst lands support numerous trout streams. These trout streams are formed by springs discharging from Paleozoic bedrock. Dye tracing has been the tool of choice for mapping the springsheds (karst groundwater basins) that feed these springs. Previous work was focused on the Galena limestone karst. In order to accelerate springshed mapping, a two-year study was funded by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative- Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). Across southeastern Minnesota, numerous springs discharge from the Cambrian St. Lawrence formation. The St. Lawrence is considered to be a confining unit under the Minnesota well code. A dye trace was initiated when a stream sink was discovered in the upper St. Lawrence Formation. The sampling points included springs, stream crossings, and a municipal well that may be at risk for surface contamination. Dye was recovered at one spring in less than two weeks and at two other springs in less than three weeks. This translates into travel times of 200- 300 meters/day. The springs all discharge from the lower St. Lawrence Formation. The St. Lawrence contains beds of dolostone; the dye trace demonstrates that there is a karst conduit flow component in this formation. This is evidence that these springs are significantly more susceptible to degradation than previously thought.
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    Gilbert Creek Dye Trace Report Wabasha County, Minnesota
    (2017-03) Green, Jeffrey A; Ustipak, Kelsi R; Wheeler, Betty J; Alexander Jr., E. Calvin
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    Harmony West Fillmore County, Minnesota 2018 Dye Trace Report
    (2018-09) Barry, John D; Green, Jeffrey A; Fischer, Caleb; Mathison, Aaren; Weiss, Jeffrey; Alexander Jr., E Calvin
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    Hydrology of Goliath’s Cave, Fillmore County, Minnesota
    (2007) Maas, Benjamin J; Green, Jeffrey A; Alexander Jr., E. Calvin
    https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2016AM/webprogram/Paper283919.html
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    Indian Springs Creek Dye Trace Report Houston County, Minnesota
    (2017-03) Green, Jeffrey A; Luhmann, Andrew J; Alexander, Scott C; Wheeler, Betty J; Alexander Jr., E. Calvin