Date of Award
5-2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Hydrogeology
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. James W. Castle
Committee Member
Dr. C.W. Clendenin
Committee Member
Mr. Rex A. Hodges
Committee Member
Dr. Lawrence C. Murdoch
Committee Member
Dr. Richard D. Warner
Abstract
Lithologies and structures of the Inner Piedmont geological province were mapped in detail in the vicinity of a major, new residential development on Glassy Mountain, which is located north of Greenville, South Carolina, within the Saluda 7.5-minute quadrangle. Three principal lithostratigraphic units are recognized within the study area: the Henderson Gneiss, Upper Mill Spring unit, and Poor Mountain Formation. The contact between the Henderson Gneiss and the overlying Upper Mill Spring-Poor Mountain sequence is the Seneca Thrust. The contact between the Upper Mill Spring unit and the overlying Poor Mountain Formation is also a thrust fault. Fold vergence and thrust contacts indicate that the Poor Mountain-Upper Mill Spring sequence is overturned and non-conformable. Three periods of brittle faulting are recognized in The Cliffs at Glassy. The initial period is defined by pods of silicified cataclasite, whereas younger periods ofleft- and right-lateral brittle faulting are unsilicified.
The geologic relationships serve as a foundation for further investigation of the groundwater supply for The Cliffs at Glassy. A pumping test conducted in the community's main well field indicates a strong influence on well performance from surficial water, storage in saprolite, and silicified and unsilicified faults proximal to the well field. The well test data are analyzed using published analytical solutions, which were modified to account for hydrogeologic conditions. An analytical model was constructed to model the effects of nearby surface water on drawdown within the aquifer system. The field area's residence within the Marietta-Tryon Graben imprints a common orientation upon brittle faults and fractures within the study area. The results of detailed structural mapping conducted within The Cliffs at Glassy was used to infer anisotropic conditions within the aquifer system, and the analytical solutions were modified to account for these effects on the aquifer system as a whole. Another analytical model used is able to account for contributions to the aquifer system from storage in the saprolite. The results of the analyses suggest anisotropic conditions within the well field, as well as ground water contributions from storage in saprolite.
Recommended Citation
Warlick, Cameron M., "Structural Geology and Aquifer Characterization of Glassy Mountain, South Carolina Piedmont" (2004). All Dissertations. 2832.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2832