17 trillion...

[Spung-Man]

The metric 17-trillion—of course—describes how much water fills the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer. Everyone who paged through McPhee knows this one. It is a USGS hydrogeologist who came up with this figure. Actually the more accurate amount is 17.7 trillion (based on Rhodehamel 1979, as quoted by Forman 1979: 572, in Pine Barrens: Ecosystem and Landscape). Edward Rhodehamel I believe first came to the Pines in 1947 as a civil engineer and lived primarily in Levittown, PA.

Also see:

https://forums.njpinebarrens.com/th...ropean-pinelands-look-like.11787/#post-142931

https://forums.njpinebarrens.com/threads/roadside-vernal-pool-scavenger-hunt.10848/#post-132059

https://forums.njpinebarrens.com/threads/goose-pond.6965/page-2#post-84698

https://forums.njpinebarrens.com/threads/bright-blue-lakes.6437/#post-76749​

I had the good fortune to catch up with ole’ Steady Eddie on Monday (07/18/17) in Virginia. He’s 97 now, but turns 98 this November. Rhodehamel was also an early advocate of the Pine Barrens periglacial heritage, working with Richards and Minard on cryoturbation, frost heaving, frost wedges, and ventifacts.

We were joined by now-retired USGS surficial geologist Wayne Newell, who years back played horseshoes with the hydrogeologist during lunch-break at National Center, along with Minard, Owens, and Denny—names familiar to anyone who enjoys the local geology literature. Following my old professor at Cook College, Peter Wolfe, Wayne Newell was the next research scientist who got just how polar-like the ice-marginal Pleistocene climate really had been here.

https://forums.njpinebarrens.com/th...r-montpelier-vermont.11421/page-2#post-138967​

Newell tried to widely publish his observations on the cold climate signature during the '80s and 90s, but critics pushed back at every turn. French and I hooked up with Wayne by 2001, and he has been a friend and valued mentor ever since. Wayne has local roots too! His great-great grandfather had a farm along the Stop-the-Jade after the Civil War, and Wayne himself summered on a friend of the family’s farm near Tabernacle, working in bogs near Martha.

A bit of dirt on local geology.

Spungman


Here’s a list of Rhodehamel's papers:

Carlston CW, Thatcher LL, Rhodehamel EC.1960. Tritium as a hydrologic tool—the Wharton Tract study. International Association of Scientific Hydrologists Commission, Subterranean Waters Publication 52, p. 503–512.

Clark GA, Meisler H, Rhodehamel EC,Gill HE. 1968. Summary of Ground-Water Resources of Atlantic County, New Jersey. Water Resources Circular 18, State of New Jersey Department of Conservation and Economic Development, Division of Water Policy and Supply, 58 pp.

Johnston JE, Rhodehamel EC. 1981. Atlantic coal deposits and their future potential: abstract. AAPB Bulletin 65, 9: 1664.

Kohout, F A, Hathaway JC, Folger DW, Bothner MH, Walker EH, Delaney DF, Frimpter MH, Weed EGA, Rhodehamel EC. 1977. Fresh groundwater stored in aquifers under the continental shelf: implications from a deep test, Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. Water Resources Bulletin 13, 2: 373–386.

Lang SM, Rhodehamel EC. 1962. Movement of ground water beneath the bed of the Mullica River in the Wharton Tract, southern New Jersey. Art. 37, US Geological Survey Professional Paper 450-B.

Lang SM, Rhodehamel EC. 1963. Aquifer test at a site on the Mullica River in the Wharton Tract, southern New Jersey. International Association of Scientific Hydrology. Bulletin. 8, 2: 31–38.

Minard JP, Perry WJ, Weed EGA, Rhodehamel EC, Robbins EI, Mixon RB. 1974. Preliminary Report on Geology Along Atlantic Continental Margin of Northeastern United States. AAPB Bulletin 58, 6: 1169–1178.

Minard JP, Rhodehamel EC. 1969. Quaternary geology of part of northern New Jersey and the Trenton area. In Subitzky S (ed.). Geology of Selected Areas in New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania and Guidebook of Excursions. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. pp. 279–313.

Perry Jr WJ, Minard JP, Weed EG, Robbins EI, Rhodehamel EC. 1975. Stratigraphy of Atlantic coastal margin of United States north of Cape Hatteras--brief survey. AAPG Bulletin 59, 9: 1529–1548.

Perry WJ, Minard JP, Weed EG, Robbins EI, Rhodehamel EC. 1994. Stratigraphy of the Atlantic continental margin of the United States north of Cape Hatteras; a brief study/Open-File Report 74-1084, US Geological Survey, 51 pp.

Robbins EI, Rhodehamel EC. 1976. Geothermal gradients help predict petroleum potential of Scotian Shelf. Oil and Gas Journal 74, 9:143–145.

Rhodehamel, E. (n.d.). U.S. Geological Survey water-resources investigations in New Jersey. Reston, Va.]: US Geological Survey.

Rhodehamel EC. 1970. A Hydrologic Analysis of the New Jersey Pine Barrens Region. Water Resources Circular. No. 22. State of New Jersey, Division of Water Policy and Supply. 35 pp.

Rhodehamel EC. 1973. Geology and Water Resources of the Wharton Tract and the Mullica River Basin in Southern New Jersey. Special Report No. 36, Division of Water Resources. Trenton, NJ: State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. 58 pp.

Rhodehamel EC. 1975. Geophysical logs from a geologic test hole near Charleston, South Carolina. Open-File Report 75-247, U.S. Geological Survey, South Atlantic Water Science Center, 3 pp. Log 1: 199.6 inches x 7.45 inches; Log 2: 200 inches x 4.94 inches; Log 3: 70.68 inches x 9.16 inches; Log 4: 199.62 inches x 9.18 inches; Log 5: 199.24 inches x 8.53 inches; Log 6: 199.71 inches x 6.92 inches; Log 7: 200.00 inches x 5.00 inches; Log 8: 191.05 inches x 9.20 inches.

Rhodehamel EC. Sandstone porosities. Geological studies on the COST no. B-2 well, US mid-Atlantic outer continental shelf area. Circular 750, US Geological Survey, pp. 23–31.

Rhodehamel EC. 1979. Hydrology of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. In Forman, R.T.T., (ed.). Pine Barrens: Ecosystem and Landscape. New York: Academic Press. pp. 147–167.

Rhodehamel EC. 1979. Lithologic descriptions. Geological Studies of the COST GE-1 well, US South Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Area. Circular 800, US Geological Survey, pp. 24–36.

Rhodehamel EC. 1979. Hydrology of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. In Forman, R.T.T., (ed.). Pine Barrens: Ecosystem and Landscape. New York: Academic Press. pp. 147–167.

Rhodehamel EC, Carlson CW. 1963. Geologic History of the Teays Valley in West Virginia. GSA Bulletin 74, 3: 251–274.

Rhodehamel E, Kron VB, Dougherty VM. 1971. Bibliography of tritium studies related to hydrology through 1966, Washington: US Government Printing Office, Water Supply Paper 1900, 174 pp..

Richards HG, Rhodehamel EC. 1965. New Jersey Coastal Plain field trip (August 17). In Schultz CB, Smith HTU (eds.). Guidebook for Field Conference B-1, Central Atlantic Coastal Plain, Seventh INQUA Congress, Boulder, CO. pp. 10–13

Stuart, W, Brown EA, Rhodehamel EC. 1954. Ground-Water Investigations of the Marquette Iron Mining District, Michigan. Michigan Department of Conservation. Geological Survey Division. Technical Report 3, 92 pp.

Weed EGA, Minard WJ, Perry WJ Jr,Rhodehamel EC, Robbins EI. 1974. Generalized pre-Pleistocene geologic map of the northern United States Atlantic continental margin. US Geological Survey. Miscellaneous Map I-861.

 

[bobpbx]

Thanks for sharing Mark, very interesting. Was he fairly communicative when you met him? Was he still excited to talk about his passions?

 

[Spung-Man]

Bob,

He is in good spirits and we had a great talk about his his opinions on Pinelands hydrology and geology. It wasn't too long before old synapses in his brain re-fired just fine. We also broached into the broader Pine Barrens cultural community itself. Rhodehamel had a distinguished—albeit quiet—career, which most would miss if they weren't deep into into the discipline. The experience seemed to be a good tonic. I've been in contact with him over the last decade. He was an avid hiker, and the need for his walker is a recent addition.

I cannot over-estimate the value and utility of the older literature. Those who stop at the more recent publications are missing out on good stuff. Many of the older scientists might better be described as natural historians, keen field observationists who saw things going or even now long gone their modern counterparts. For example, look at Harshberger's (1916: 12–30) Chapter III and Newell et als. (2000: 2–3 & 8–10 respectively) Physiography and Economic Development sections. Rhodehamel drafted a detailed manuscript that ventured deeper into the Pleistocene and Pinelands water dynamics but was fetter in review. Like Newell, he know there was a bigger story on frozen ground to be told.

Newell, W.L., Powars, D.S., Owens, J.P., Stanford, S.D., and Stone, B.D., 2000: Surficial Geologic Map of Central and Southern New Jersey. United States Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Investigations Series, Map 1–2540–D, Washington, DC.

Harshberger, J.W., 1916: The Vegetation of the New Jersey Pine Barrens: An Ecological Investigation. Philadelphia, PA: Christopher Sower. 329 pp.​

You know, I too felt the tonic. Somehow the lyrics of John Prine's "Hello in There" just came to mind...

S-M

 

[Teegate]

Thanks Spung-Man!

 

[johnnyb]

Not to be a smart a--, but you touched on an item that was at the focal point of my 40 years professionally.
“accurate” to 17.1 trillion gallons? Perhaps precise but highly doubtful it’s accurate.
Precision is the degree of repeatability, accuracy is relative to truth.
How dow we know that it’s not 17.0 or less, or 17.2 or more?
The word “accuracy” is NOT interchangeable with “precise”.
In my professional years I included innumerable talks on the that subject, especially to people writing specifications or performance reports.
Even Wkipedia confuses them when it wrongly states that precision is “the quality, condition, or fact of being exact and accurate":
You can be highly precise and yet highly inaccurate, when your measurement repeats itself to a high number of numerical places, but the measure is far from the truth because of an unmeasured bias.
Example: your rifle is well built, your ammunition is very near identical, and your shots are grouped so tightly that all of then toiuch another. Yet they’re not even in the rings, they’re off the paper and barely on the back-up board. You’ve got great precision and miserable accuracy. So now you crank in the correct amounts of azimuth and elevation correction (thereby removing bias) and all your shots are in or on the X ring at the center of the target. Now you’re both precise and accurate.
That 17 trillion gallons - know or estimate? If estimated, how do you know its accurate? If you know it’s accurate, how were the measurements made?
Lest this be thought to be just nit-picking semantics, it becomes very serious in many real world situations involving real money.

 

[Spung-Man]

I am not a hydrogeologist (only play one in a blog?), but see myself as a natural historian and periglacial geomorphologist who has always used the 17-trillion figure in talks. My realm is thin, extending only 3 or 4 meters into the regolith. In drafting the first post the literature was quickly scanned and a specific metric was identified in Forman's book. Science has progressed by leaps and bounds since 1979, especially in our understanding of sequence stratigraphy. If nothing else, I can attest to Rhodehamel's obsession with detail so defer to his work. 17.7 is what is reported in the peer-reviewed literature at hand. I've put a shout out to another authority who might know if that figure has since been revisited. You are right, I wouldn't bet the farm on it if pressed.

S-M

 

[Teegate]

I think they were using that much water on the farms I passed today on 322.

 

[Spung-Man]

I am the bearer of sad news. Geohydrologist Ed Rhodehamel, on August 24, 2017, passed away in Virginia at the age of 97. Here is his obituary in the Washington Post:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/wa...x?fhid=2195&n=edward-rhodehamel&pid=186517679​

S-M

 

[Teegate]

Sorry to hear that Spung-Man.

 

[bobpbx]

I'm glad you got to meet him Mark. Sorry to hear of his passing.