Basin Analysis Applied to Modelling Buried Valleys in the Great Lakes Basin

Basin analysis and regional hydrogeology. Basin analysis involves the examination of geological attributes throughout a basin that then permits interpretations of the architecture, fill, formation, and evolution of a sedimentary basin. Understanding the geological history of a basin improves where data collection, synthesis and analysis occurs at local and regional scales. Basin analysis thus provides a foundation to develop an accurate basin model. The model can be used to improve the extrapolation of knowledge from data-rich to data-poor areas in order to predict the nature of the basin fill. The value of this approach has been thoroughly demonstrated in the exploration for and the assessment of energy and mineral resources. Broader application of basin analysis to problems of aquifer delineation and characterization could likely improve the ability to understand groundwater systems.