Using Marine Reflection Seismics to Identify Potential Seawater Intrusion Sites in the Upper Floridan Aquifer of Coastal Georgia and South Carolina

Abstract

Proceedings of the 2001 Georgia Water Resources Conference, April 26 and 27, 2001, Athens, Georgia.The Upper Floridan aquifer (UFA) it the principal source of groundwater for coastal Georgia and South Carolina. A progressive increase in goundwater use since the late 1800s has resulted in a large (-30-mile radius) cone of depression on the aquifer's potentiometric surface that is centered on Savannah, GA. In coastal and inner shelf areas where the overlying Miocene aquitard is absent, the UFA is susceptible to seawater recharge. As part of the Sound Science Initiative (SSI), the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) recently funded geophysical mapping to identify those locations where the Miocene aquitard is thin or absent Geophysical surveys identified ten Areas of Concern (ADCs) where the UFA is susceptible to seawater intrusion. At each AOC, the aquifer is present at shallow depth, erosion has removed the aquitard, the overlying water column is saline, and the area lies within or adjacent to the Savannah cone of depression. Research results are contributing to a database of information being developed under SSI that will provide input necessary for managing groundwater resources in southeast Georgia.Sponsored and Organized by: U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources Conservation Service, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of TechnologyThis book was published by the Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2202. The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of The University of Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Georgia Water Research Institute as authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-397) or the other conference sponsors