A physical hydrogeological and hydrochemical study of groundwater/surface water interaction in a granitic terrain in eastern Newfoundland

• Main Author: Schillereff, Herbert Scott
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1992
• Subjects: Beaver Pond; Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/6853/; https://research.library.mun.ca/6853/1/HerbertScottSchillereff_1.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/6853/3/HerbertScottSchillereff_1.pdf

This thesis presents a hydrogeological and hydrochemical investigation of groundwater and surface water interaction in a fractured granite terrain, within the Seal Cove River valley in eastern Newfoundland. The overall approach for this work was to first determine the structural geologic framework of the study are and surrounding region, then use this framework as a basis for interpreting the physical, hydrochemical and isotopic responses of groundwater and surface water to hydrologic stress, and for numerical simulations of groundwater flow in the study area. -- The Seal cove River valley study area (referred to as the SCRV) is 81.7 ha. in size and includes a 1.44 km reach of a branch of the Seal Cove River, with a 300 m x 50 m beaver pond midway along this reach. Lithologically homogeneous granitic rocks occur in glaciated outcrops on over 30% of a hillside above the study reach and sporadically on the valley floor. Overburden consists of thin glacial drift and peat deposits. Geophysical surveys indicate that the buried granite surface is essentially flat, dipping on average 0.5 degrees toward the north-northwest. -- The structural geologic framework was compiled from air photos, outcrop mapping and scanline fracture surveys across the pluton, and core logging in the SCRV. The Holyrood pluton intrudes multiply-deformed volcanic rocks of the Harbour Main Group and lies within the Conception Bay Anticlinorium, bounded to the east and west by the Topsail and Duffs Faults. Within the pluton, fracture lineaments and the regional mesoscopic fracture system both show preferred northerly, northeasterly and southeasterly strikes. Trace length and fracture frequency patterns show little variation in western parts of the pluton (including the SCRV area). There are no obvious variations in structural trends on a macroscopic scale in the vicinity of the SCRV. -- In the SCRV, three subvertical mesoscopic fracture sets are identified based on cluster analysis of scanline data. These set correspond with orientations of ...