These data sets present results from the analyses of groundwater samples collected from monitoring wells and monitoring intervals in bedrock wells in the mudstone aquifer underlying the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, NJ. The water samples were collected between 2008 and 2013 and were analyzed for field parameters, inorganic and organic constituents, and the abundances of selected microbes of importance to the evaluation of biological degradation of organic contaminants in groundwater. The collection and analyses of the groundwater samples coincides with conducting a bioaugmentation experiment in a targeted region of the mudstone aquifer. The purpose of the bioaugmentation was to introduce and stimulate microbial species that are capable of degrading trichloroethene (TCE). The bioaugmentation experiment was initiated on October 15, 2008. Samples were collected in wells prior to the start of the experiment and for a period of 5 years after the experiment was initiated.

These datasets contain microbial community data from groundwater samples collected at an in situ bioremediation site located at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, NJ. DNA was extracted from groundwater samples collected from monitoring wells at the NAWC study site from July 2008 through July 2015 and analyzed for microbial community structure. Sample collection coincided with a groundwater bioremediation experiment investigating the microbial degradation of the contaminant trichloroethylene (TCE) prevalent in the targeted region of the aquifer. Nutrient addition and a microbial consortium, commercially developed to stimulate the degradation of TCE and TCE byproducts, was introduced to the contaminated groundwater on October 15, 2008. This data release contains microbial community data including taxonomy, alpha, and beta diversity from next-generation sequencing of the V4 region of 16S rRNA from groundwater samples collected during the 7-year observation period. A further discussion and interpretation of the data is presented by Jennifer C Underwood, Denise M Akob, Michelle Mi Lorah, Thomas E Imbrigiotta, Ronald W Harvey, Claire R Tiedeman, Microbial community response to a bioaugmentation test to degrade trichloroethylene in a fractured rock aquifer, Trenton, N.J, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Volume 98, Issue 7, July 2022, fiac077, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiac077.

These datasets contain microbial community data from groundwater samples collected at an in situ bioremediation site located at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, NJ. DNA was extracted from groundwater samples collected from monitoring wells at the NAWC study site from July 2008 through July 2015 and analyzed for microbial community structure. Sample collection coincided with a groundwater bioremediation experiment investigating the microbial degradation of the contaminant trichloroethylene (TCE) prevalent in the targeted region of the aquifer. Nutrient addition and a microbial consortium, commercially developed to stimulate the degradation of TCE and TCE byproducts, was introduced to the contaminated groundwater on October 15, 2008. This data release contains microbial community data including taxonomy, alpha, and beta diversity from next-generation sequencing of the V4 region of 16S rRNA from groundwater samples collected during the 7-year observation period. A further discussion and interpretation of the data is presented by Jennifer C Underwood, Denise M Akob, Michelle Mi Lorah, Thomas E Imbrigiotta, Ronald W Harvey, Claire R Tiedeman, Microbial community response to a bioaugmentation test to degrade trichloroethylene in a fractured rock aquifer, Trenton, N.J, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Volume 98, Issue 7, July 2022, fiac077, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiac077.

This data set presents results from two groundwater tracing experiments conducted in the mudstone aquifer underlying the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, NJ. In each test, a bromide solution was introduced into a hydraulically isolated section of borehole 36BR (denoted as 36BR-A); the hydraulically isolated section of the borehole isolated specific bedding plane parting fractures intersecting the borehole 36BR. In the first test, initiated in July 2007, water samples were collected from borehole 15BR; borehole 15BR is outfitted with a submersible pump operating continuously as part of the pump-and-treat operation at the NAWC to prevent off-site migration of groundwater contaminants. In the second tracer test, initiated in September 2008, groundwater samples were collected from a hydraulically isolated section of borehole 73BR (denoted as 73BR-D2); a peristaltic pump was used extract groundwater from the selected interval. In each test, the groundwater samples were analyzed for the concentration of bromide using ion chromatography.

This data set presents results from two groundwater tracing experiments conducted in the mudstone aquifer underlying the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), West Trenton, NJ. In each test, a bromide solution was introduced into a hydraulically isolated section of borehole 36BR (denoted as 36BR-A); the hydraulically isolated section of the borehole isolated specific bedding plane parting fractures intersecting the borehole 36BR. In the first test, initiated in July 2007, water samples were collected from borehole 15BR; borehole 15BR is outfitted with a submersible pump operating continuously as part of the pump-and-treat operation at the NAWC to prevent off-site migration of groundwater contaminants. In the second tracer test, initiated in September 2008, groundwater samples were collected from a hydraulically isolated section of borehole 73BR (denoted as 73BR-D2); a peristaltic pump was used extract groundwater from the selected interval. In each test, the groundwater samples were analyzed for the concentration of bromide using ion chromatography.

Sampling was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at four wells, one surface water site, and five soil sampling locations near and at the Ammonium Perchlorate Rocket Motor Destruction (ARMD) facility at the Letterkenny Army Depot. Analytical results for groundwater samples collected in 2021 are provided in “ARMD_wells_data_2021.xlsx”. Analytical results for surface-water samples collected in 2021 are provided in “ARMD_sw_data_2021.xlsx”. Analytical results for soil samples collected in 2021 are provided in “ARMD_soil_data_2021.xlsx”. The data files with analytical results also include quality assurance/quality control sample results.

Sampling was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at four wells, one surface water site, and five soil sampling locations near and at the Ammonium Perchlorate Rocket Motor Destruction (ARMD) facility at the Letterkenny Army Depot. Analytical results for groundwater samples collected in 2021 are provided in “ARMD_wells_data_2021.xlsx”. Analytical results for surface-water samples collected in 2021 are provided in “ARMD_sw_data_2021.xlsx”. Analytical results for soil samples collected in 2021 are provided in “ARMD_soil_data_2021.xlsx”. The data files with analytical results also include quality assurance/quality control sample results.

In 2015-2016, physicochemical properties and chemical characteristics of stream water, bed sediment, groundwater, and soil were determined in watersheds located outside of, but in proximity to, the Peason Ridge Training Area and Main Post at the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk boundaries to document background trace element concentrations. Water samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties, major inorganic ions, selected trace elements, and dissolved organic carbon. Selected trace elements included antimony, arsenic, cadmium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, and zinc. Stream bed-sediment and soil samples were analyzed for major inorganic ions, selected trace elements, and grain size distribution. Surface-water samples were collected near the downstream transect of each stream reach. Monitoring wells were located adjacent to the stream reach and in close proximity to the surface-water sampling sites. Bulk bed-sediment samples were collected during normal low-flow conditions. Each sample consisted of a composite sample from five locations (right edge, left edge, and center of a middle transect, then upstream and downstream of the middle transect) within each stream reach. Three soil samples, one from hilltops, one from side slopes, and one from riparian zones, were collected from areas adjacent to each stream reach. Each soil sample consisted of 5 to 10 grab samples collected by a 21-inch-long, 5/8-inch internal diameter stainless-steel hand auger and composited in Teflon lined pans. All samples were collected following USGS sampling protocols. This data release provides database and mapping information for assessment of trace element concentrations in stream water, bed sediment, groundwater, and soil found in relatively pristine and undisturbed watersheds in proximity to watersheds used for military training.

In 2015-2016, physicochemical properties and chemical characteristics of stream water, bed sediment, groundwater, and soil were determined in watersheds located outside of, but in proximity to, the Peason Ridge Training Area and Main Post at the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk boundaries to document background trace element concentrations. Water samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties, major inorganic ions, selected trace elements, and dissolved organic carbon. Selected trace elements included antimony, arsenic, cadmium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, and zinc. Stream bed-sediment and soil samples were analyzed for major inorganic ions, selected trace elements, and grain size distribution. Surface-water samples were collected near the downstream transect of each stream reach. Monitoring wells were located adjacent to the stream reach and in close proximity to the surface-water sampling sites. Bulk bed-sediment samples were collected during normal low-flow conditions. Each sample consisted of a composite sample from five locations (right edge, left edge, and center of a middle transect, then upstream and downstream of the middle transect) within each stream reach. Three soil samples, one from hilltops, one from side slopes, and one from riparian zones, were collected from areas adjacent to each stream reach. Each soil sample consisted of 5 to 10 grab samples collected by a 21-inch-long, 5/8-inch internal diameter stainless-steel hand auger and composited in Teflon lined pans. All samples were collected following USGS sampling protocols. This data release provides database and mapping information for assessment of trace element concentrations in stream water, bed sediment, groundwater, and soil found in relatively pristine and undisturbed watersheds in proximity to watersheds used for military training.

This data release documents four tables that contain data for assessing the susceptibility of groundwater using environmental tracers collected from public-supply wells located in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain (NACP) Aquifer System and Piedmont and Blue Ridge Crystalline-Rock Aquifers of Eastern United States. Results for two modeling support studies located within the NACP are also included. Table 1 provides the primary results of this study and it contains condensed results from dissolved gas modeling and calculated environmental tracer concentrations, as well as results of the tritium age classification, susceptibility index, the mean groundwater age, fraction of Modern water (water that was recharged after 1952), and detailed lumped parameter model calibration results of each sample in this study. Mean groundwater ages were determined by calibration of environmental tracers (tritium, tritiogenic helium-3, sulfur hexafluoride, carbon-14 and radiogenic helium-4) to lumped parameter models for 231 public-supply wells. Calibrated lumped parameter models provide the optimal mean age and mixing parameter(s) used to compute the distribution of ages that explain the measured tracer concentrations in a sample. Tables two, three, and four provide results in support of table 1. Table two reports detailed results for the calibration of dissolved gas models to neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and nitrogen. Calibrated dissolved gas models provide the optimal water temperature, excess air, entrapped air, fractionation of gases, and excess nitrogen gas (mainly from denitrification) that explain the measured dissolved gases in a sample. Table three reports measured concentrations and the detailed calculations of environmental tracer concentrations derived from the dissolved gas modeling results reported in table 2. The dry-air mixing ratio is the atmospheric concentration (assuming the water has a single age) at the time of gas-water equilibration and is calculated for transient atmospheric gas tracers such as sulfur hexafluoride and chlorofluorocarbons. Tritiogenic helium-3 is the concentration of helium-3 that resulted from the decay of tritium and radiogenic helium-4 is the amount of helium generated from the decay of uranium and thorium in aquifer sediments. Table 4 reports results of calculated carbon-14 corrections caused by dissolution of carbonate minerals in the soil and saturated zone. Calculated carbon-14 corrections can be determined from analytical models of carbonate dissolution or from inverse geochemical modeling of the evolution of groundwater chemistry of a sample. The corrected carbon-14 concentration can be compared directly to carbon-14 atmospheric records, otherwise, dilution of the atmospheric record was inferred from Modern groundwater sample with 2 or more environmental tracers. In addition to these four tables, two ancillary tables are included to provide more detailed information about the fields and the abbreviations used in tables one through four. Please see processing steps in the general metadata file for more detailed information about the methods used to create the tables.