Final Flashcards
Groundwater is the largest reservoir of ______ that is readily available to humans
Freshwater
6/10 of __ percent of the hydrosphere is groundwater
1
Groundwater % out of all water
14.6%
Groundwater % out of all liquid freshwater
94.05%
Groundwater acts as an erosional agent dissolving soluble _______ such as ______.
bedrock
Limestone
Most groundwater soaks into the ground from _________.
Precipitation
Zone of soil moisture
Zone where water is held by molecular attraction on soil particles in the near-surface zone
Used by plants
Evaporates directly back into the atmosphere
Zone of saturation
Zone where all the pore spaces are completely filled with water
Water table
Upper limit of the zone of saturation
Unsaturated zone (vadose zone)
Area above the zone of saturation
Pore spaces include air and water
Capillary fringe
Region where groundwater is held in pore spaces by surface tension
Interaction between groundwater and streams constitutes a basic link in the ________ cycle.
Hydrological
Gaining streams
Gain water from the inflow of groundwater through the stream bed
Water table is higher than the stream surface
Losing streams
Lose water to the groundwater system by outflow through the stream bed
Water table is lower than the stream surface
Losing stream becomes disconnected by the ____ _____, and a bulge may form in the water table.
Unsaturated zone
Porosity
The percentage of pore(open) spaces in a rock or sediment
______ depends on the size and shape of the grains, how we’ll they are sorted, and how tightly they are packed
Porosity
_____ determines how much groundwater can be stored.
Porosity
Ability of a material to transmit a fluid
Permeability
_____ is an impermeable layer that hinders or presents water movement and is usually clay
Aquitard
______ is permeable rock strata or sediment that transmits groundwater freely
Aquifer
Examples: sands and gravels
Groundwater moves very _____.
Slowly ; 4 cm per day
A simple groundwater flow system
The force of gravity and pressure differences move groundwater