SUTRA model used to evaluate the role of uplift and erosion in the persistence of saline groundwater in the shallow subsurface

A modified version of the three-dimensional, variable-density solute-transport model (SUTRA) was developed to simulate the effects of erosion and uplift on the flushing of brine with meteoric water in Permian through Mississippian rocks of the Appalachian Plateaus. The model was run in 10-Ma transient simulations for a range of values of permeability and anisotropy. Model results indicate that the depth of shallow Paleozoic brine in the Appalachian Plateaus is controlled by the flushing rate of brine and the uplift/erosion rate. Knowledge concerning the erosion rate and the depth of brine can allow estimation of the effective regional permeability of the sedimentary rock. This USGS data release contains all of the input and output files for the simulations described in the associated model documentation report (https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL072980). This data release also includes (1) the modified SUTRA (v2.2) source code, and (2) ancillary files used to create the model mesh with Argus ONE, export model input files with MODELMUSE, and a summary of model results in EXCEL spreadsheets.

Data and Resources

Field Value
accessLevel public
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datagov_dedupe_retained 20220725150959
identifier USGS:648c48af-a783-4919-b0b9-e850013ed843
metadata_type geospatial
modified 20201117
old-spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-80.86, 39.33], [-80.86, 40.01], [ -79.60, 40.01], [ -79.60, 39.33], [-80.86, 39.33]]]}
publisher U.S. Geological Survey
publisher_hierarchy Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash b866c3e0427238323f93e3ac68aa822e81b48e99
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-80.86, 39.33], [-80.86, 40.01], [ -79.60, 40.01], [ -79.60, 39.33], [-80.86, 39.33]]]}
theme {geospatial}
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • amerigeo
  • amerigeoss
  • appalachian-plateaus
  • ckan
  • environment
  • geo
  • geoscientificinformation
  • geoss
  • groundwater
  • groundwater-model
  • inlandwaters
  • national
  • north-america
  • permian-through-mississippian-aquifers
  • saline-water-and-brine
  • sutra
  • transport-model
  • united-states
  • usgs-648c48af-a783-4919-b0b9-e850013ed843
  • usgsgroundwatermodel
isopen False
license_id notspecified
license_title License not specified
maintainer Kurt McCoy
maintainer_email kjmccoy@usgs.gov
metadata_created 2025-11-21T20:04:55.728423
metadata_modified 2025-11-21T20:04:55.728427
notes A modified version of the three-dimensional, variable-density solute-transport model (SUTRA) was developed to simulate the effects of erosion and uplift on the flushing of brine with meteoric water in Permian through Mississippian rocks of the Appalachian Plateaus. The model was run in 10-Ma transient simulations for a range of values of permeability and anisotropy. Model results indicate that the depth of shallow Paleozoic brine in the Appalachian Plateaus is controlled by the flushing rate of brine and the uplift/erosion rate. Knowledge concerning the erosion rate and the depth of brine can allow estimation of the effective regional permeability of the sedimentary rock. This USGS data release contains all of the input and output files for the simulations described in the associated model documentation report (https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL072980). This data release also includes (1) the modified SUTRA (v2.2) source code, and (2) ancillary files used to create the model mesh with Argus ONE, export model input files with MODELMUSE, and a summary of model results in EXCEL spreadsheets.
num_resources 2
num_tags 20
title SUTRA model used to evaluate the role of uplift and erosion in the persistence of saline groundwater in the shallow subsurface