John Peter Masterson
John Masterson is a senior hydrologist at the USGS New England Water Science Center in Massachusetts and currently serves as the project coordinator for the ongoing NYSDEC-USGS cooperative investigation of groundwater sustainability of the Long Island regional aquifer system.
Biography
John Masterson is a senior hydrologist at the USGS New England Water Science Center in Massachusetts. He completed his B.A. in Geosciences at SUNY Geneseo and M.S. in Geosciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia. John began his career at the USGS Syosset, N.Y. office in 1987 and worked there for 3 years before transferring to the Northborough, Massachusetts office in 1990. He specializes in computer model applications to study groundwater flow dynamics, and is an author of numerous USGS technical reports and peer-reviewed articles on groundwater resources in coastal aquifer systems. Recently, John completed a regional groundwater availability assessment of the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system from Long Island to North Carolina. John is currently serving as the project coordinator for the ongoing NYSDEC-USGS cooperative investigation of groundwater sustainability of the Long Island regional aquifer system (Long Island Groundwater Sustainability Study).
Science and Products
Groundwater Sustainability of the Long Island Aquifer System
Groundwater sustainability can be best defined as the development and use of groundwater in a manner that can be maintained for an indefinite time without causing unacceptable environmental or socioeconomic consequences. Informed management of the Long Island aquifer system can help ensure a regionally sustainable groundwater resource. The USGS...
Hydrogeologic-Framework Mapping - Long Island, New York
Long Island is underlain by unconsolidated Holocene deposits, glacial deposits of Pleistocene age, and coastal-plain deposits of Late Cretaceous age. These sediments...
Saltwater-Interface Mapping - Long Island, New York
Saltwater intrusion is the most common type of water-quality degradation in coastal-plain aquifers. In coastal areas, the hydraulic head under predevelopment (nonpumping) conditions is higher on land than in the surrounding...
Groundwater-Flow Modeling - Long Island, New York
Numerical models provide a means to synthesize existing hydrogeologic information into an internally consistent mathematical representation of a real system or process, and thus are useful tools for testing and improving...
Groundwater Sustainability - Long Island, New York
Groundwater sustainability can best be defined as the development and use of groundwater in a manner that can be maintained for an indefinite time without causing unacceptable environmental or socioeconomic consequences. Informed...
Delineation of the Hydrogeologic Framework and Saltwater-Freshwater Interface and Determination of Water-Supply Sustainability of Long Island, New York
Problem Long Island’s sole-source aquifer system, which includes the Lloyd, Magothy, Jameco, and upper glacial aquifers, supplies groundwater to over 2.8 million people. As a coastal aquifer system, it is susceptible to saltwater intrusion. Past pumpage and sewering (fig. 1) resulted in increased salinity in most aquifers in all counties (Buxton and Shernoff, 1999; Misut and others, 2004;...
Groundwater Availability of the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain
Background The North Atlantic Coastal Plain (NACP) covers a land area of approximately 34,000 mi 2 along the eastern seaboard of the United States from Long Island, N.Y., southward to the northern portion of North Carolina. This area is underlain by a thick wedge of sedimentary deposits that form a complex groundwater system in which the sands and gravels function as confined aquifers, and...
Simulation of groundwater flow in the regional aquifer system on Long Island, New York, for pumping and recharge conditions in 2005–15
A three-dimensional groundwater-flow model was developed for the aquifer system of Long Island, New York, to evaluate (1) responses of the hydrologic system to changes in natural and anthropogenic hydraulic stresses, (2) the subsurface distribution of groundwater age, and (3) the regional-scale distribution of groundwater travel times and the...
Walter, Donald A.; Masterson, John P.; Finkelstein, Jason S.; Monti, Jr., Jack; Misut, Paul E.; Fienen, Michael N.Water for Long Island: Now and for the future
Do you ever wonder where your water comes from? If you live in Nassau or Suffolk County, the answer is, groundwater. Groundwater is water that started out as precipitation (rain and snow melt) and seeped into the ground. This seepage recharges the freshwater stored underground, in the spaces between the grains of sand and gravel in what are...
Masterson, John; Breault, RobertDevelopment of simulated groundwater-contributing areas to selected streams, ponds, coastal water bodies, and production wells in the Plymouth-Carver region and Cape Cod, Massachusetts
IntroductionThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in support of the Massachusetts Estuaries Project (MEP), delineated groundwater-contributing areas to various hydrologic receptors including ponds, streams, and coastal water bodies throughout southeastern Massachusetts, including portions of the Plymouth-Carver aquifer system and all of Cape Cod....
Carlson, Carl S.; Masterson, John P.; Walter, Donald A.; Barbaro, Jeffrey R.Assessment of groundwater availability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system From Long Island, New York, to North Carolina
Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey began a multiyear regional assessment of groundwater availability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain (NACP) aquifer system in 2010 as part of its ongoing regional assessments of groundwater availability of the principal aquifers of the Nation. The goals of this national assessment are to document...
Masterson, John P.; Pope, Jason P.; Fienen, Michael N.; Monti, Jr., Jack; Nardi, Mark R.; Finkelstein, Jason S.Documentation of a groundwater flow model developed to assess groundwater availability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system from Long Island, New York, to North Carolina
The U.S. Geological Survey developed a groundwater flow model for the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system from Long Island, New York, to northeastern North Carolina as part of a detailed assessment of the groundwater availability of the area and included an evaluation of how these resources have changed over time from stresses related...
Masterson, John P.; Pope, Jason P.; Fienen, Michael N.; Monti, Jr., Jack; Nardi, Mark R.; Finkelstein, Jason S.Sustainability of groundwater supplies in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system
Groundwater is the Nation’s principal reserve of freshwater. It provides about half our drinking water, is essential to food production, and facilitates business and industry in developing economic well-being. Groundwater is also an important source of water for sustaining the ecosystem health of rivers, wetlands, and estuaries throughout...
Masterson, John P.; Pope, Jason P.Potential effects of sea-level rise on the depth to saturated sediments of the Sagamore and Monomoy flow lenses on Cape Cod, Massachusetts
In 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, the Cape Cod Commission, and the Massachusetts Environmental Trust, began an evaluation of the potential effects of sea-level rise on water table altitudes and depths to water on central and western Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Increases in atmospheric and...
Walter, Donald A.; McCobb, Timothy D.; Masterson, John P.; Fienen, Michael N.Scientific information in support of water resource management of the Big River area, Rhode Island
The Rhode Island Water Resources Board (RIWRB) is concerned that the demand for water may exceed the available public water supply in central and southern Rhode Island. Although water is often assumed to be plentiful in Rhode Island because of abundant rainfall, an adequate supply of water is not always available everywhere in the state during dry...
Armstrong, David S.; Masterson, John P.; Robinson, Keith W.; Crawley, Kathleen M.Science for the stewardship of the groundwater resources of Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Groundwater is the sole source of drinking water and a major source of freshwater for domestic, industrial, and agricultural uses on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Groundwater discharged from aquifers also supports freshwater pond and stream ecosystems and coastal wetlands. Six hydraulically distinct groundwater-flow systems (lenses) have been...
Barbaro, Jeffrey R.; Masterson, John P.; LeBlanc, Denis R.Simulation of water-table aquifers using specified saturated thickness
Simulating groundwater flow in a water-table (unconfined) aquifer can be difficult because the saturated thickness available for flow depends on model-calculated hydraulic heads. It is often possible to realize substantial time savings and still obtain accurate head and flow solutions by specifying an approximate saturated thickness a priori, thus...
Sheets, Rodney A.; Hill, Mary C.; Haitjema, Henk M.; Provost, Alden M.; Masterson, John P.Effects of sea-level rise on barrier island groundwater system dynamics: ecohydrological implications
We used a numerical model to investigate how a barrier island groundwater system responds to increases of up to 60 cm in sea level. We found that a sea-level rise of 20 cm leads to substantial changes in the depth of the water table and the extent and depth of saltwater intrusion, which are key determinants in the establishment, distribution and...
Masterson, John P.; Fienen, Michael N.; Thieler, E. Robert; Gesch, Dean B.; Gutierrez, Benjamin T.; Plant, Nathaniel G.Hydrogeology and hydrologic conditions of the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer System from Long Island, New York, to North Carolina
The seaward-dipping sedimentary wedge that underlies the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain forms a complex groundwater system. This major source of water provides for public and domestic supply and serves as a vital source of freshwater for industrial and agricultural uses throughout the region. Population increases and land-use and climate changes...
Masterson, John P.; Pope, Jason P.; Monti, Jack; Nardi, Mark R.; Finkelstein, Jason S.; McCoy, Kurt J.Pre-USGS Publications
Study Assesses Threats to Groundwater Availability and Sustainability in Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain
The U.S. Geological Survey began a multiyear regional assessment of groundwater availability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain (NACP) aquifer system in 2010 as part of its ongoing regional assessments of groundwater availability of the principal aquifers of the Nation.
Study Assesses Threats to Groundwater Availability and Sustainability in Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain
Threats to groundwater availability and sustainability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain are dependent to a large degree by the type of aquifers used for water supply, according to a new regional assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Governor Cuomo Launches Statewide Water Quality Initiatives
In 2016, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a partnership between New York State, USGS, Nassau County and Suffolk County to study the effective management of Long Island’s groundwater resources.