Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of lithologic formations. Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. Soil, often typeset as SOiL, is a four piece rock band from Chicago Illinois United States founded by Shaun Glass Tom Schofield Tim King and Adam Zadel Porosity is a measure of the void spaces in a material and is measured as a fraction between 0–1 or as a Percentage between 0–100% A fracture is the (local separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. An aquifer is an underground layer of Water -bearing Permeable rock or unconsolidated materials ( Gravel, Sand, Silt, or Clay The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely saturated with water is called the water table. The water table is the level at which the ground water pressure is equal to Atmospheric pressure. Groundwater is recharged from, and eventually flows to, the surface naturally; natural discharge often occurs at springs and seeps, streams and can form oases or wetlands. A spring is a point where Groundwater flows out of the ground and is thus where the Aquifer surface meets the ground surface In Geography, an oasis (plural oases) or Cienega ( Southwestern United States) is an isolated area of vegetation in a Desert, typically A wetland is an area of Land consisting of Soil that is Saturated with Moisture, such as a Swamp, Marsh, or Bog Groundwater is also often withdrawn for agricultural, municipal and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" The study of the distribution and movement of groundwater is hydrogeology, also called groundwater hydrology. Hydrogeology ( hydro- meaning water and -geology meaning the study of the Earth) is the area of Geology that deals with the distribution and Hydrology (from Greek Yδωρ hudōr, "water" and λόγος logos, "study" is the study of the movement distribution and quality of
Typically, groundwater is thought of as liquid water flowing through shallow aquifers, but technically it can also include soil moisture, permafrost (frozen soil), immobile water in very low permeability bedrock, and deep geothermal or oil formation water. Water content or moisture content is the quantity of Water contained in a material such as Soil (called soil moisture) rock, This article is about frozen ground For other meanings see Permafrost (disambiguation. In Geology, geothermal refers to heat sources within the planet Petroleum geology refers to the specific set of geological disciplines that are applied to the search for Hydrocarbons ( Oil exploration) Groundwater is hypothesized to provide lubrication that can possibly influence the movement of faults. Lubrication is the process or technique employed to reduce wear of one or both surfaces in close proximity and moving relative to each another by interposing a substance called In Geology a fault, or fault line, is a planar rock fracture which shows evidence of relative movement It is likely that much of the Earth's subsurface contains some water, which may be mixed with other fluids in some instances. Groundwater may not be confined only to the Earth. The formation of some of the landforms observed on Mars may have been influenced by groundwater. There is also evidence that liquid water may also exist in the subsurface of Jupiter's moon Europa.
Aquifers
An aquifer is a layer of relatively porous substrate that contains and transmits groundwater. An aquifer is an underground layer of Water -bearing Permeable rock or unconsolidated materials ( Gravel, Sand, Silt, or Clay An aquifer is an underground layer of Water -bearing Permeable rock or unconsolidated materials ( Gravel, Sand, Silt, or Clay When water can flow directly between the surface and the saturated zone of an aquifer, the aquifer is unconfined. Because water tends to flow downward due to gravity, the deeper parts of unconfined aquifers are usually more saturated with groundwater.
The upper level of this saturated layer of an unconfined aquifer is called the water table or phreatic surface. The water table is the level at which the ground water pressure is equal to Atmospheric pressure. Below the water table, where generally all pore spaces are saturated with water is the phreatic zone. The water table is the level at which the ground water pressure is equal to Atmospheric pressure. The phreatic zone (from Ancient Greek phrear phreat- "a well" or Zone of saturation, is the area in an Aquifer, below the Water
Substrate with relatively low porosity that permits limited transmission of groundwater is known as an aquitard. An aquiclude is a substrate with porosity that is so low it is virtually impermeable to groundwater.
A confined aquifer is an aquifer that is overlain by a relatively impermeable layer of rock or substrate such as an aquiclude or aquitard. If a confined aquifer follows a downward grade from its recharge zone, groundwater can become pressurized as it flows. This can create artesian wells that flow freely without the need of a pump or rise to a higher elevation than the static water table at the above, unconfined aquifer. See Great Artesian Basin for the water source in Australia An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing Groundwater The water table is the level at which the ground water pressure is equal to Atmospheric pressure.
The characteristics of aquifers vary with the geology and structure of the substrate and topography in which they occur. Generally, the more productive and useful aquifers occur in sedimentary geologic formations. By comparison, weathered and fractured crystalline rocks yield relatively smaller quantities of groundwater in many environments. Unconsolidated to poorly cemented alluvial materials that have accumulated as valley-filling sediments in major river valleys and geologically subsiding structural basins are included among the most productive sources of groundwater.
The high specific heat capacity of water and the insulating effect of soil and rock can mitigate the effects of climate and maintain groundwater at a relatively steady temperature. Specific heat capacity, also known simply as specific heat, is the measure of the heat energy required to increase the Temperature of a unit quantity In some places where groundwater temperatures are maintained by this effect at about 50°F/10°C, groundwater can be used for controlling the temperature inside structures at the surface. For example, during hot weather relatively cool groundwater can be pumped through radiators in a home and then returned to the ground in another well. During cold seasons, because it is relatively warm, the water can be used in the same way as a source of heat for heat pumps that is much more efficient than using air. A heat pump is a machine or device that moves Heat from one location (the 'source' to another location (the 'sink' or 'heat sink' using work. The relatively constant temperature of groundwater can also be used for heat pumps. A heat pump is a machine or device that moves Heat from one location (the 'source' to another location (the 'sink' or 'heat sink' using work.
Aquifers can be saline, fresh, or brackish. Most of the the groundwater contained in aquifers is saline, particularly within deeper sources. Nevertheless, more than 90% of the world's non-frozen freshwater supplies are stored in aquifers[1].
External links
- The Groundwater Foundation — Educating and Motivating People To Care About Groundwater
- Groundwater Information from the Coastal Ocean Institute, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- National Ground Water Association
- UK Groundwater Forum — provides a good introduction to groundwater hydrology
- Connected Waters Initiative, University of New South Wales — Investigating and raising awareness of groundwater and water resource issues in Australia
- American Water Resources Association
- Multimedia course on groundwater
References
- ^ Groundwater Principles, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI is a private nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of all aspects of marine science and engineering and http://www.sepa.org.uk/groundwater/principles.htm, accessed 27 May 2008
Dictionary
groundwater
-noun
- Water that exists beneath the earth's surface in underground streams and aquifers
- Alternative spelling of ground water.
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic