Ohio Journal of Science: Volume 106, Issue 2 (April, 2006)

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https://kb.osu.edu/handle/1811/36400

Front Matter
pp. 0
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Further Explorations into Ohio's Fractured Environment: Introduction to The Ohio Journal of Science's Second Special Issue on Fractures in Ohio's Glacial Tills
Weatherington-Rice, Julie; Christy, Ann D.; Angle, Michael P. pp. 4-8
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Textural and Mineralogical Characteristics of Tills of Northeastern and North-Central Ohio
Szabo, John P. pp. 9-16
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Mineralogy of Weathered Wisconsinan Till along a Fracture in the Root Zone
Bruno, Pierre W.; Szabo, John P.; Foos, Annabelle pp. 17-21
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Use of Soil Texture Analysis to Predict Subsurface Fracturing in Glacial Tills and Other Unconsolidated Materials
Kim, Eun Kyoung; Christy, Ann D. pp. 22-26
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Fracture and Gully Formation in Glacial Fill: Field Observations at the WillowCreek Landfill, Portage County, Ohio, with Implications to Historic Earthen Dam Failure Sites in the US
Weatherington-Rice, Julie; Hall, George F. pp. 27-34
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Buried Pre-Illinoian-Age Lacustrine Deposits with "Green Rust" Colors in Clermont County, Ohio
Weatherington-Rice, Julie; Bigham, Jerry M. pp. 35-44
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DRASTIC Hydrogeologic Settings Modified for Fractured Till: Part 1. Theory
Weatherington-Rice, Julie; Christy, Ann D.; Angle, Michael P.; Aller, Linda pp. 45-50
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DRASTIC Hydrogeologic Settings Modified for Fractured Till: Part 2. Field Observations
Weatherington-Rice, Julie; Christy, Ann D.; Angle, Michael P.; Gehring, Richard; Aller, Linda pp. 51-63
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Fractured Tills, Ohio's Ground Water Resources, and Public Policy
Weatherington-Rice, Julie; Hottman, Ava; Murphy, Earl Finbar; Christy, Ann D.; Angle, Michael P. pp. 64-73
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AVA LYNN HOTTMAN - Obituary
Weatherington-Rice, Julie pp. 74
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Fractured Glacial Till
Christy, Ann D. pp. 76
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Back Matter
pp. 999
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Now showing 1 - 13 of 13

DRASTIC Hydrogeologic Settings Modified for Fractured Till: Part 1. Theory
(2006-04) Weatherington-Rice, Julie; Christy, Ann D.; Angle, Michael P.; Aller, Linda
The ground water vulnerability assessment model, DRASTIC, has been modified to better evaluate the effect of fractured till. In the mid-1980s, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Water began statewide, county-by-county mapping of the potential for ground water pollution. Eventually it was recognized that the original DRASTIC methodology needed to be modified to incorporate the concept of double-block porosity and preferential flow through Ohio’s fractured glacial tills. Glacial till was eventually recognized as a unique vadose zone media, and different ratings were assigned to the various till lithologies. It was determined that thin, weathered, highly-fractured tills should be more highly rated by increasing the rating of “R” Net Recharge and “I” Impact of the vadose zone media, where appropriate. In rare instances, the ratings of very thin soils (“S” Soil media) were modified to reflect the nature of underlying parent materials. In contrast, extremely thick sequences of unweathered till were given lower ratings for “R” Net Recharge and “I” Impact of the vadose zone media. DRASTIC maps have been completed for 76% of the 88 counties in Ohio. With the advent of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications, compiling a county DRASTIC map has become faster, and publication costs have been significantly reduced. GIS provides the tools to review and quickly modify historical mapping efforts that predate the fracture modification. This paper reviews the history of DRASTIC mapping in Ohio, presents the theory of modifications for fractures, and includes some discussion of Ohio regulatory applications.
Front Matter
(2006-04)
Further Explorations into Ohio's Fractured Environment: Introduction to The Ohio Journal of Science's Second Special Issue on Fractures in Ohio's Glacial Tills
(2006-04) Weatherington-Rice, Julie; Christy, Ann D.; Angle, Michael P.
This paper summarizes the history of the Ohio Fracture Flow Working Group (OFFWG), describes their activities since the publication of the first special issue of The Ohio Journal of Science in 2000, and references selected recent publications by Ohio researchers, other researchers in the United States, and research efforts internationally. It also serves as an introduction to and overview of this second special issue of The Ohio Journal of Science. DEDICATION. This special issue is dedicated to Jane L. Forsyth and Truman W. Bennett for their foundational contributions to glacial geology and hydrogeology, respectively, and their roles in understanding fractures in unconsolidated (glacial) materials.
Textural and Mineralogical Characteristics of Tills of Northeastern and North-Central Ohio
(2006-04) Szabo, John P.
ABSTRACT. Textural and mineralogical parameters of over 3400 till samples are summarized to provide a database for scientists and engineers working with fractured tills in Ohio. Matrix textures (% <2.0 mm), carbonate contents (% <0.074 mm), and diffraction intensity ratios (illite/chlorite + kaolinite) were commonly measured. Texturally, most tills become sandier and less clay rich as they are traced onto the Allegheny Plateau. The overall distribution of mean textures of the Illinoian tills is similar to that of the Late Wisconsinan tills. Incorporation of local clastic bedrock on the plateau or changes in mode of deposition may be the reason for increased sand content. Carbonate contents of tills are generally larger in the Lake and Till plains provinces, and carbonate contents decline along transects from the Till Plains to the Allegheny Plateau. Exceptions to this trend are caused by the release of far-traveled carbonates from the englacial load of glaciers during formation of end moraines. Similarly the lithology of the sand fraction (1.0-2.0 mm) reflects the underlying bedrock, but proportions of igneous and metamorphic rock fragments increase within end moraines where englacial load is released. Diffraction intensity ratios decrease onto the plateau because of the entrainment of Pennsylvanian-age shales containing kaolinite. Numerous factors such as glacier dynamics, topography of the underlying bedrock, bedrock lithology, amount of bedrock exposure, and dilution by older glacial deposits affect the texture and composition of tills. Future research should examine the possible relation of texture and mineralogy to joint width.
Mineralogy of Weathered Wisconsinan Till along a Fracture in the Root Zone
(2006-04) Bruno, Pierre W.; Szabo, John P.; Foos, Annabelle
Subsampling of a large block of Wisconsinan Ashtabula Till suggests that weathering progresses outward from fractures in the root zone. In the fracture zone pore waters have precipitated iron, calcite has been partially leached, and dolomite remains constant. Illite and kaolinite phases present in samples taken from near the fracture in yellowish-brown, oxidized till do not significantly differ from gray, unoxidized till from the same horizon. However, chlorite has been altered to vermiculite in samples proximal to the fracture. Diffraction intensity ratios (illite001/kaolinite001 + chlorite002) increase near the fracture and decrease with distance away from the fracture. The concentration of goethite, the mineral responsible for the yellowish-brown color, decreases exponentially with respect to distance from the fracture. This oxidized zone has a greater sand content and lesser clay content than the unoxidized gray zone because free iron that coats the clay particles cements them into sand-size aggregates. Weathering processes in till adjacent to fractures are the same as those that form weathering zones in till landscapes.
Use of Soil Texture Analysis to Predict Subsurface Fracturing in Glacial Tills and Other Unconsolidated Materials
(2006-04) Kim, Eun Kyoung; Christy, Ann D.
Predicting the occurrence and development of fractures is difficult because fracturing in glacial tills and other unconsolidated materials has been observed across many geographic areas, climates, land uses, soil types, and till units. This difficulty led to a statistical investigation of historic geologic and soil data. Soil textures and fracture depths from 9 field sites and 45 soil pedons (140 sample points) were analyzed using statistical and graphical methods. When plotted on the USDA soil texture ternary diagram, the data indicate that tills having less than 10% clay or greater than 52% sand are unlikely to support fracturing; conversely tills having greater than 10% clay or less than 52% sand are more likely to do so. Based on the 95% hexagonal confidence region for soil texture data, tills with less than 55% sand, 20-65% silt, and 5-53% clay would be more likely to form fractures. The texture classes of tills predicted to sustain fracturing were mainly clay, loam, clay loam, silty clay loam, and silty clay. The depth of glacial tills having observed fractures ranged from 0.5 to 215 ft. These results are useful to explain and document how fractures are created in glacial tills and may be a useful tool for field engineers and geologists allowing them to anticipate fractures in glacial tills in Ohio and beyond.
Fracture and Gully Formation in Glacial Fill: Field Observations at the WillowCreek Landfill, Portage County, Ohio, with Implications to Historic Earthen Dam Failure Sites in the US
(2006-04) Weatherington-Rice, Julie; Hall, George F.
Fracture formation in fill was observed to occur rapidly, in just a few years at the WillowCreek Landfill site. The soil science and geomorphology literature does not discuss the formation of fractures in glacial fill. Observations (which are often the first step in developing a research effort) of fractures formed in fill derived from fine-grained Ohio glacial soils and tills by Weatherington-Rice at the WillowCreek site and in earthen dams by Sherard are here presented. Questions regarding the applications of these observations to potential impacts and failures of the built environment, that is, landfill construction and leachate generation (HELP model), earthen dams, highway construction, and general construction sites, are raised. Recommendations are made for the need for inter-disciplinary research and literature sharing.
Buried Pre-Illinoian-Age Lacustrine Deposits with “Green Rust” Colors in Clermont County, Ohio
(2006-04) Weatherington-Rice, Julie; Bigham, Jerry M.
Buried, Pre-Illinoian-age lacustrine deposits found in at least two separate bedrock valleys in Clermont County, OH, exhibit brilliant colors of “green rust” that alter rapidly when exposed to oxygen. In these settings, the materials are leached of calcium carbonate but the iron has not undergone the redoximorphic depletion typically observed in gleyed hydric soils. Water movement has been exclusively through fractures and along varved bedding planes for approximately 700,000 years, indicating that in these settings, matrix flow is not occurring. The overlying Pre-Illinoian-age Backbone Creek glacial till also exhibits gleyed coloration but these materials are not leached of calcium carbonate. These materials also oxidize when exposed to air, indicating that again, the iron is not removed from the till. A possible correlation to similar permeability properties in northwest Ohio Late-Wisconsinan-age lacustrine materials and fine-grained tills is drawn. The “green rust” provides evidence for minimal to no matrix flow in fine-grained materials and supports the Ohio Fracture Flow Working Group recommendation that water movement along fractures, varved bedding planes, through sand stringers, and along paleosol unconformities be assumed unless matrix contributions have been documented and can be confirmed in these settings.
DRASTIC Hydrogeologic Settings Modified for Fractured Till: Part 2. Field Observations
(2006-04) Weatherington-Rice, Julie; Christy, Ann D.; Angle, Michael P.; Gehring, Richard; Aller, Linda
Developed as a companion paper to "DRASTIC Hydrogeologic Settings Modified for Fractured Till: Part 1. Theory," twenty-one field sites around glaciated Ohio were visited to determine if fractures were present in the soils and underlying parent materials at each location. Four sites were featured with indepth discussions. In all, 23 of the original 95 fractured soils identified in Tornes and others (2000) were confirmed in the field and four new soils were added to the list: Amanda, Avonburg, Blanchester, and Clermont. Settings were grouped by common glacial and soils characteristics where they were linked to predict similar conditions over a wider ranging area. Modifications to their site specific DRASTIC ratings can be extrapolated to the larger geologic regions. All 21 sites were evaluated for their DRASTIC settings and new Ground Water Pollution Potential numbers were assigned where necessary. Modification of the DRASTIC mapping method has made the Ohio Ground Water Pollution Potential mapping program more protective of Ohio's ground water supplies. DRASTIC mapping efforts can play an important role in not only statewide but also local ground water pollution protection efforts.
Fractured Tills, Ohio's Ground Water Resources, and Public Policy
(2006-04) Weatherington-Rice, Julie; Hottman, Ava; Murphy, Earl Finbar; Christy, Ann D.; Angle, Michael P.
The public health of all Ohioans is dependent on land use decisions that preserve the quality of Ohio's water resources. If a potentially polluting site is located over fractured glacial tills, those fractures could hasten contaminant transport from surface contamination to underlying ground water. This paper addresses public policy, government programs, and the law as they affect land use decisions in fractured environments. A review of programs in Ohio identified a number of efforts currently in place that, if modified, could include ground water pollution potential mapping (DRASTIC) and the concept of fracture flow in guiding science-based land use decisions. Two of these programs, the Sole Source Aquifer designation and the Wellhead/Source Water Protection Program, are detailed. In addition, two Ohio law cases directly addressing ground water resource protection are described: Cline v. American Aggregates and CF/Water et al. v. Schregardus. The latter case is the first in the United States to explicitly state that fractures must be taken into consideration by the regulatory agency when reviewing a permit to install a potentially contaminating land use.
AVA LYNN HOTTMAN - Obituary
(2006-04) Weatherington-Rice, Julie
Fractured Glacial Till
(2006-04) Christy, Ann D.
Back Matter
(2006-04)

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