Daniel J. Phelan, Hydrologist

Education

Education

B.S.

Towson State University (1977), Geography

Experience

• Hydrologist, USGS, Baltimore, MD, 1990-present
• Hydrologist, USGS, Dover DE, 1985-1990
• Hydrologist, USGS, Towson, MD 1980-85
• Hydrologic technician, USGS, Towson, MD, 1977-80
• Technician, Maryland Geological Survey, July-Dec 1977

Project Experience in: Borehole geophysics, Well drilling, Hydrogeologic assessments, Collecting continuous lithologic cores, Contaminant hydrology, Real-time river water-quality monitoring

Research or professional focus / current projects:

Currently project chief of a study of the occurance of organic wastewater compounds in Rock Creek Park, Washington D.C., and in other National Parks in the National Capitol Parks Region.

Currently the Team Leader of the Water-Quality Monitoring and Modeling Team of the Maryland-Delaware-D.C., Water Science Center. Duties involve coordinating investigations of multiple water-quality monitoring projects, including the operation of real-time river water-quality monitoring stations Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C.

Currently working with other hydrologists on a report describing the design and performance of a reactive biomat that was placed on a contaminated ground-water seep at Aberdeen Proving Ground to passively treat the effluent.

Sediment coring and ground-water profiling in a tidal marsh, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
A unique vibracore drill rig mounted on a hovercraft called the USGS Hoverprobe was used for drilling and ground-water sampling. Continuous cores of the wetland sediment and of the Canal Creek aquifer were collected at five sites. Ground-water sampling attempts were made by use of a continuous profiler at 12 sites, without well installation, at a total of 81 depths within the aquifer. This was the first use of the hoverprobe at a hazardous-waste site, or at a site where unexploded ordnance is a potential hazard. This successful completion of this project showed that with proper precautions, the hoverprobe drilling and ground-water-quality profiling could be carried out safely at hazardous-waste sites, and sites with unexploded ordnance.

Selected Publications

Majcher , E.H., Phelan, D.J., Lorah, M.M., and Angela L. McGinty, Characterization of Preferential Ground-Water Seepage From a Chlorinated Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Aquifer to West Branch Canal Creek, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, 2002-04; U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5233, 204p.

Phelan, D.J., Olsen, L.D., Senus, M.P., and Spencer, T.A., Assessment of volatile organic compounds in surface water at Canal Creek, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, November 1999-September 2000; U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 01-292, 49 p.

Phelan, D.J., Senus, M.P., and Olsen, L.D., 2000, Lithologic and ground-water-quality data using hoverprobe drilling techniques at the West Branch Canal Creek Wetland, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, April-May 2000: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report, 00-446, 43 p.

Beman, J.E., Phelan, D.J., Dysart, J.E., Cashel, M.L., and Smith, V.C., 1999, Hydrogeologic and water-quality data for the east management unit of Dover Air Force Base, Kent County, Delaware, 1995-96: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 99-253, 95 p.

Phelan, D.J., Olsen, L.D., Cashel, M.L., Tegeler, J.L., and Marchand, E.H., 1998, Assessment of Soil, surface-water, and ground-water contamination at selected sites at J-Field, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 98-4037, 76 p.