Geological Research at the IGS
Investigation of groundwater in abandoned underground coal mines
| Status | Start Date | End Date | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| active | Jan 26, 2009 | Dec 31, 2011 |
Gibson, Greene, Knox, Parke, Pike, Posey, Sullivan, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Vigo, Warrick, Clay, Daviess, Fountain |
| Director: | Denver Harper |
| Other Researchers: | Tracy Branam, Greg Olyphant, |
| Funding: |
Indiana Geological Survey |
| Issue: | More than 190,000 acres of Indiana are underlain by abandoned underground coal mines. Many of these mines are flooded, representing a high-yield aquifer that may contain as much as 170 billion gallons of water. Although this aquifer is potentially of significant value for a variety of purposes, little is known about the quality of water within it, the mechanisms of its recharge, the hydrodynamics of individual mine pools, and the mechanisms of its discharge. |
| Objective: | Increase public awareness and interest in the potential use of underground mine waters as a geothermal resource, a groundwater resource, and a mine-reclamation resource. |
| Approach: | This investigation involves a literature search, data mining and organization, development of a water-chemistry database, development of GIS layers and associated metadata, and development and dissemination of articles and presentations. |
| Products: | Products will include an IGS publication in the Occasional Paper or Special Report series, an IGS Web page, an article for GeoNews, and possibly a paper in a conference proceedings. |
| Benefits: | The information that is compiled should be useful in efforts to manage and remediate the coal-mine aquifer of Indiana. |