THE GLACIAL STRATIGRAPHY OF THE ONONDAGA VALLEY, NEW YORK: THE GEOLOGIC BASIS FOR A MODEL OF GROUNDWATER AND BRINE MIGRATION

Multiple glaciations have left a stratigraphically complex record in the prominent glacial troughs of the Finger Lakes region of New York. However, the limited number of subsurface test-hole records from the region has long prevented a detailed reconstruction of this glacial history. Investigations in the Onondaga Trough near Syracuse, New York associated with surficial and bedrock mapping (through STATEMAP) and the collection of new test hole data throughout the region have allowed the construction of USGS-WRD models of groundwater flow and brine-migration. The purpose of this report is to describe the geologic data that are being used to develop the conceptual and mathematical models of the thick (~125 m) glacial deposits and brine-laden groundwater flow system.

The new test hole data and the results of a recently completed scientific drilling program in the Syracuse East, Syracuse West, and Camillus, New York quadrangles have been presented as cross-sections and georeferenced to a regional GIS model. With the incorporation of the well data into the ArcScene and bore-hole data programs, a three-dimensional model was constructed to represent the stratigraphy of glacial deposits in the Onondaga Valley. This has been combined with DEM data, hillshade layer, surficial mapping information, and aerial photography, to present an integrated model of the surficial and subsurface glacial deposits. This methodology will provide both a better understanding of the glacial history of the region and an important database for use in on-going land use issues.