> Welcome to the Office of the Massachusetts State Geologist

    • Current Activities of the Office of the State Geologist

    Effective January, 2008

    Projects Listed in Chronological Order

    *** NEW ***

    1. FY2008 STATEMAP Project. This project will complete the bedrock and fracture characterization maps for the Westford quadrangle. It will support one research fellow for a year.
    2. Data Preservation Project. Project will involve conducting an inventory of all state agencies that retain rock cores, soil samples, geophysical logs, well logs and any other information related to the subsurface environment and report the results to the U.S. Geological Survey. Supports one outside contractor.

    On-Going Work

    1. MADEP Nashoba Groundwater Study. The work will entail continued fracture characterization mapping and groundwater modeling. The project will support 1 graduate RA for 1.5 years, a graduate student hourly, one mapping contractor and two field assistants.
    2. FY2007 STATEMAP Project. This project will produce bedrock and fracture characterization maps for a portion of the Westford and Blackstone quadrangles and a bedrock map of the Orange quadrangle. It will support a mapping contractor and graduate RA.
    3. FY2006 STATEMAP Project. This project will produce bedrock geologic and fracture characterization maps of the Milford quadrangle and will digitize the published bedrock geologic maps of the Gloucester and Rockport quadrangles. It will support a mapping contractor, field assistant and graduate RA.
    4. FY2005 STATEMAP Project. The work entails preparation of a bedrock and fracture characterization map of the Ayer quadrangle. The project funded a graduate student RA for one year, two undergraduate summer field assistants and one mapping contractor. Preliminary maps were delivered to the USGS on April 14, 2006. Final compilation of the maps is underway.
    5. FEMA CTP Agreement. This is a cooperative agreement between UMass and FEMA. The work involves converting paper Flood Insurance Rate Maps to Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps for a portion of Hampden County.
    6. Section 104g Water Resources Research National Competitive Grants Program. The work involves studying the hydrogeology of the bedrock in the Nashoba Terrane and will involve close cooperation with the USGS. The project supports one Ph.D. student (Alex Manda) for three years. Work is continuing and expected to be completed in fall 2008.

    Completed Projects

    1. UMass – MMS Cooperative Agreement for Offshore Sand and Gravel Resource Assessment. The project examines sand and gravel resources off the north shore of Massachusetts. The project will involve collaboration with Duncan Fitzgerald at Boston University. Mark Leckie at Umass is PI and the State Geologist is co-PI. The project supported a post doc from July, 2006 to December 2006. Samples were collected on a cruise with the University of New Hampshire on September 6, 2005. Final report was submitted in November 2007.
    2. Surficial Map Digitizing Project 2. This project commenced October 14, 2005 and is funded by MassGIS. The project entails five tasks: 1) vectorizing and attributing for GIS applications 22 additional surficial geologic maps in MA, 2) developing a standardized soil and rock classification system for all water well drillers registered in Massachusetts, 3) designing, with MassGIS, a new online subsurface well data entry system for well completion reports submitted by water well drillers (we are removing the paper log submissions and replacing them with an online submission procedure), 4) conducting a series of 7 workshops across the state to train water well drillers how to use the new coding system for describing soil and rock materials in Massachusetts, and 5) developing Massachusetts first three dimensional geologic map of the Marlborough quadrangle to show legislators and other the advantages to preparing the next generation of maps for the Commonwealth. Work was completed in June 2006.
    3. West Charlemont Aquifer Study. Working with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments to better define the location of the West Charlemont Aquifer and write an aquifer protection overlay district bylaw. Project supports one graduate RA. Project was completed in June 2007.
    4. FY2004 STATEMAP Project. This work involves publication of bedrock geologic maps of the Wilmington, Reading, Lawrence, South Groveland, Hudson and Oxford quadrangles and a fracture characterization map of the Hudson quadrangle. Draft manuscripts of the maps were submitted on April 15, 2005. Funding supported a GIS specialist (graduate RA) half time during the 2004/2005 academic year, 2 mapping contractors and supported two undergraduate summer field assistants during the summer of 2004.
    5. Bishop and Clerk Rocks Project. This work involved rendering an opinion on the origin of the rocks at Bishop and Clerks shoal in Nantucket Sound off Cape Cod. This work was carried out in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Interior Minerals Management Service and the Massachusetts Highway Department. This work changed the position of the boundary between Massachusetts and federal waters. A field report was prepared and submitted in December 2005.
    6. Core Repository Advisory Committee. The MWRA maintains a high quality repository of cylindrical rock cores, thin sections, rock samples, photographs and driller’s logs for all their projects dating back to the 1895. Over 70,000 linear feet of core, most of which is irreplaceable, is maintained by the MWRA for the benefit of researchers and the public. The State Geologist Office established an advisory committee to assist the MWRA in locating a new storage facility. We were successful in convincing MWRA not to dispose of the core collection. A new home was found for the collection. This issue was the subject of a Boston Globe article on January 1, 2006.
    7. FY2003 STATEMAP Project. The work involved the preparation of bedrock, fracture characterization, surficial and surficial materials maps of the Marlborough quadrangle and the conversion of 10 published surficial geologic maps to digital products. These include the Norwood, Blue Hills, Brockton, Whitman, Hanover, Duxbury, Scituate, Taunton, Bridgewater and Assawompset Pond quadrangles. The maps have been reviewed and final compilation was completed in 2006.
    8. Surficial Map Digitizing Project. This project was completed on June 30, 2004 and was funded by MassGIS. It entailed vectorizing and attributing for GIS applications 63 published surficial geologic maps in MA.

    Professional and Outreach Activities as State Geologist

    Speaking engagements, public presentations and abstracts (in chronological order)


    Erving Elementary School, January 9, 2008.
    U.S. EPA/NGWA Fractured Rock Conference, Portland, Maine, September 24-26, 2007, 1 abstract published and presentation made.
    Geological Society of America, Northeastern Section, March 2007, 1 abstract published and presentation made.
    Massachusetts Water Resources Commission, January 11, 2007.
    Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, November 2006, 6 abstracts published, one presentation made.
    American Association for the Advancement of Science, October 12, 2006.
    GIS Days at the State House, November 16, 2006.
    Nashua River Watershed Association, November 15, 2006.
    MADEP Arsenic Meeting at Fort Devens, May 22, 2006.
    New Hampshire Geological Survey Mapping Workshop, June 26, 2006.
    New England Water Works Association, June 20, 2006.
    Training Seminars on the New Well Reporting Requirements for Massachusetts Well Drillers, March 11, March 24, March 25, April 8, April 22, April 29 and May 13, 2006. Trained over 340 well drillers on the new state reporting requirements and coding system for soil and rock descriptions.
    American Geophysical Union, December 2005, 1 abstract published.
    Geological Society of America, Salt Lake City, November 2005, 2 abstracts published.
    GIS Days at the State House, November 16, 2005.
    Massachusetts Groundwater Association, November 8, 2005
    U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, July 13, 2005.
    New Hampshire Geological Society Mapping Workshop, Concord, NH, June 9, 2005.
    Geological Society of America, Northeastern Section, March 2005, 1 abstract published.
    Boston College, January 21, 2005.
    GIS Days at the State House, November 17, 2004.
    Annual Water Resources Research Center Conference: Water Resources in the Northeast: Emerging Issues, October 21, 2004.
    New England Chapter of Geospatial Information & Technology Association, October 20, 2004.
    International Conference on Soils, Sediment and Water, Contaminated Soils Conference, October 17-19, 2004.
    Northeast-Southeast Sections of the Geological Society of America Meeting, Washington DC, March, 2004, 3 abstracts published.
    New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission, December 2, 2003.
    Geological Society of America, November 2003, 1 abstract published.
    New England Water Works Association, December 5, 2002.


    webpage last updated 4/1/2008
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