Introduction
The composition of an environment’s bedrock is important to understanding how an ecosystem originated and how it has changed over time. The bedrock geology of Madison Borough can tell us a lot about the history of this area, as well as how many important environmental cycles are carried out. Another important factor that can provide some geologic history in a region is the amount of glacial sediment present in an environment.
When thinking in terms of equity with regard to bedrock, it is hard to know for sure what was done to the bedrock in this location over time. However, it is fair to assume that people, historically, would have been more likely to situate things like wells in areas that were easier to access and maintain a steady supply of water (Nature Communications).
Data
The surveying of bedrock geology and glacial sediments is usually carried out in order to better understand the geologic history of a region or the human impact on natural cycles present in an ecosystem. In the case of Madison Borough and all of New Jersey, surveying is often carried out by the NJDEP Division of Water Supply and Geoscience.
Figure 1: Madison Borough Bedrock and Glacial Sediment (2019,2002): The identification of the bedrock is shown by a light green strip on the upper right side of the map. the remaining colors indicate glacial sediment depth, (darker color = deeper sediment, with exception of 300-350 depth range)
Results
It can be seen from this map that Madison Borough consists of one primary category of general bedrock which contains siltstone, shale, sandstone and conglomerate.
In addition to this, we are able see that a large proportion of Madison Borough has a high level of deposited glacial sediment. This high level of glacial sediment can be attributed to the ending of the last Wisconsinan glacier being located near to Madison. On this map, we can see the variation of glacier sediment depth is delineated by color. These ranging from 0-49 (light tan/cream color) to the deepest being 300-350 (cream color). The 250-299 depth range (purple) is present at the deepest point and the 0-49 depth range at the shallowest.
Conclusion
When looking at the overall bedrock geology and glacial sediment of an environment, we can better understand of how an environment began. This understanding of how an environment began, can in turn help us better analyze our current environment and better plan for potential changes to it.
About the Data
This map utilizes both the Thickness of Glacial Sediments in New Jersey and the Bedrock Geology (Generalized) of New Jersey. The Thickness of Glacial Sediments in New Jersey layer was taken from a 1990 geological survey map and was simply is a representative layout of how sediment depth varies across the region. There is not other information provided by this layer besides what is depicted here.
The Bedrock Geology (Generalized) of New Jersey layer was created in 2019 using previous geological surveys that ranged from 1984-1993. This layer was not meant to be used for a scientific geological analysis.
