Chapter 17

Question 1

zone of soil moisture

Answer 1

zone where water is held by molecular attraction on soil particles in the near surface zone

• used by plants
• evaporates directly back to atmosphere

Question 2

zone of saturation

Answer 2

zone where all of the pore spaces are completely filled with water

Question 3

groundwater

Answer 3

water in the zone of saturation

Question 4

water table

Answer 4

upper limit of the zone of saturation

Question 5

unsaturated zone

Answer 5

area above the zone of saturation
-pore spaces with air and water; include the zone of soil moisture; includes capillary fringe (where groundwater is held in pore spaces by surface tension)

Question 6

gaining streams

Answer 6

gain water from the inflow of groundwater through the streambed

Question 7

losing streams

Answer 7

lose water to the groundwater system by outflow through the streambed

Question 8

porosity

Answer 8

percentage of pore spaces in rock or sediment

poorly sorted sediments have low porostiy

Question 9

Permeability

Answer 9

is the ability of a material to transmit a fluid

Question 10

Aquitard

Answer 10

impermeable layer that hinders or prevents water movement

Question 11

aquifer

Answer 11

permeable rock strata or sediment that transmits groundwater freely

Question 12

recharge

Answer 12

groundwater is replenished

Question 13

discharge

Answer 13

groundwater flows back to the surface

Question 14

Darcy’s law

Answer 14

measure of the volume of water that flows through an aquifer using the hydraulic gradient, conductivity, and cross-sectional area

Question 15

Hydraulic gradient

Answer 15

the water table slope

Question 16

hydraulic conductivity

Answer 16

takes into account the permeability of the aquifer and viscosity of the liquid to determine how fast water will flow through a medium

Question 17

well

Answer 17

hole bored into the zone of saturation

Question 18

drawdown

Answer 18

as water is withdrawn from the well, the surrounding water table is lowered

Question 19

cone of depression

Answer 19

cone-shaped depression in the water table forms around a well

Question 20

artesain

Answer 20

well or spring is a system where groundwater under pressure rises above the level of the aquifer

Question 21

confined aquifer

Answer 21

an aquifer confined by aquitards

Question 22

nonflowing artesian well

Answer 22

pressure surface is below ground level

Question 23

Flowing artesian well

Answer 23

pressure surface is above the ground

Question 24

springs

Answer 24

a natural outflow of water from the intersection of the water table and the ground surface

Question 25

hot spring

Answer 25

6 to 9 degree celcious warmer than the mean annual air temperature of the locality

Question 26

geysers

Answer 26

are intermittent hot springs in which columns of water erupt with force

Question 27

caverns

Answer 27

created by acidic groundwater dissolving soluble rock

Question 28

speleothem

Answer 28

general name for all dripstone features

Question 29

stalactites

Answer 29

hanging from ceiling

Question 30

stalagmites

Answer 30

form on the floor

Question 31

Karst topography

Answer 31

landscape that has been shaped mainly by the dissolving power of groundwater

Question 32

sinkholes

Answer 32

formed by groundwater slowly dissolving that bedrock