The goal of this research is to characterize petrologic and structural controls on groundwater occurrence and flow from saprolite and transitional material downward into fractured bedrock of the Piedmont.
Research includes laboratory analysis of permeability and comparison with petrologic properties.
Thesis research by graduate student Crystal Taylor involves analyzing cores obtained by the U.S. Geological Survey from a contaminated site in the Georgia Piedmont. The laboratory measurements, which are being done in the Department of Geological Sciences at Clemson, include porosity and capillary pressure as well as permeability. Structural controls on water supply in the Piedmont are being investigated by Cameron Warlick, who is working on field-mapping of Glassy Mountain for his Master's thesis. Glassy Mountain is located north of Greenville, South Carolina, and is the site of a major, new residential development. This investigation is being performed in collaboration with the South Carolina Geological Survey and has been funded by the Blue Ridge Rural Water Company.