Item talk:Q71143

Approximate potentiometric surface of the bedrock aquifer at Great Bay, southeastern New Hampshire, 2001

Ground-water elevations (heads) in 265 wells were used to map the potentiometric-head surface in the fractured-bedrock aquifer adjacent to Great Bay, N.H. Remotely sensed data, spring-water temperatures and specific conductances, land-surface elevations, and simulated heads were also used to guide construction of the potentiometric surface. Heads in the bedrock aquifer locally varied more than 20 ft (feet) between adjacent wells as little as 200 ft apart. The depth to water below land surface was greater on the western and northwestern sides of the bay (about 20 ft) than on the southern and eastern sides (about 8 ft). Topography has a greater effect on heads than does temporal variation or measurement accuracy. Head gradients are steeper at the southern side of Great Bay, where the topographic relief is greatest, than at the northwestern and northeastern sides.