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Rodney A Sheets, Jr. (Former Employee)

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NGWA Groundwater Modeling Advisory Panel Survey on the Use of Uncertainty Analysis in Groundwater Modeling

This white paper provides the results of a survey by members of the NGWA Groundwater Modeling Advisory Panel to assess the use of uncertainty analysis in groundwater modeling.The objective of the survey was to improve understanding of the use of uncertainty analysis in practical groundwater modeling projects subject to real-world constraints, such as limited budgets and tight deadlines.
Authors
Steve Luis, Pete Schulmeyer, David Bean, Connor P. Newman, Dan Puddephatt, Rodney A. Sheets, Randall J. Hunt
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Colorado Water Science Center

U.S. Geological Survey continuous monitoring workshop—Workshop summary report

Executive SummaryThe collection of high-frequency (in other words, “continuous”) water data has been made easier over the years because of advances in technologies to measure, transmit, store, and query large, temporally dense datasets. Commercially available, in-situ sensors and data-collection platforms—together with new techniques for data analysis—provide an opportunity to monitor water quanti
Authors
Daniel J. Sullivan, John K. Joiner, Kerry A. Caslow, Mark N. Landers, Brian A. Pellerin, Patrick P. Rasmussen, Rodney A. Sheets
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Widespread groundwater-level offsets caused by the Mw 5.8 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake of 23 August 2011

Groundwater levels were offset in bedrock observation wells, measured by the U.S. Geological Survey or others, as far as 553 km from the Mw 5.8 Mineral, Virginia (USA), earthquake on 23 August 2011. Water levels dropped as much as 0.47 m in 34 wells and rose as much as 0.15 m in 12 others. In some wells, which are as much as 213 m deep, the water levels recovered from these deviations in hours to
Authors
Evelyn A. Roeloffs, David L. Nelms, Rodney A. Sheets
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Earthquake Hazards Program, Earthquake Science Center

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 linearizing this aspect of the model. This specifi
Authors
Rodney A. Sheets, Mary C. Hill, Henk M. Haitjema, Alden M. Provost, John P. Masterson
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Using existing data to estimate aquifer properties, Great Lakes Region, USA

To determine specific storage and porosity, areally limited and time-consuming aquifer tests are frequently done. Hydrogeologic studies often do not have the resources to collect such data and rely on existing data sources for aquifer properties. An alternative tool for determining these aquifer properties is the analysis of earth tides. The objective of this study was to determine whether existin
Authors
Robert A. Darner, Rodney A. Sheets
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Evaluation of the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) seismic method to determine sediment thickness in the vicinity of the South Well Field, Franklin County, OH

The horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) seismic method involves analyzing measurements of ambient seismic noise in three dimensions to determine the fundamental site resonance frequency. Resonance is excited by the interaction of surface waves (Rayleigh and Love) and body waves (vertically incident shear) with the high-contrast aconstic impedance boundary at the bedrock-sediment interface
Authors
Ralph J. Haefner, Rodney A. Sheets, Robert E. Andrews
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Geophysical Investigation Along the Great Miami River From New Miami to Charles M. Bolton Well Field, Cincinnati, Ohio

Three geophysical profiling methods were tested to help characterize subsurface materials at selected transects along the Great Miami River, in southwestern Ohio. The profiling methods used were continuous seismic profiling (CSP), continuous resistivity profiling (CRP), and continuous electromagnetic profiling (CEP). Data were collected with global positioning systems to spatially locate the data
Authors
R. A. Sheets, D. H. Dumouchelle
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Hydrogeologic settings and ground-water flow simulations for regional studies of the Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants to public-supply wells - Studies begun in 2001

This study of the Transport of Anthropogenic and Natural Contaminants to public-supply wells (TANC study) is being conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program and was designed to increase understanding of the most important factors to consider in ground-water vulnerability assessments. The seven TANC studies that began in 2001 used retrospectiv
Authors
Suzanne S. Paschke
By
Water Resources Mission Area, National Water Quality Program, Colorado Water Science Center, USGS Science in Long Island Sound and its Watershed

Estimate of ground water in storage in the Great Lakes basin, United States, 2006

Hydrogeologic data from Regional Aquifer System Analyses (RASA) studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Great Lakes Basin, United States, during 1978-95, were compiled and used to estimate the total volume of water that is stored in the many aquifers of the basin. These studies focused on six regional aquifer systems: the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana;
Authors
William F. Coon, Rodney A. Sheets
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Compilation of Regional Ground-Water Divides for Principal Aquifers Corresponding to the Great Lakes Basin, United States

A compilation of regional ground-water divides for the five principal aquifers corresponding to the Great Lakes Basin within the United States is presented. The principal aquifers (or aquifer systems) are the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system, Silurian-Devonian aquifers, Mississippian aquifers, Pennsylvanian aquifers, and the surficial aquifer system. The regional ground-water divides mark the bo
Authors
R. A. Sheets, L.A. Simonson
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Estimation of shallow ground-water recharge in the Great Lakes basin

This report presents the results of the first known integrated study of long-term average ground-water recharge to shallow aquifers (generally less than 100 feet deep) in the United States and Canada for the Great Lakes, upper St. Lawrence, and Ottawa River Basins. The approach used was consistent throughout the study area and allows direct comparison of recharge rates in disparate parts of the st
Authors
B.P. Neff, A.R. Piggott, R. A. Sheets
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Use of Spatial Sampling and Microbial Source-Tracking Tools for Understanding Fecal Contamination at Two Lake Erie Beaches

Source-tracking tools were used to identify potential sources of fecal contamination at two Lake Erie bathing beaches: an urban beach (Edgewater in Cleveland, Ohio) and a beach in a small city (Lakeshore in Ashtabula, Ohio). These tools included identifying spatial patterns of Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentrations in each area, determining weather patterns that caused elevated E. coli, and app
Authors
Donna S. Francy, Erin E. Bertke, Dennis P. Finnegan, Christopher M. Kephart, Rodney A. Sheets, John Rhoades, Lester Stumpe
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Sheets, R. A., Hill, M. C., Haitjema, H. M., Provost, A. M. and Masterson, J. P. (2015), Simulation of Water-Table Aquifers Using Specified Saturated Thickness. Groundwater, 53: 151–157. doi:10.1111/gwat.12164
Roeloffs, E.A., Nelms, D.L., and Sheets, R.A., 2015, Widespread groundwater-level offsets caused by the Mw 5.8 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake of 23 August 2011, in Horton, J.W., Jr., Chapman, M.C., and Green, R.A., eds., The 2011 Mineral, Virginia, Earthquake, and Its Signifi cance for Seismic Hazards in Eastern North America: Geological Society of America Special Paper 509, p. 117–136, doi:10.1130/2014.2509(07).
Sheets, R.A., and Burns, E.R., 2014, Geothermal Heating and Cooling -- The Role of Groundwater: The Ohio Water Table, No. 129 (Spring), Water Management Association of Ohio, Columbus, Ohio.
Darner, R. A. and Sheets, R. A., 2012, Using Existing Data to Estimate Aquifer Properties, Great Lakes Region, USA. Ground Water. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-6584.2011.00848.x
Harvey, R., Metge, D., Sheets, R.A., and Jasperse, J., 2011, Chapter 6--Fluorescent microspheres as surrogates in evaluating the efficacy of riverbank filtration for removing Cyptosporidium parvum oocysts and other pathogens. In Ray, C. and Shamruck, M., eds. Riverbank Filtration for Water Security in Desert Countries: Amsterdam, Springer Science, pp. 81-93.
Haefner, R.J., Sheets, R.A., and Andrews, R.E. [2011], 2010, Evaluation of the Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) Seismic Method to Determine Sediment Thickness in the Vicinity of the South Well Field, Franklin County, OH, Ohio J Sci 110(4), pp. 77-85.
Sheets, R.A., 2005, Induced infiltration—an unauthorized biography and the continuing story: The Ohio Water Table, no. 96, pp. 4-5.
Sheets, R. A., Darner, R. A. and Whitteberry. B. L. 2002, Lag times of bank filtration at a well field, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA: J. Hydrol. Vol. 266, pp. 162–174.
Sheets, R. A., Bair, E. S., and Rowe, G. L., 1998, Use of 3H/3He ages to evaluate and improve groundwater flow models in a complex buried valley aquifer, Water Resour. Res., 34, 1077– 1089.
Sheets, R.A., Yost, W.P. 1994, Ground-Water Contribution from the Silurian/Devonian Carbonate Aquifer to the Mad River Valley, Southwestern Ohio: Ohio Journal of Science, v. 94, n. 5, pp. 138-146.
Bair, E.S., Sheets, R.A., and Eberts, S.M., 1990, Particle-tracking analysis of flow paths and traveltimes from hypothetical spill sites within the capture area of a wellfield: Ground Water, v. 28, no. 6, pp. 884-892.

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

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Two Wells showing depth change

Groundwater-Level Response to Earthquakes

Did you know that earthquakes can cause changes in groundwater levels? Very large earthquakes can even cause water-level fluctuations in some wells thousands of miles away, depending on the local geological conditions around the well.
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New Jersey Water Science Center
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Groundwater-Level Response to Earthquakes

Did you know that earthquakes can cause changes in groundwater levels? Very large earthquakes can even cause water-level fluctuations in some wells thousands of miles away, depending on the local geological conditions around the well.
Learn More
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Groundwater-Level Response to Virginia Earthquake, August 23, 2011

Groundwater-Level Response to Virginia Earthquake, August 23, 2011

A magnitude 5.8 (Mw) earthquake occurred at 1:51 pm EDT (17:51 UTC) on August 23, 2011, at a depth of about 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) beneath the town of Mineral, Virginia, located approximately 27 miles (45 kilometers) east of Charlottesville. The event is among the largest earthquakes recorded in the eastern United States.
By
Water Resources Mission Area
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Groundwater-Level Response to Virginia Earthquake, August 23, 2011

A magnitude 5.8 (Mw) earthquake occurred at 1:51 pm EDT (17:51 UTC) on August 23, 2011, at a depth of about 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) beneath the town of Mineral, Virginia, located approximately 27 miles (45 kilometers) east of Charlottesville. The event is among the largest earthquakes recorded in the eastern United States.
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