This vector data set contains the rock unit polygons for the surficial geology in the Delaware Coastal Plain covered by DGS Geologic Map No. 16 (Fairmount and Rehoboth Beach quadrangles). The geologic history of the surficial units of the Fairmount and Rehoboth Beach quadrangles is that of deposition of the Beaverdam Formation and its subsequent modification by erosion and deposition related to sea-level fluctuations during the Pleistocene. The geology reflects this complex history both onshore, in Rehoboth Bay, and offshore. Erosion during the late Pleistocene sea-level low stand and ongoing deposition offshore and in Rehoboth Bay during the Holocene rise in sea level represent the last of several cycles of erosion and deposition.

To facilitate the GIS community of Delaware and to release the geologic map of the Fairmount and Rehoboth Beach quadrangles with all cartographic elements (including geologic symbology, text, etc.) in a form usable in a GIS, we have released this digital coverage of DGS Geological Map 16. The update of earlier work and mapping of new units is important not only to geologists, but also to hydrologists who wish to understand the distribution of water resources, to engineers who need bedrock information during construction of roads and buildings, to government officials and agencies who are planning for residential and commercial growth, and to citizens who are curious about the bedrock under their homes. Formal names are assigned to all rock units according to the guidelines of the 1983 North American Stratigraphic Code (NACSN, 1983).

The Delaware Inland Bays Water-Quality Database (DIBWQDB) is used to store,
manage, and retrieve water-quality data generated by the “Nutrient Inputs as a Stressor
and Net Nutrient Flux as an Indicator of Stress Response in Delawares’ Inland Bays
Ecosystem” (CISNet) and the “Inland Bays Tributary Total Maximum Daily Load”
(IBTMDL) projects. It contains information on sampling stations, samples, and field and
laboratory analyses, queries to extract and analyze data, forms to input and edit data, a
main menu to navigate to forms and specific queries, and a few formatted report
templates. The database is in Microsoft Access 2003 format. Table, field, and table
relationship metadata are stored in the database as properties of those objects. The
software's metadata reporting options can be used to view the information.

Exploration for sand resources for beach nourishment has led to an increase in the amount of geologic data available from areas offshore Delaware's Atlantic Coast. These data are in the form of cores, core logs, and seismic reflection profiles. In order to provide a geologic context for these offshore data, this cross section has been constructed from well and borehole data along Delaware's Atlantic coastline from Cape Henlopen to Fenwick Island. Placing the offshore data in geologic context is important for developing stratigraphic and geographic models for predicting the location of stratigraphic units found offshore that may yield sand suitable for beach nourishment. The units recognized onshore likely extend offshore to where they are truncated by younger units or by the present seafloor.

A geographic information system-based study was used to estimate the elevation of the water table in the Inland Bays watershed of Sussex County, Delaware, under dry, normal, and wet conditions. Evaluation of the results from multiple estimation methods indicates that a multiple linear regression method is the most viable tool to estimate the elevation of the regional water table for the Coastal Plain of Delaware. The variables used in the regression are elevation of a minimum water table and depth to the minimum water table from land surface. Minimum water table is computed from a local polynomial regression of elevations of surface water features. Correlation coefficients from the multiple linear regression estimation account for more than 90 percent of the variability observed in ground-water level data. The estimated water table is output as a GIS-ready grid with 30-m (98.43 ft) horizontal and 0.305-m (1 ft) vertical resolutions.

A multiple linear regression method was used to estimate water-table elevations under dry, normal, and wet conditions for the Coastal Plain of Delaware. The variables used in the regression are elevation of an initial water table and depth to the initial water table from land surface. The initial water table is computed from a local polynomial regression of elevations of surface-water features. Correlation coefficients from the multiple linear regression estimation account for more than 90 percent of the variability observed in ground-water level data. The estimated water table is presented in raster format as GIS-ready grids with 30-m horizontal (~98 ft) and 0.305-m (1 ft) vertical resolutions. Water-table elevation and depth are key facets in many engineering, hydrogeologic, and environmental management and regulatory decisions. Depth to water is an important factor in risk assessments, site assessments, evaluation of permit compliance data, registration of pesticides, and determining acceptable pesticide application rates. Water-table elevations are used to compute ground-water flow directions and, along with information about aquifer properties (e.g., hydraulic conductivity and porosity), are used to compute ground-water flow velocities. Therefore, obtaining an accurate representation of the water table is also crucial to the success of many hydrologic modeling efforts. Water-table elevations can also be estimated from simple linear regression on elevations of either land surface or initial water table. The goodness-of-fits of elevations estimated from these surfaces are similar to that of multiple linear regression. Visual analysis of the distributions of the differences between observed and estimated water elevations (residuals) shows that the multiple linear regression-derived surfaces better fit observations than do surfaces estimated by simple linear regression.

This report provides initial research results of a storm-water and base-flow sampling and analysis project conducted by the University of Delaware College of Marine Studies (CMS) and the Delaware Geological Survey (DGS). Base-flow samples were collected from six tributary watersheds of Delaware’s Inland Bays on 29 occasions from October 1998 to May 2000. Water samples were filtered in the field to separate dissolved nutrients for subsequent analysis, and a separate sample was collected and returned to the laboratory for particulate nutrient determinations. On each sampling date, temperature, conductivity, pH, and dissolved oxygen concentrations were determined at each sampling station. Stream discharge measurements at each of these sites were made by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under a joint-funded agreement with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the DGS. Together, the nutrient and discharge data were used to determine the total and unit (normalized to watershed area) nutrient loading from base flow to the Inland Bays from each of these watersheds on a quarterly and annual basis. At the same six stations, storm water was collected during eight storms from May 1999 to April 2000. Storm-water loadings of nutrients from each watershed were calculated from the concentrations of nutrients in water samples collected at fixed time intervals from the beginning of the storm-water discharge period until recession to base flow. These data provide DNREC with a more complete picture of the seasonal dependence of nutrient loading to the Bays from which to establish goals for total maximum daily loads in the Inland Bays watershed.

This poster shows three different map views of the water table as well as information about how the maps were made, how the depth to water table changes with seasons and climate, and how the water table affects use and disposal of water. The map views are of depth to the water table, water-table elevation (similar to topography), and water-table gradient (related to water flow velocity).

Digital watershed and bay polygons for use in geographic information systems were created for Rehoboth Bay, Indian River, and Indian River Bay in southeastern Delaware. Polygons were created using a hierarchical classification scheme and a consistent, documented methodology that enables unambiguous calculations of watershed and bay surface areas within a geographic information system. The watershed boundaries were delineated on 1:24,000-scale topographic maps. The resultant polygons represent the entire watersheds for these water bodies, with four hierarchical levels based on surface area. Bay boundaries were delineated by adding attributes to existing polygons representing water and marsh in U.S. Geological Survey Digital Line Graphs of 1:24,000-scale topographic maps and by dissolving the boundaries between polygons with similar attributes. The hierarchy of bays incorporates three different definitions of the coastline: the boundary between open water and land, a simplified version of that boundary, and the upland-lowland boundary. The polygon layers are supplied in a geodatabase format.