Denis R LeBlanc
Denis LeBlanc is a Scientist Emeritus with the New England Water Science Center.
Denis conducts research on the hydrology of shallow, unconfined groundwater/surface-water systems and the fate and transport of contaminants.
He joined the USGS in 1975 and, until 1983, participated in and led investigations of Cape Cod's hydrologic system.
From 1983 until his retirement in 2023, he conducted and coordinated multidisciplinary research at the USGS Cape Cod Toxic Substances Hydrology Research site at the Joint Base Cape Cod (JBCC) near Falmouth, Mass. He also led the team that provided technical support to Air Force and Army National Guard environmental restoration programs at JBCC and participated in several projects with the U.S Environmental Protection Agency on nitrogen and other wastewater contaminants in Cape Cod's groundwater.
Denis received his B.S. in Hydrology from the University of New Hampshire and his M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He is a member of the National Ground Water Association and the Geological Society of America.
Professional Experience
Scientist Emeritus, U.S. Geological Survey, New England Water Science Center, 2023 to Present
Research Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, New England Water Science Center, Cape Cod Toxic Substances Hydrology projects, 1983 to 2023
Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, New England Water Science Center, Cape Cod Hydrology projects, 1975 to 1983
Oceanographic Field Assistant, Normandeau Associates, 1973 to 1975
Education and Certifications
M.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001
B.S. Hydrology, University of New Hampshire, 1975
Affiliations and Memberships*
Geological Society of America 1997, to Present
National Groundwater Association, 1977 to Present
Honors and Awards
Eugene M. Shoemaker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Communications, U.S. Geological Survey, 2020
Distinguished Service Award, Dept. of the Interior, 2016
Fellow, Geological Society of America, 2013
Meritorious Service Award, Dept. of the Interior, 1995
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 23
No Result Found
40 Years Presenting Cape Cod Hydrology
USGS has studied the hydrology of Cape Cod and the Islands and demonstrated our science to the public for more than four decades. Many visitor groups from government agencies, universities, nonprofit organizations, and local communities have learned about our groundwater and surface water research in southeastern Massachusetts. USGS Research Hydrologist Emeritus Denis Leblanc has been a pillar in...
Filter Total Items: 67
Prevalence of tumors in brown bullhead from three lakes in southeastern Massachusetts, 2002 Prevalence of tumors in brown bullhead from three lakes in southeastern Massachusetts, 2002
The Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR) has been a military base on western Cape Cod since the early 1900s. Contaminated surface water and ground water from the MMR have discharged into several kettle lakes on or near the base. To discover whether the prevalences of tumors and other lesions in brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) in these lakes, particularly Ashumet Pond, were...
Authors
Paul C. Baumann, Denis R. LeBlanc, Vicki Blazer, John R. Meier, Stephen T. Hurley, Yasu Kiryu
Use of inverse-modeling methods to improve ground-water-model calibration and evaluate model-prediction uncertainty, Camp Edwards, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Use of inverse-modeling methods to improve ground-water-model calibration and evaluate model-prediction uncertainty, Camp Edwards, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Historical weapons testing and disposal activities at Camp Edwards, which is located on the Massachusetts Military Reservation, western Cape Cod, have resulted in the release of contaminants into an underlying sand and gravel aquifer that is the sole source of potable water to surrounding communities. Ground-water models have been used at the site to simulate advective transport in the...
Authors
Donald A. Walter, Denis R. LeBlanc
Cape Cod Toxic Substances Hydrology research site--Physical, chemical, and biological processes that control the fate of contaminants in ground water Cape Cod Toxic Substances Hydrology research site--Physical, chemical, and biological processes that control the fate of contaminants in ground water
No abstract available.
Authors
Denis R. LeBlanc
Ground-water levels near the top of the water-table mound, western Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2002-04 Ground-water levels near the top of the water-table mound, western Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2002-04
In January 2002 the U.S. Geological Survey began continuous water-level monitoring in three wells in the vicinity of the Southeast Ranges of Camp Edwards, near the Impact Area of the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Cape Cod. The purpose of this effort was to examine how water levels at sites with different unsaturated-zone thicknesses near the top of the water-table mound beneath...
Authors
Andrew J. Massey, Carl S. Carlson, Denis R. LeBlanc
Ground-water-quality data for a treated-wastewater plume undergoing natural restoration, Ashumet Valley, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Ground-water-quality data for a treated-wastewater plume undergoing natural restoration, Ashumet Valley, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
A plume of contaminated ground water extends from former disposal beds at the Massachusetts Military Reservation wastewater-treatment plant toward Ashumet Pond, and farther southward toward coastal ponds and Vineyard Sound, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Treated sewage-derived wastewater was discharged to the rapid-infiltration beds for nearly 60 years before the disposal site was moved to a...
Authors
Jennifer G. Savoie, Richard L. Smith, Douglas B. Kent, Kathryn M. Hess, Denis R. LeBlanc, Larry B. Barber
Comparison of diffusion- and pumped-sampling methods to monitor volatile organic compounds in ground water, Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, July 1999–December 2002 Comparison of diffusion- and pumped-sampling methods to monitor volatile organic compounds in ground water, Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, July 1999–December 2002
To evaluate diffusion sampling as an alternative method to monitor volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations in ground water, concentrations in samples collected by traditional pumped-sampling methods were compared to concentrations in samples collected by diffusion-sampling methods for 89 monitoring wells at or near the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod. Samples were...
Authors
Stacey A. Archfield, Denis R. LeBlanc
Changes in ground-water quality near two granular-iron permeable reactive barriers in a sand and gravel aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1997-2000 Changes in ground-water quality near two granular-iron permeable reactive barriers in a sand and gravel aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1997-2000
Two experimental permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) of granular zero-valent iron were emplaced in the path of a tetrachloroethene plume (the Chemical Spill-10 plume) at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in June 1998. The goal of the field experiment was to achieve emplacement of a granular-iron PRB deeper than attempted before. The PRBs were expected to...
Authors
Jennifer G. Savoie, Douglas B. Kent, Richard L. Smith, Denis R. LeBlanc, David W. Hubble
Diffusion and drive-point sampling to detect ordnance-related compounds in shallow ground water beneath Snake Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2001-02 Diffusion and drive-point sampling to detect ordnance-related compounds in shallow ground water beneath Snake Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2001-02
Diffusion samplers and temporary drive points were used to test for ordnance-related compounds in ground water discharging to Snake Pond near Camp Edwards at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, MA. The contamination resulted from artillery use and weapons testing at various ranges upgradient of the pond.The diffusion samplers were constructed with a high-grade cellulose...
Authors
Denis R. LeBlanc
Phosphorus in a ground-water contaminant plume discharging to Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1999 Phosphorus in a ground-water contaminant plume discharging to Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1999
The discharge of a plume of sewagecontaminated ground water emanating from the Massachusetts Military Reservation to Ashumet Pond on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has caused concern about excessive loading of nutrients, particularly phosphorus, to the pond. The U.S. Air Force is considering remedial actions to mitigate potentially adverse effects on the ecological characteristics of the pond...
Authors
Timothy D. McCobb, Denis R. LeBlanc, Donald A. Walter, Kathryn M. Hess, Douglas B. Kent, Richard L. Smith
Simulated pond-aquifer interactions under natural and stressed conditions near Snake Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Simulated pond-aquifer interactions under natural and stressed conditions near Snake Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
A numerical model was used to simulate pond-aquifer interactions under natural and stressed conditions near Snake Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Simulation results show that pond-bottom hydraulic conductivity, which represents the degree of hydraulic connection between the pond and the aquifer, is an important control on these interactions. As this parameter was incrementally increased...
Authors
Donald A. Walter, John P. Masterson, Denis R. LeBlanc
Simulated changes in the sources of ground water for public-supply wells, ponds, streams, and coastal areas on western Cape Cod, Massachusetts Simulated changes in the sources of ground water for public-supply wells, ponds, streams, and coastal areas on western Cape Cod, Massachusetts
No abstract available.
Authors
John P. Masterson, Kathryn M. Hess, Donald A. Walter, Denis R. LeBlanc
Detection of fresh ground water and a contaminant plume beneath Red Brook Harbor, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2000 Detection of fresh ground water and a contaminant plume beneath Red Brook Harbor, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2000
Trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene were detected in ground water in a vertical interval from about 68 to 176 feet below sea level beneath the shoreline where the contaminant plume emanating from a capped landfill on the Massachusetts Military Reservation intersects Red Brook Harbor. The highest concentrations at the shoreline, about 15 micrograms per liter of trichloroethene and 1...
Authors
Timothy D. McCobb, Denis R. LeBlanc
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 23
No Result Found
40 Years Presenting Cape Cod Hydrology
USGS has studied the hydrology of Cape Cod and the Islands and demonstrated our science to the public for more than four decades. Many visitor groups from government agencies, universities, nonprofit organizations, and local communities have learned about our groundwater and surface water research in southeastern Massachusetts. USGS Research Hydrologist Emeritus Denis Leblanc has been a pillar in...
Filter Total Items: 67
Prevalence of tumors in brown bullhead from three lakes in southeastern Massachusetts, 2002 Prevalence of tumors in brown bullhead from three lakes in southeastern Massachusetts, 2002
The Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR) has been a military base on western Cape Cod since the early 1900s. Contaminated surface water and ground water from the MMR have discharged into several kettle lakes on or near the base. To discover whether the prevalences of tumors and other lesions in brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) in these lakes, particularly Ashumet Pond, were...
Authors
Paul C. Baumann, Denis R. LeBlanc, Vicki Blazer, John R. Meier, Stephen T. Hurley, Yasu Kiryu
Use of inverse-modeling methods to improve ground-water-model calibration and evaluate model-prediction uncertainty, Camp Edwards, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Use of inverse-modeling methods to improve ground-water-model calibration and evaluate model-prediction uncertainty, Camp Edwards, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Historical weapons testing and disposal activities at Camp Edwards, which is located on the Massachusetts Military Reservation, western Cape Cod, have resulted in the release of contaminants into an underlying sand and gravel aquifer that is the sole source of potable water to surrounding communities. Ground-water models have been used at the site to simulate advective transport in the...
Authors
Donald A. Walter, Denis R. LeBlanc
Cape Cod Toxic Substances Hydrology research site--Physical, chemical, and biological processes that control the fate of contaminants in ground water Cape Cod Toxic Substances Hydrology research site--Physical, chemical, and biological processes that control the fate of contaminants in ground water
No abstract available.
Authors
Denis R. LeBlanc
Ground-water levels near the top of the water-table mound, western Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2002-04 Ground-water levels near the top of the water-table mound, western Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2002-04
In January 2002 the U.S. Geological Survey began continuous water-level monitoring in three wells in the vicinity of the Southeast Ranges of Camp Edwards, near the Impact Area of the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Cape Cod. The purpose of this effort was to examine how water levels at sites with different unsaturated-zone thicknesses near the top of the water-table mound beneath...
Authors
Andrew J. Massey, Carl S. Carlson, Denis R. LeBlanc
Ground-water-quality data for a treated-wastewater plume undergoing natural restoration, Ashumet Valley, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Ground-water-quality data for a treated-wastewater plume undergoing natural restoration, Ashumet Valley, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
A plume of contaminated ground water extends from former disposal beds at the Massachusetts Military Reservation wastewater-treatment plant toward Ashumet Pond, and farther southward toward coastal ponds and Vineyard Sound, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Treated sewage-derived wastewater was discharged to the rapid-infiltration beds for nearly 60 years before the disposal site was moved to a...
Authors
Jennifer G. Savoie, Richard L. Smith, Douglas B. Kent, Kathryn M. Hess, Denis R. LeBlanc, Larry B. Barber
Comparison of diffusion- and pumped-sampling methods to monitor volatile organic compounds in ground water, Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, July 1999–December 2002 Comparison of diffusion- and pumped-sampling methods to monitor volatile organic compounds in ground water, Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, July 1999–December 2002
To evaluate diffusion sampling as an alternative method to monitor volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations in ground water, concentrations in samples collected by traditional pumped-sampling methods were compared to concentrations in samples collected by diffusion-sampling methods for 89 monitoring wells at or near the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod. Samples were...
Authors
Stacey A. Archfield, Denis R. LeBlanc
Changes in ground-water quality near two granular-iron permeable reactive barriers in a sand and gravel aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1997-2000 Changes in ground-water quality near two granular-iron permeable reactive barriers in a sand and gravel aquifer, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1997-2000
Two experimental permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) of granular zero-valent iron were emplaced in the path of a tetrachloroethene plume (the Chemical Spill-10 plume) at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in June 1998. The goal of the field experiment was to achieve emplacement of a granular-iron PRB deeper than attempted before. The PRBs were expected to...
Authors
Jennifer G. Savoie, Douglas B. Kent, Richard L. Smith, Denis R. LeBlanc, David W. Hubble
Diffusion and drive-point sampling to detect ordnance-related compounds in shallow ground water beneath Snake Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2001-02 Diffusion and drive-point sampling to detect ordnance-related compounds in shallow ground water beneath Snake Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2001-02
Diffusion samplers and temporary drive points were used to test for ordnance-related compounds in ground water discharging to Snake Pond near Camp Edwards at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, MA. The contamination resulted from artillery use and weapons testing at various ranges upgradient of the pond.The diffusion samplers were constructed with a high-grade cellulose...
Authors
Denis R. LeBlanc
Phosphorus in a ground-water contaminant plume discharging to Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1999 Phosphorus in a ground-water contaminant plume discharging to Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1999
The discharge of a plume of sewagecontaminated ground water emanating from the Massachusetts Military Reservation to Ashumet Pond on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has caused concern about excessive loading of nutrients, particularly phosphorus, to the pond. The U.S. Air Force is considering remedial actions to mitigate potentially adverse effects on the ecological characteristics of the pond...
Authors
Timothy D. McCobb, Denis R. LeBlanc, Donald A. Walter, Kathryn M. Hess, Douglas B. Kent, Richard L. Smith
Simulated pond-aquifer interactions under natural and stressed conditions near Snake Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Simulated pond-aquifer interactions under natural and stressed conditions near Snake Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
A numerical model was used to simulate pond-aquifer interactions under natural and stressed conditions near Snake Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Simulation results show that pond-bottom hydraulic conductivity, which represents the degree of hydraulic connection between the pond and the aquifer, is an important control on these interactions. As this parameter was incrementally increased...
Authors
Donald A. Walter, John P. Masterson, Denis R. LeBlanc
Simulated changes in the sources of ground water for public-supply wells, ponds, streams, and coastal areas on western Cape Cod, Massachusetts Simulated changes in the sources of ground water for public-supply wells, ponds, streams, and coastal areas on western Cape Cod, Massachusetts
No abstract available.
Authors
John P. Masterson, Kathryn M. Hess, Donald A. Walter, Denis R. LeBlanc
Detection of fresh ground water and a contaminant plume beneath Red Brook Harbor, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2000 Detection of fresh ground water and a contaminant plume beneath Red Brook Harbor, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2000
Trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene were detected in ground water in a vertical interval from about 68 to 176 feet below sea level beneath the shoreline where the contaminant plume emanating from a capped landfill on the Massachusetts Military Reservation intersects Red Brook Harbor. The highest concentrations at the shoreline, about 15 micrograms per liter of trichloroethene and 1...
Authors
Timothy D. McCobb, Denis R. LeBlanc
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government