Geology and Groundwater

of the Eastern Shore

Winter 2005
Presented by
Tucker Moorshead
 Topics That Will Be Covered

• Session 1 – Basic Geology and

Groundwater with emphases on Maryland
• Session 2 – Well Drilling Technology
including wells, pumps and uses of wells
• Session 3 – Groundwater Quality, Man
Made Pollution and Thermal Storage
• Session 4 – Groundwater & Government
Water Resource Management and
Research
 EARTH MATERIALS
• Minerals, rocks and
weathering products
(soils, sediments) are
building blocks of the
earth.
• Water moves through
these materials and
interacts with them.
Figure 3.14 The rock cycle
 MINERALS
• Definition
– Naturally formed
element or compound
– Normally inorganic
solid
– Characteristic
chemical formula
– Characteristic
crystalline structure in
most cases
 ROCK FORMING MINERALS
• Over 4000 minerals, however only few
dozen are common constituents of earth
materials on or near the earths surface
• Groups of rock forming minerals include:
– Silicates
– Oxides
– Carbonates
– Sulfides
– Native Elements
 SILICATES
• Quartz
– Network structure of Si and O atoms
– Most abundant mineral in crust
– Recognized by hardness and conchoidal
fracture
– Variety of colors determined by impurities
 SILICATES
• Feldspars
– Contain Si, O, Al combined with K, Na and Ca
– Network structure
– Most abundant group of rock forming minerals
– Two main types are alkali and plagioclase
• Micas
– Sheets of silica tetrahededra
– Muscovite (K,Al rich) and Biotite (Fe, Mg rich)
Table 3.2
 ROCKS
• Defined as an aggregate of one or more
minerals
• Classified into three groups by mineral and
chemical composition, texture, and mode
of formation
– Igneous
– Sedimentary
– Metamorphic
 IGNEOUS ROCKS
• Crystallized from molten material (magma)
below or at the earths surface
• Magma is hot, quasi-liquid mixture of
melted and solid materials with temp
ranging from 500 to 1200 degrees C
• Magma typically generated in upper
asthenosphere or lithosphere
• Composed primarily (99%) of nine
elements (O,Si,Al,Fe,Ca,Na,K,Mg,Ti)
Figure 3.18 Types of igneous intrusions
Figure 6.11 Plate tectonics and volcanism
 METAMORPHIC
• Rocks changed by heat, pressure and
chemically active fluids
• Types include:
– High pressure, low temp
– High pressure, high temp (regional
metamorphism)
– High temp, low pressure (contact
metamorphism)
Figure 12.5 Formation of hydrothermal (hot-water) and
contact metamorphic ore deposits.
Metamorphism of Shale
 SEDIMENTARY
• Constitute about 75% of all rocks exposed
at surface
• Two types
– Detrital or Clastic
– Chemical
• Form when sediments are transported,
deposited, and transformed (diagensis) by
compaction cementation or both
Figure 3.24 Processes of diagenesis
Figure 3.25 Bedding planes of sedimentary rock
 SEDIMENTARY ROCKS AND
ENVIRONMENT
• Shale, mudstone, and siltstone often very
weak. Found on hillsides and valleys
• Limestone found in valleys in the east and
rimrock in the west.
• May be unconsolidated under coastal
plains and in stream and river valleys.
Sample Geologic Cross-Section in Queen Anne’s County
 ROCK LAWS AND RELATIVE
AGE
• Law of Original Horizontality
– Sedimentary rocks when originally deposited
are nearly horizontal
• Law of Superposition
– If a series of layered sediments has not been
overturned, oldest layers are on the bottom
and youngest on top
 GEOLOGIC CONCEPTS
• Uniformitarianism
• The present is the key to the past.
• Same physical processes operating in the present to modify
the earths surface also operated in the past
• Uniformity of processes past and present
• Geologic Time
• Rates of present processes suggest immense periods of time
to accomplish tasks
• Change
• Everything changes in the vastness of geologic time
• Adjustments to new conditions (dynamic equilibrium)
• Change is an expression of energy transformations and is a
common factor in geologic processes
 ROCK CYCLE AND PLATE
TECTONICS
• Rock Cycle
– World-wide rock recycling system linking
subsurface processes driven by internal heat
and forces to surface processes driven by
solar energy and gravity
• Plate Tectonics
– Drives and maintains rock cycle and provides
several environments for rock formation with
specific rock forming processes at each
boundary type
Figure 3.15 Environments in which sedimentary, igneous,
and metamorphic rocks form
Hydrologic Cycle
 The World’s Water Supply
Oceans 97.10 %
Ice Caps & Glaciers 2.24 %
Ground Water 0.61 %
Other (rivers, lakes
Streams, soil and 0.05 %
Atmosphere)

TOTAL 100 %
 Liquid Fresh Water
Atmospheric Water • 0.62%

Soil Moisture • 1.08%

Lakes • 5.35%

Rivers • 0.53%

Ground Water • 92.42%

100%
TOTAL
 Important Definitions
• Aquifer – Saturated, permeable geologic unit
that is capable of yielding economically
significant quantities of water to wells or
springs.
• Aquiclude – Low permeability geologic unit
that, although porous and able to absorb
water, is incapable of transmitting significant
quantities of water.
Eastern
Shore
Cross
Section
 Major Aquifers of The Upper Eastern Shore

• Columbia Aquifer
• Calvert Aquifer
• Piney Point/Nanjemoy Aquifer
• Aquia Aquifer
• Mattawan Aquifer
• Magothy Aquifer
• Upper Patapsco Aquifer