Hydrologic Studies on Long Island and Their Implication for Decision Making
Abstract
Contamination of water resources on Long Island is a problem of immediate concern as ground water and surface water contamination threatens water supplies and ecological receptors in streams, bays and estuaries. Hydrologic studies undertaken in collaboration with the State of New York have focused on determining the impacts of contamination on surface waters, predicted times for discharge of ground water contaminants into bays and estuaries, and interactions between ground and surface waters. The questions of concern to the State hinge on generating knowledge that requires collection of appropriate data, application and calibration of models, and evaluation of model predictions. These activities can occur in adversarial settings where the requirements of the regulatory agency are tested against the interests of the responsible parties, or in other cases where the State has taken control of an investigation. In either case data collection and subsequent analysis is constrained through available funds, personnel and time. Two ongoing studies serve as examples of the opportunities and constraints inherent in these sites. First is a tidal marsh where conventional sampling has been supplemented with automatic water level recording in ground water and stilling wells, salinity surveys and a planned dye study. At a second site, a pond is receiving contamination from a leaking underground storage tank. Here conventional data collection is also supplemented with water level recording and a microcosm study on degradation of contaminants is underway. In both cases the research perspective brings to the sites a needed focus on scientific issues and a desire to elucidate fundamental process behavior at the sites.
- Publication:
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AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- May 2002
- Bibcode:
- 2002AGUSM.H51E..03W
- Keywords:
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- 1803 Anthropogenic effects;
- 1831 Groundwater quality;
- 1871 Surface water quality;
- 1890 Wetlands