Hydrogeologic Controls on Lake Level at Mountain Lake, Virginia
| dc.contributor.author | Roningen, Jeanne Marie | en |
| dc.contributor.committeechair | Burbey, Thomas J. | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Henika, William S. | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Mauldon, Matthew | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Parker, Bruce C. | en |
| dc.contributor.department | Geosciences | en |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-03-14T20:34:22Z | en |
| dc.date.adate | 2011-05-09 | en |
| dc.date.available | 2014-03-14T20:34:22Z | en |
| dc.date.issued | 2011-04-22 | en |
| dc.date.rdate | 2012-08-07 | en |
| dc.date.sdate | 2011-04-26 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Mountain Lake in Giles County, Virginia, has a documented history of severe natural lake-level changes involving groundwater seepage [Jansons, 2004] that extend over the past 4200 years [Cawley, 1999], and as of December 2010 the lake was about 2% full by volume. Situated in the Valley and Ridge physiographic province on the axis of a plunging anticline and straddling contacts between three upper Ordovician and lower Silurian formations, the lake is one of two natural lakes in Virginia. A daily water balance, geophysical surveying with dipole-dipole electrical resistivity, and chemical sampling have shed light on the nature of flow to and from the lake, including: 1) the steady nature of net groundwater outflow, 2) the seasonal response to precipitation of a forested first-order drainage system in fractured rock, 3) the influence of a fault not previously discussed in literature regarding the lake, and 4) the possibility of flow pathways through karst features. Results from a water balance indicate steady lake drainage and significant recharge when vegetation is dormant, particularly during rain-on-snow melt events. The resistivity profiles display a highly heterogeneous subsurface and reveal low-resistivity areas that suggest flow pathways to and from the lake. Well logs, satellite images, and outcrop observations appear to confirm the presence of a fault to the east of the lake. Chemical evidence suggests that karst features may be present in the upper Reedsville-Trenton formation underlying the lakebed. | en |
| dc.description.degree | Master of Science | en |
| dc.identifier.other | etd-04262011-154246 | en |
| dc.identifier.sourceurl | http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-04262011-154246/ | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10919/31950 | en |
| dc.publisher | Virginia Tech | en |
| dc.relation.haspart | Roningen_JM_T_2011_Copyright.pdf | en |
| dc.relation.haspart | Roningen_JM_T_2011.pdf | en |
| dc.rights | In Copyright | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ | en |
| dc.subject | electrical resistivity | en |
| dc.subject | karst | en |
| dc.subject | hydrogeology | en |
| dc.subject | baseflow | en |
| dc.subject | evapotranspiration | en |
| dc.title | Hydrogeologic Controls on Lake Level at Mountain Lake, Virginia | en |
| dc.type | Thesis | en |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Geosciences | en |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | en |
| thesis.degree.level | masters | en |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Science | en |