Groundwater Flashcards
What is the hydraulic cycle 1-5
- Evaporation
*Transpiration
*Precipitation
*Infiltration
*Runoff
How does precipitation enter the subsurface?
infiltration
What does infiltrated water add?
Moisture and Groundwater
What is the underground reservior?
Some infiltrated water percolates to a deeper leve
What is porosity?
Groundwater that resides in subsurface pore spaces
What are pores?
open spaces within any sediment or rock
What is the total volume of open space?
Porosity
What is permeability?
The ease of water flow due to poor interconnectedness
How do high and low permeable waters flow?
Highly=readily
Low=slowly
What is an aquifer?
sediment or rock that transmits water easily
Define confirmed and unconfirmed aquifers
Unconfined=intersects with surface, in contact with atmosphere, easily contaminated
Confined=Isolated from the surface, less susceptible to pollution
What is the water table and what is it filled with?
A subsurface boundary that is filled with air above(unsaturated zone) and filled with water below (saturated zone)
How does the water table react to the weather?
Humid=closer to surface
Arid=Hundreads of meters down
Where is the water table located?
Top of the zone of saturation
How does the water table position change with rainfall?
During rainy periods the table rises and during droughts it falls
What do lens-shaped aquitards prevent?
Downward infiltration to the regional water
How does groundwater flow?
slowly under the influence of gravity
What direction is flow in the unsaturated zone?
straight downward
How is flow governed in the unsaturated zone?
gravity and pressure
How does flow move in the hydraulic head?
high to low
Are flow paths curved or straight?
curved
What are two ways groundwater is obtained?
wells and springs
what causes water table near the well to drop?
drawdown
What does water table decline form?
A cone of depression
