--> Abstract: Dendrochronologic Record of 100 Years of Solution Brine Mining within the Tully Valley in Central New York, by W. M. Kappel and T. M. Yanosky; #90954 (1995).

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Abstract: Dendrochronologic Record of 100 Years of Solution Brine Mining within the Tully Valley in Central New York

William M. Kappel, Thomas M. Yanosky

The discovery of salt beds 1,200 feet below land surface at the southern end of the Tully Valley led to the development of a solution brine-mining field in 1888. More than 90 million metric tons of salt was removed from this field through 1988. Land-surface subsidence due to salt removal ranged from 5 feet to more than 50 feet in some areas overlying the brine field. Artesian-pressured mudboils that discharge water and fine-grained sediment in the central part of the Tully Valley were first reported in 1899, about 4 miles north of the brine field. The quality of water discharged from the mudboils changed from all fresh water to a mix of fresh and brackish water in the late 1970's.

Historical records from the brine field note that, around the turn of the 20th century, "excessive" amounts of freshwater were used to lift the dense brine from the salt wells; from 40 to 60 percent of the injected water was lost to bedrock and (or) unconsolidated glacial aquifers. In the 1960's, brine-mining operations changed from injecting freshwater to pumping just the brine from the salt zones. This practice continued until the brine field closed in the late 1980's.

Major hydrologic changes related to solution-brine-mining activities apparently are reflected in radial-growth rates (tree-ring widths) of white pines in a small wet-land north of the mudboils. Trees established before the onset of freshwater injection to the salt zones formed extremely narrow rings from about 1890 to 1960, after which ring widths increased abruptly. Trees established after 1890 also formed extremely narrow rings until about 1960. Pre-1960 radial growth seemingly was surpressed by root flooding from increased water discharge to the wetland, whereas increased growth resulted from the development of a more mesic hydrologic regime after cessation of injection. Thus, the radial growth of trees appears to document the major hydrologic effects of brine-field operations on t e ground-water-flow regime within the Tully Valley.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90954©1995 AAPG Eastern Section, Schenectady, New York