Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP): Surface Confining Layer & Connectivity

Electrical resistivity results from two regional airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys (Minsley et al. 2021, and Burton et al. 2021) over the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) were combined by the U.S. Geological Survey to produce three-dimensional (3D) gridded models and derivative hydrogeologic products. The 3D elevation grid was used to quantify across the MAP region 1) the occurrence and thickness of surficial (< 15 meter (m) depth) confining material, 2) the top and bottom elevation corresponding to the surficial confining material, and 3) a metric representing the degree of surface confinement or connectivity that ranges from fully confining conditions to high potential hydrologic connectivity. These products were generated using the facies classifications of the 3D electrical resistivity model. See child item “Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP): Electrical Resistivity & Facies Classification Grids” for more details on the facies classes: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/5f03a7bc82ce0afb2446e11f. The final surfaces and hydrogeologic metrics were exported as raster images in Georeferenced Tagged Image File Format (GeoTIFF) format. Burton, B.L., Minsley, B.J., Bloss, B.R., and Kress, W.H., 2021, Airborne electromagnetic, magnetic, and radiometric survey of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, November 2018 - February 2019: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9XBBBUU. Minsley, B.J., James, S.R., Bedrosian, P.A., Pace, M.D., Hoogenboom, B.E., and Burton, B.L., 2021, Airborne electromagnetic, magnetic, and radiometric survey of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, November 2019 - March 2020: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9E44CTQ.