U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet 044-99December 1999

TennesseeStudies in the Great SmokyMountains National Park

The Great Smoky Mountains Na-tional Park encompasses the lastremaining large mountain wildernessin the Eastern United States andprovides an unparalleled diversity ofhabitats ranging from the spruce-firforests of mountain peaks to lime-stone caves in historic Cades Cove.To assist management of this biologi-cal treasure, the U.S. GeologicalSurvey (USGS), in cooperation withthe National Park Service (NPS), isconducting several projects andstudies within the park.

One of these studies will provide anew, detailed geologic data base.Specific issues addressed by thisstudy include the identification ofhazardous debris flows and areassusceptible to landslides, the distribu-tion of iron- and sulfide-rich slatesthat can acidify streams and kill fish,the geologic setting of abandonedcopper mines which may produceacid-mine drainage, and the locationand characterization of boulderdeposits that provide habitat for rareand endangered species. Geologicinformation developed by the projectmay be used by the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture to produce new, moredetailed soils maps of the park and bythe NPS to provide an integrated setof outreach products for park visitors,including publications, exhibits, andmuseum specimens.

The USGS and NPS are assessingwater-quality conditions and ecosys-tem functions in the park. Many ofthe older, high-elevation forestecosystems in the park are experienc-

ing nitrogen saturation, which occurswhen the amount of nitrogen enteringthe ecosystem exceeds the amounttaken up by the vegetation and soilmicrobes. The excess nitrogen canlead to soil acidification and in-creased nitrate concentrations andloads in the surrounding streams.Noland Creek, which drains one ofthe higher-elevation watersheds of thepark where relatively high nitrateconcentrations have been detected,has been selected for a long-termstudy of the effects of atmosphericdeposition on streamwater chemistry.Weekly water-quality sampling andmonthly aquatic insect monitoring arebeing conducted at the park by theNPS. The USGS is assisting withstormwater monitoring to assesswater-quality conditions duringstorms and to quantify the effectsassociated with storms on the aquaticchemistry and biota of Noland Creek.

In addition to the acidificationassociated with atmosphericallyderived nitrates, some of the park’sstreams are affected by acidic miner-als, such as pyrite (fool’s gold) andpyrrhotite, which occur naturally insome bedrock formations. Distur-bance of these formations by land-slides and road construction increasesthe acid-producing capabilities ofthese rocks and can lead to increasedstream acidification and damage tonative trout populations. USGSstudies of the geology of landslidedebris flows and the geochemistry ofthe resulting drainage provide infor-mation on the chemical compositionof the drainage and information onthe effects on aquatic ecosystems.These data are being used to developmodels to describe the changes in

water chemistry resulting fromlandslides, particularly as related topossible water-quality effects onnative brook trout.

The park is home to 41 species ofamphibians, including the mostdiverse variety of salamander speciesin the United States. To help the NPSkeep track of amphibian species, theUSGS has set up a prototype monitor-ing and inventory project in the park.The methods developed during the 3-year study will provide scientifically-based guidelines for documentingamphibian population trends, whichare declining in many areas through-out the world, including nationalparks.

Mussel Habitat Studies in EastTennessee

Of the approximately 500 species thatcompose the entire freshwater musselfauna of the world, 130 species havebeen found in Tennessee. Of thespecies that are native to Tennessee,11 are presumed extinct, and 38others are listed as endangered by theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.Moreover, populations of many of the

Figure 1. The Great Smoky MountainsNational Park.

science for a changing world

remaining species are declining, and,if present trends continue, they couldalso become candidates for listing asendangered or threatened.

Much of the formerly prime musselhabitat, especially in the Tennesseeand Cumberland River basins, wasdestroyed by the construction andoperation of dams. For example,reservoir releases from Douglas Damon the French Broad River in EastTennessee resulted in severe oxygendepletion downstream and are largelyresponsible for the almost totaldestruction of mussels and many fishspecies. Recently, the TennesseeValley Authority (TVA) began amajor program to improve the waterquality of reservoir releases, whichhas resulted in great improvements inhabitat below Douglas Dam. Fishpopulations have significantlyincreased, and the quality of water inthis area again appears to be suitablefor sustaining mussel populations,including endangered species.

The USGS, in cooperation with theTVA, the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService, and the Tennessee WildlifeResources Agency, has begun anambitious program to reestablishmussels in the French Broad River.During fiscal year 1998, more than7,000 adult mussels were relocated tothe river and, although this is anongoing multi-year study, survival ofrelocated mussels has been excellent.These results indicate that the decline

of Tennessee’s mussel fauna might bereversed, reducing the likelihood ofadditional species being listed asendangered.

Dynamics of a Fish Community ina Tennessee Reservoir

Beginning in 1991, USGS researchersfrom the Tennessee CooperativeFishery Research Unit at TennesseeTechnological University studied fishcommunity response to water-levelchanges and habitat enhancements inTVA’s Normandy Reservoir. Manipu-lation of habitat and water levels arebelieved by scientists to be the twomost important tools available tobiologists for the conservation offreshwater fish populations, particu-larly in reservoirs of the southeasternUnited States. The results of thisresearch clearly demonstrated thatmaintaining high water levels duringspring spawning seasons is beneficialfor forage and sport fish communi-ties. Habitat enhancement, however,was of little benefit in increasingreproduction and survival rates ofeconomically important species.

Earthquake-Hazard Maps for theMemphis Urban Area

The Memphis metropolitan area isone of three sites in the Nationchosen by the USGS for urbanearthquake-hazards mapping. Prod-ucts of the study will include surfacegeology maps, a data base of subsur-face geology, ground-failure suscepti-bility maps, and ground-motionmaps. Although the USGS hasproduced a national-scale earthquake-hazards map, it is of limited use on alocal scale and does not considerlocal geologic and soil conditions.The more detailed maps resultingfrom this study, developed fromseismic interpretations and geophysi-cal and lithological logs of wells, will

be more useful to emergency re-sponse planners, the insuranceindustry, and urban planners andengineers. Organizations cooperatingwith the USGS in this effort includethe Mid-America Earthquake Center(a National Science Foundation-funded consortium of universitiesincluding the University of Memphis,the University of Illinois, Saint LouisUniversity, Georgia Institute ofTechnology, and the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology), the Univer-sity of Kentucky, and the GroundWater Institute at the University ofMemphis.

Appalachian Region CoalAssessment

About 60 percent of the Nation’selectricity is generated from coal, andthe Appalachian Basin is the largestproducer of coal in the United States.Although Tennessee’s coal productionhas declined over the last severaldecades, about 3,700,000 tons of coalcontinue to be produced annually.The USGS, in cooperation with theTennessee Division of Geology(TDG), has been revising coal-resource maps and resource estimatesfor selected areas in the Tennesseecoal field. As stratigraphic and coal-quality data are verified, they areentered into the USGS National CoalResources Data System for furtherinterpretation. The ultimate goal is topublish timely coal-resource esti-mates that can be updated regularly asneeded for Tennessee’s 20 coal-bearing counties.

In 1992, the TDG, under the auspicesof the USGS Coal Availability/Recoverability Studies project,initiated a study to collect, analyze,and depict data defining the relationbetween mining restrictions anddevelopment potential for coalresource areas. The ultimate goal ofthat study is to determine the eco-

Figure 2. A pocketbook mussel(Lampsilis ovata) in the upperTennessee River Basin.

Tennessee

nomic potential for coal recovery inthe study area. The recoverableamounts are expected to be less than10 percent of the original resource,based on similar studies in Kentucky.

The USGS, in cooperation with theTDG, the University of Tennessee,and the Oak Ridge National Labora-tory, is engaged also in a study ofdeep hydrocarbon resources of theregion. The study is designed todefine lower Paleozoic petroleumsystems in the central AppalachianBasin in eastern Tennessee andadjacent States, in support of explora-tion and to improve capabilities forthe assessment of the Nation’sundiscovered oil and gas resources.

Collection of Hydrologic Data

The USGS, in cooperation withnumerous Federal, State, and localagencies, collects hydrologic data tomeet the needs of many users. Thesedata document current conditions andprovide a basis for understandinghydrologic systems and solvinghydrologic problems. In Tennessee,the USGS records streamflow con-tinuously at 61 gaging stationsequipped with recorders and makesinstantaneous measurements ofstreamflow at many other stations.Ground-water levels are monitoredstatewide, and the physical, chemical,and biological characteristics ofsurface and ground waters are ana-lyzed. USGS activities also includethe annual compilation of water-userecords and collection of data fornational baseline and water-qualitynetworks, and the national atmo-spheric-deposition program.

USGS data are applied by Federal,State, and local government agenciesand water managers to manage theState’s water resources. For example,satellite-transmitted data describingcurrent river conditions are used by

the Corps of Engineers and the TVAto control the reservoir systems on theTennessee and the CumberlandRivers in response to floods anddroughts and to determine the appro-priate times for waste disposal bycities and towns along the State’srivers. Long-term data—going backin time for more than 100 years—areused routinely to manage river flood-

plain development, to determineflood-insurance rates and trends inwater availability and quality, toproject and plan for future waterdemand, and to conduct interpretivestudies of water-related problems thatmay affect many thousands of people.

Statewide Water-Use InformationProgram

The USGS Tennessee Water-UseInformation Program is conducted incooperation with the TennesseeDepartment of Environment andConservation, Division of WaterSupply. The need for detailed water-use information for Tennessee hasbecome increasingly important ascompeting demands on local surface-and ground-water resources continueto increase. Detailed accounting ofthe rate at which water resources arebeing used and the location where thedemands are greatest is needed todevelop management strategies toensure both sufficient water supplyand adequate water quality. A state-

wide survey of water use for 1995was conducted during 1996 as part ofa long-term program in which asurvey is completed every 5 years toestimate water use in the UnitedStates. Ground- and surface-waterwithdrawals and ancillary data werecollected for the major water-usecategories of thermoelectric power,agriculture (including irrigation),domestic and commercial purposes,industry and mining, and public useand conveyance losses. Data werecompiled at the county, watershed,and aquifer level.

Chlorinated Solvents in KarstRegions

The USGS, in cooperation with theTennessee Division of Superfund, isinvestigating the occurrence, trans-port, and fate of chlorinated solventsin the karst areas of Tennessee.Chlorinated solvents have been usedin many industrial operations andhave proved to be persistent, mobilecontaminants that can be difficult toremove from ground-water systems.Throughout Middle and East Tennes-see, karst aquifers serve as significantsources of water for domestic andpublic supplies. Chlorinated solventsin karst aquifers can migrate toconsiderable depth as dense nonaque-ous-phase liquids (DNAPL’s), whichcan accumulate and act as a source ofdissolved-phase contaminants inground water. Because of theseproperties, relatively small amountsof chlorinated DNAPL have thepotential to contaminate ground waterover a large area for decades orlonger. This joint investigation hasdeveloped conceptual models todescribe contaminant movement andaccumulation in karst aquifers toassist in site characterization and theevaluation of clean-up alternatives.Scientists are evaluating natural andenhanced bioremediation of chlori-nated solvents at selected karst sites

Figure 3. Data collection in the lowerTennessee River Basin.

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USGS State RepresentativeUSGS office locations640 Grassmere Park Drive, Suite 100Nashville, TN 37211(615) 837-4700FAX (615) 837-4799USGS Home Pagehttp://www.usgs.govReports and products1-888-ASK-USGS

in Tennessee and assessing varioussoil-gas and surface geophysicalmethods to characterize distributionsof volatile organics at contaminantsites in karst aquifers.

The Multi-Resolution LandCharacterization Program

The Multi-Resolution Land Charac-terization (MRLC) is a nationalUSGS program that collects baselineland characterization data at variousscales. MRLC land classifications arederived by applying a generalizedAnderson system to mosaics ofLandsat thematic mapper imagescollected every 5 years. The USGShas used the Anderson classificationsystem to classify land use and landcover for the past 25 years. Theresulting data and images, which areavailable to the public, are usedprimarily by the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency to monitor changein land cover and inferred land use.Preliminary coverage of the State ofTennessee was completed by theUSGS under this program in 1998.

Aerial Photography Flown, DigitalOrthophoto Quadrangles inProduction

During the spring 1998 leaf-offseason, the National Aerial Photogra-phy Program acquired black-and-white aerial photographs of Tennes-see. The entire State now has DigitalOrthophoto Quad (DOQ) coverage,or is planned for DOQ coverage.

The USGS, in cooperation with theFarm Services Agency of the NaturalResources Conservation Service, isproducing DOQ’s for selectedcoverages. A delivery schedule for theDOQ’s to be publicly available hasbeen established. Status informationconcerning availability of the DOQ’s

can be found on the USGS WorldWide Web site: http://mapping.usgs.gov/www/products/status.html

National Water-QualityAssessment Program

The National Water-Quality Assess-ment Program was established todescribe the status of and trends inthe quality of a large, representativepart of the Nation’s surface andground waters and to identify thenatural and human factors that affectthe quality of these resources. Infor-mation produced is used by policy-makers and managers at local, State,and national levels for makingdecisions and managing the quality ofmuch of the water resources of thiscountry.

The national assessment consists of59 study units that encompass parts of

Figure 4. National Water-QualityAssessment Program study units thatinclude Tennessee.

MOILL IND

KY

OHIO

WVA

VA

NC

SC

GA

TENN

ALAMISS

ARK

Mississippi Embayment

EXPLANATION

Lower Tennessee River Basin

Upper Tennessee River Basin

Mobile River Basin

most major river basins and aquifersystems in the Nation. Four of thestudy units include regions in Tennes-see—the upper Tennessee RiverBasin, the lower Tennessee RiverBasin, the Mississippi Embayment,and the Mobile River Basin.

The USGS has 69employees in Tennessee

KnoxvilleMemphis

CookevilleNashville