Research — Water Resources
Jump To Project:
- Sacramento Mountains Watershed Study
- Hydrogeology of the Roswell Artesian Basin
- Southern Taos Valley Hydrogeology
- Overview of Fresh and Brackish Water Quality - High Plains Aquifer
- Tiffany Fire Rehabilitation, Socorro County
- Hydrogeologic Assessment of the Village of Magdalena
- Hydrogeologic Investigation at White Sands National Monument
- Hydrogeologic investigation of the Arroyo Hondo Area, Taos County, New Mexico
- The Healy Collaborative Groundwater Monitoring Network
- Springs of the Rio Grande Gorge, Taos County, New Mexico: Inventory, Data Report, and Preliminary Geochemistry
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There are 10 projects that match your criteria:
Sacramento Mountains Watershed Study
This study evaluated the hydrologic effects of tree thinning in a densely forested, high-elevation watershed (>8000 ft) in the Sacramento Mountains. It was a collaborative project between the Bureau of Geology, NM Tech, NM State University, and NM Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute (Highlands University) and funded three graduate students. In 2011, 400 acres of the watershed were thinned. Results can help water and land managers to apply vegetation management methods to maximize groundwater and surface water resources.
Hydrogeology of the Roswell Artesian Basin
The Roswell Artesian Basin is located in the lower Pecos Valley of southeastern New Mexico, on the northern fringe of the Chihuahua Desert. Summers are long and hot and precipitation is sparse, averaging less than 15 inches/year. However, the Roswell Basin is also one of the most intensively farmed areas in the state, the principal crops being alfalfa, cotton, sorghum, chiles and pecans. The Basin derives virtually all of its irrigation water from groundwater stored in a shallow alluvial aquifer and an artesian aquifer formed principally in the San Andres limestone. The Roswell Artesian Basin has been described as a world-class example of a rechargeable artesian aquifer system.
Southern Taos Valley Hydrogeology
The southern Taos Valley, located southwest of the town of Taos, has been experiencing high growth over the last few decades. In order to address growing water needs in this region, Peggy Johnson, Dr. Paul Bauer, and Brigitte Felix, completed a technical report summarizing the local geology and hydrogeology. Data gathered for this study include geologic maps, well records, new groundwater level measurements and water quality samples, which were compiled with historical data and records. This research describes the important hydrostratigraphic units and aquifers in the region along with geologic/structural controls on groundwater flow. Observations of groundwater flow directions, changes in groundwater levels, distinct water quality and groundwater ages reflect the complex network of faults in the study area and its effects on groundwater.
Overview of Fresh and Brackish Water Quality - High Plains Aquifer
The High Plains aquifer is one of the largest freshwater aquifers in the world, covering more than 170,000 square miles and extending across parts of eight states from South Dakota to the Texas Panhandle (Sophocleous, 2010). The first regional investigation of the High Plains was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey at the beginning of the 20th century (Johnson, 1901). Since then, several regional studies have been conducted (e.g., Gutentag et al., 1984; Weeks et al., 1988), and a great many more localized investigations (e.g., Joeckel et al., 2014; Chaudhuri and Ale, 2014), reflecting the societal and economic importance of this very extensive aquifer system.
Tiffany Fire Rehabilitation, Socorro County
Bureau staff will be monitoring groundwater in the Tiffany Fire burn area to assist in recovery and rehabilitation of the bosque environment.
Hydrogeologic Assessment of the Village of Magdalena
On June 5, 2013, the Village of Magdalena had concerns that their primary pumping well was not functioning properly. In reaction to the Magdalena village well problems, broad community concern developed regarding the present groundwater conditions. To help address this concern, the Bureau of Geology and its Aquifer Mapping Program (with the New Mexico Environment Department), commenced a small-scale hydrogeologic assessment. The Bureau’s resources were onsite and available for geologic and hydrologic information and technical support in the region in the summer of 2013.
Hydrogeologic Investigation at White Sands National Monument
This study focused on the shallow aquifer that occurs in the dune field with depth-to-water ranging from 1 to 3 feet below interdunal surfaces. We used hydrologic and geochemical data to identify water sources that contribute to the shallow groundwater system in the dune field and to assess how this system responds to water level fluctuations in the adjacent regional basin-fill aquifer. Hydrologic modeling was used to assess the effects of projected additional groundwater pumping in Alamogordo on the shallow dune aquifer on the Monument.
Hydrogeologic investigation of the Arroyo Hondo Area, Taos County, New Mexico
The Arroyo Hondo ground water study reveals a complex, three-dimensional ground water system with multiple hydrostratigraphic units and aquifers. Distribution of the geologic and hydrostratigraphic units is presented through geologic maps and seven detailed cross sections that depict the distribution of geologic and hydrostratigraphic units, well data, surface water features, water levels, faults, and zones of fracturing and sediment layers in volcanic rocks. Cross sections are constructed both parallel and perpendicular to regional ground water flow and illustrate aquifers in the context of the geologic framework, the Rio Grande and the Rio Hondo, local acequias and other surface water features.
The Healy Collaborative Groundwater Monitoring Network
The Aquifer Mapping Program at New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR), with funding from Healy Foundation and the USGS, has created the statewide Healy Collaborative Groundwater Monitoring Network for New Mexico. This voluntary network began in 2016 and gathers new and existing data on groundwater levels to help us understand how our state's groundwater resources are changing through time, promote increased awareness of water issues around New Mexico, and provide an important foundation for making informed water-management decisions.
Springs of the Rio Grande Gorge, Taos County, New Mexico: Inventory, Data Report, and Preliminary Geochemistry
Between August 2006 and April 2007, the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources conducted a spring inventory and preliminary geochemical sampling as a first step in evaluating the hydrogeologic connections between the ground water and the Rio Grande in Taos County. The objective and principal task was to locate, inventory, describe, and selectively sample the springs of the Rio Grande gorge.