U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet 039-99

August 1999

Pennsylvania

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

has been working in Pennsylvania

since 1884, mapping and studying

land, water, geological, and biological

resources. Current activities reflect

the four USGS theme areas: Hazards,

Resources, Environment, and Information Management.

Hazards

The Pymatuning earthquake struck at

3:52 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25, 1998,

near Jamestown (fig. 1). The epicenter of the magnitude 5.2 event was at

the southern end of the Pymatuning

Reservoir, which straddles the OhioPennsylvania border. The earthquake

caused minor damage to buildings,

and it was felt throughout most of

Pennsylvania. Within 24 hours of the

main shock, field teams from the

University of Memphis, Columbia

University, and the USGS deployed

portable digital seismographs to

record aftershocks. During the 1-

week field program, a field Website

provided investigation results in nearreal time and received reports of

earthquake effects from the local

community. By November 13, seven

aftershocks were recorded; the largest

had a magnitude of 2.3.

Hydrologic changes that possibly

were related to the Pymatuning

earthquake were reported by numerous residents of the Jamestown area.

The most serious change was the

reported loss of water in about 100

household-supply wells not far from

the epicenter. Other residents reported

newly flowing artesian wells, formation of new springs, and changes in

well-water quality (“black color and

sulfur odor”). A USGS ground-water

observation well in Greenville

recorded an abrupt 3-foot rise in the

water level shortly after the earthquake (fig. 2). The USGS, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Topographic and Geologic Survey (PAGS)

and Thiel College, is continuing to

investigate the Pymatuning earthquake and its effects on area hydrology.

Resources

The USGS provides up-to-date

science information regarding natural

resources in Pennsylvania. Current

investigations range from studies of

land use, human development, and

elk life history in support of elk herd

management by the Pennsylvania

Game Commission, to assessment of

untapped energy resources of the

Pittsburgh Coalbed. Recent studies of

water-quality effects associated with

coal mining illustrate the application

of multidisciplinary methods to

address resource management issues

that affect many Pennsylvanians.

Mitigating the Effects of Coal Mining

on Water Quality

Pennsylvania coal continues to be a

valuable energy resource for the

Nation. Drainage from thousands of

abandoned coal mines, however, has

contaminated more than 3,000 miles

of streams and associated ground

waters and is the most extensive

pollution problem affecting Pennsylvania’s water resources. Coal mine

drainage can contain toxic concentrations of acids, metals, and sediment.

Consequently, Pennsylvania loses

approximately $67 million in annual

revenue because fishing cannot be

supported in numerous streams

degraded by abandoned and acidic

mine drainage (AMD). Current

USGS efforts include multidisciplinary studies to identify and understand

0

0

2 MILES

2 KILOMETERS

1

1

USGS

observation

well

Epicenter

Aftershocks

Jamestown

Greenville

Pymatuning

 Reservoir Crooked

Creek

Shenango River

Little Shenango R.

Big Run

358

18

58

322

Figure 1. Location of the 1998

Pymatuning earthquake epicenter,

aftershocks, and USGS observation

well.

Figure 2. Water level in a USGS

observation well in Greenville before

and after the Pymatuning earthquake.

4

5 21 30 5 20

3

2

Water level, in feet below land surface 1

0

September

Water-level rise

in ground-water well

possibly related to

Pymatuning earthquake

Water level following

earthquake

October 1998

Water level prior to earthquake
science for a changing world

AMD problems, and to assist in

restoring streams affected by mine

drainage (fig. 3).

Restoration of Swatara Creek

Limestone AMD-treatment systems

were installed by the Schuylkill

County Conservation District and the

Swatara Creek Watershed Association, with technical assistance from

the USGS and the Pennsylvania

Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP). Streamflow and waterquality monitoring and annual

ecological surveys by USGS scientists indicate substantial improvements in water quality. In 1996, the

monitored stream reach was acidic,

and it did not contain fish, caddisflies,

or mayflies. In 1998, the reach was

not acidic, and it contained a native

brook trout, larvae of two species of

acid-intolerant caddisflies, and

several species of acid-tolerant

insects and crayfish.

Limestone Treatment Technology—

A Cooperative Effort

USGS scientists developed an improved limestone and carbon dioxide

treatment method to assist in stream

restoration. The USGS is working

with the National Park Service (NPS),

the Freshwater Institute, and PaDEP

to field test the technology at the

PaDEP Toby Creek mine drainage

treatment plant in Elk County. An

additional field test is under way at

the NPS Friendship Hill Historic Site

in Fayette County, where the effects

of treatment on stream biology are

being evaluated.

Remote Sensing of Mine Drainage using

Spectral Reflectance

The USGS is working with the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) and the Virginia Institute of

Marine Science to develop methods

to identify AMD-affected stream

segments. AMD from coal mines

typically produces iron-rich precipitates on streambeds. Handheld

spectrometer measurements indicate

that the characteristic yellow precipitates in acidic water have greater

reflectance than the characteristic red

precipitates in neutral water (fig. 4).

Spectral data from ground- and

aerially- mounted imagers and

corresponding water-quality and

streambed samples will be collected

in the Southern Anthracite Coalfield

in east-central Pennsylvania. The

data will be used to demonstrate the

aerial spectral reflectance technology

and to develop methods that will

enable interpretation of streamwater

pH and associated geochemistry.

Environment

Substantial efforts are being made in

Pennsylvania to improve ecosystem

health through pollution reduction

and land-use management. The

USGS provides high-quality data,

investigations, and research needed to

measure ecosystem improvement and

to evaluate the effectiveness of

alternative prevention, protection, and

restoration methods and policies.

Stream Ecosystems Rebound

A biological monitoring program was

established in 1969 to evaluate stream

quality in Chester County. Data

collection has continued uninterrupted as a cooperative effort of the

USGS, the Chester County Water

Resources Authority, and the Chester

County Board of Commissioners.

Each fall, organisms that live on the

bottom substrates of freshwater

habitats for at least part of their life

cycles are sampled by USGS scientists, along with stream water and

sediments.

Diversity of the biota improved at 37

of 40 monitoring sites (for example,

fig. 5). The diversity index is a

measure of ecosystem health on the

basis of the number and relative

proportions of different organisms.

Improving ecosystem health is partly

the result of the discontinued use of

certain organochlorine insecticides,

such as DDT. These improvements

1970 1980 1990 2000

0

1

2

3

4

Diversity Index

 Brandywine Creek

Few species

West Branch at

Many species

 Wawaset

East Branch near

 Downingtown 

Figure 5. Improved biological diversity

in Brandywine Creek, Chester County.

Figure 3. USGS scientist evaluating

water quality in an AMD-affected

stream.

Figure 4. Example of remotely sensed

yellow reflectance of acidic

discharges to a stream.

Road

Stream

Acidic

discharge
Pennsylvania

also may reflect agricultural “best

management practices” and removal

of agricultural lands from production,

which result in smaller pesticide and

sediment loads entering streams, and

control of point-source discharges,

primarily through upgrades in sewage

treatment plants.

Fish Health in Agricultural and Industrial

Areas

USGS scientists study the effects of

contaminants on fish (fig. 6). The

investigations range from the identification and control of contaminant

sources, to the environmental fate and

transport of contaminants, to the

pathology of acute and long-term

exposure of fish.

As part of the USGS National WaterQuality Assessment (NAWQA)

program, fish communities and

stream habitat were related to bedrock type. Factors in limestone

(carbonate bedrock) streams, such as

springs that discharge cool, stable-pH

water throughout the year, provide

favorable conditions for sensitive fish

such as trout. However, valuable

limestone farmland commonly is

cultivated to the edge of the streambank, leaving little or no riparian

vegetation, which leads to increased

temperature and sedimentation.

Although freestone (noncarbonate

bedrock) streams generally do not

have a supply of cool spring water,

riparian vegetation along the streambanks is favorable for fish habitat.

Fish populations were healthier in the

three freestone streams than in the

four limestone streams surveyed.

Poor fish health in limestone streams

appears to be caused more by the lack

of riparian vegetation than by excess

nutrients.

Excess Nutrients Reduced by

Sedimentation in Reservoirs...For Now

The USGS is one of many Federal,

State, and local agencies actively

involved in studies aimed at reducing

excess nutrients and sediments

delivered to Chesapeake Bay. The

Susquehanna River, which drains an

area of 27,510 square miles, contributes nearly 50 percent of the freshwater inflow to the bay in a year of

normal streamflow. It also transports

the greatest amount of nutrients from

all nontidal streams in the bay—an

estimated 66 percent of the nitrogen

load and 40 percent of the phosphorus

load. In 1987, the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania signed the Chesapeake

Bay Agreement, which calls for a 40-

percent reduction in controllable

nutrients delivered to the bay by the

year 2000.

Streamwater concentration trends for

the period 1985–96 were determined

for total nitrogen, nitrite plus nitrate,

total phosphorus, and total suspended

solids. The positive effects of nutrient-reduction strategies are clearly

evident in trends for total nitrogen

and total phosphorus and, to a lesser

extent, for total suspended solids.

Significant downward trends were

determined at 7 of the 8 total nitrogen

sites, at 35 of the 38 total phosphorus

sites, and at 6 of the 24 total suspended solids sites. Trends for nitrite

plus nitrate, however, were upward or

not statistically significant at 29 of

the 36 sites.

A reservoir system consisting of Lake

Clarke, Lake Aldred, and Conowingo

Reservoir is formed by three dams on

the Susquehanna River (fig. 7).

Currently, this system traps about 70,

40, and 2 percent of the sediment,

phosphorus, and nitrogen, respectively, that would otherwise be

transported to Chesapeake Bay. At the

current rate of sedimentation, however, the reservoir system is projected

to cease trapping nutrients and

sediments in 15–20 years. This

change would have a relatively minor

effect on nitrogen loads, but sediment

and phosphorus loads from the Susquehanna River Basin to Chesapeake

Bay are estimated to increase substantially in the absence of other

control measures.

Assessing the Extent of PCB

Contamination in the Environment

and Wildlife

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s)

are toxic chemicals that accumulate

in food chains and pose significant

risks to the health of wildlife and

humans. In partnership with the

Pennsylvania Game Commission,

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and

REDUCED

SEDIMENT

TO 

CHESAPEAKE

BAY

SEDIMENT

 FROM

 SUSQUEHANNA

 RIVER BASIN

Safe Harbor

Dam

Holtwood Dam

Conowingo Dam

Figure 7. Deposition of sediment

behind dams in the Susquehanna

River basin is projected to continue to

reduce nutrient loads to Chesapeake

Bay for only 15–20 more years.

Figure 6. Fish trapped for use in

analyses of bioaccumulation of

metals, pesticides, and other

contaminants.
Printed on recycled paper

USGS office locations USGS State Representative

840 Market Street

Lemoyne, PA 17043-1584

(717) 730-6900

FAX (717) 730-6997

USGS Home Page

http://www.usgs.gov

Reports and products

1-888-ASK-USGS

NPS, the USGS is developing

methods of testing for the effects of

PCB contamination in terrestrial

ecosystems. Biomarkers are being

developed and field tested to trace the

movement of PCB’s from the environment into wildlife.

Information Management

The USGS has a major responsibility

to provide earth-science information

to the public and to government

agencies. Rapid changes in information technology are reflected in

improved systems to locate, transmit,

and use high-quality data ranging

from photographic, geologic, and

topographic maps, to near-real-time

streamflow on the Web, to streamchannel-stability data for more than

16,000 bridges over water in Pennsylvania. The USGS and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have had a

long and successful history of cooperatively funding geospatial data

production. As a result of recent

cooperative efforts, the statewide

coverage of black-and-white digital

orthophoto quadrangles soon will be

completed; a complete update of

statewide, black-and-white aerial

photographic coverage, under the

National Aerial Photographic Program, is scheduled to be completed in

year 2000; and efforts will continue

to revise the State’s popular 7.5-

minute USGS topographic maps and

the digital raster graphics. These

technological developments are

coordinated with local informationtransfer efforts, such as the Earth

Science Information Center in

Harrisburg, which is operated in

cooperation with PAGS.

The USGS implemented the Urban

Dynamics Program to study the

effects of urbanization on the environment. One study area is the

Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton

metropolitan corridor. USGS scientists converted the rich collection of

topographic maps of the area, dating

from 1940 to 1990, to digital form,

creating a database of land-use

change and other physiographic

information. Digital visualizations

display urban growth over time (fig.

8) in geographical context. These and

other results are intended to help

scientists and planners understand the

effects of historical and future urban

growth on regions surrounding major

metropolitan areas.

Figure 8. A USGS land-use-change database can be visualized as a sequence of

maps. These two maps show the spread of urbanized areas (red) in the

Philadelphia region from 1940 to 1990.

1940

Philadelphia

1990

Delaware River

The USGS has 159

employees in Pennsylvania

Milford

Lemoyne

Malvern

Wellsboro

Williamsport

State College Pittsburgh