A GLACIAL STRATIGRAPHIC MODEL FOR GROUNDWATER AND BRINE MIGRATION IN THE ONONDAGA VALLEY, CENTRAL NEW YORK STATE

Multiple glaciations have left a stratigraphically complex record in the glacial troughs of central of New York State. New investigations in the Onondaga Trough near Syracuse, New York associated with surficial and bedrock mapping (through STATEMAP) and the collection of test hole data throughout the region have allowed the construction of USGS-WRD models for the thick (~125 m) glacial deposits and brine-laden groundwater flow system.

This model has been coupled with existing test-hole data and the results of a recently completed scientific USGS groundwater site inventory drilling program in the Syracuse East, Syracuse West, and Camillus, New York quadrangles. The results have been used to construct cross-sections and a regional GIS model. Incorporation of the well data into the ArcScene and bore-hole data display programs premitted the construction of a three-dimensional model representing the stratigraphy of glacial deposits in the Onondaga Valley. This has been combined with DEM data, a hillshade layer, surficial mapping information, and aerial photography, to present an integrated model of the surficial and subsurface glacial deposits. Our model has provided both a better understanding of the glacial history of the region and an important database for use in on-going land use and groundwater issues.