In cooperation with DelDOT, DGS is investigating the physical and chemical impacts of de-icing practices (salting and brining) and stormwater infiltration best management practices (BMP) on groundwater.

In tidal wetlands, small differences in ground elevation can have a large impact on hydrology, vegetation, and habitat (e.g., assessment of wetland health and stability, habitat, flood risk, and coastal inundation).

The Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) is working with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and E

The DGS has been a data provider for the National Ground-Water Monitoring Network (NGWMN) since 2016. NGWMN is a consortium of state and local agencies and the U.S.

The Delaware Geological Survey will review recent scientific literature and assessments of sea-level change in Delaware and identify appropriate scenarios to use for planning purposes throughout the state. This project will also develop new inundation maps along Delaware's coast that correspond to the identified scenarios.

In 2015, staff of the DNREC Water Supply Section made DGS aware of a situation east of Dover where there is potential for overpumping of the Columbia aquifer by the City of Dover’s Long Point Road wellfield (LPRW) and numerous large-capacity irrigation wells in the surrounding area (Figure 1).

Geologic maps at the DGS are created as primary deliverables of a project and as derivatives of other projects. Primary deliverables are mainly those that are the result of outside funding sources such as the AASG-USGS cooperative StateMap. Derivative maps are those that have primary data collected for reasons other than geologic mapping can be used to create geologic maps or that geologic maps are derivative products of a project rather than the primary goal of a project.

DGS is continuing a collaboration with climate scientist Kevin Brinson (DEOS) to develop and test methods to estimate and map annual and seasonal distribution of ET for Sussex County, Delaware. Remotely sensed data from Landsat 7 ETM+ and MODIS platforms will be used to estimate regional energy balance and water flux. These estimates are calibrated by comparison to ET estimates determined by direct point measurements (Eddy Covariance and atmometer) and models driven by meteorological data such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and soil moisture. The results have the potential to improve accuracy and precision of ET models and will be valuable for efforts that use water budgets for resource management, agriculture, wetland assessment, and research.