Lecture 16 - Water 3 Flashcards
where does water exist
✓ Freshwater in rivers and lakes
✓ Frozen water in glaciers and ice caps
✓ Soil moisture and GROUNDWATER AQUIFERS
✓ WATER VAPOR in ATMOSPHERE
what is freshwater
water containing less than 1,000 milligrams per liter of dissolved solids, most often salt.
how much of eaths water is freshwater
3%
where is the 3% of freshwater found
> 68% found in glaciers/ice caps
30% found in groundwater
0.3% found in surface water
what are pore spaces
the space that exists between soil particles
what is pore size
size of spaces that exist between soil particles
what is the order of pore size in sand silt gravel and clay
GRAVEL > SAND > SILT > CLAY
what does it mean when all pore spaces (ie. entire pore volume) filled with water
soil is saturated
what do we refer water found in saturated pore spaces as
groundwater
what is groundwater
Water that exists underground in SATURATED ZONES (i.e., areas where soil
PORE SPACES are SATURATED/COMPLETELY FILLED with water).
unsaturated zones lie ____
above saturated zones
in unsaturated zones, pore spaces are filled with ___ and ___
water and air
Upper surface of the saturated zone (i.e., boundary between saturated zone and unsaturated zone) is referred to as
the water table
what does groundwater do
does not form underground rivers, it simply fills pores (and fractures) in underground materials
You can compare groundwater to water filling a sponge in your kitchen.
what is an aquifer
def 1: An underground layer of water SATURATED
porous rock, rock fractures and/or UNCONSOLIDATED
materials (e.g., gravel, sand, silt, clay).
def 2: Underground formation of permeable rock or loose materials capable of producing useful quantities of water for consumption.
TEACHER SAID HE LIKES DEF 2 MORE AND IT WILL BE ON TEST
Around the world, endless wells pump water out of
______ for a variety of uses.
groundwater aquifers
A very large proportion of groundwater is used in
_____
agriculture to water crops and livestock
how fast can groundwater move
can move at different speeds (generally very slowly) depending on pore sizes and how well connected pores and fractures are
where does groundwater come from
A fraction of PRECIPITATION (i.e., rain, snow) that falls to
Earth seeps its way down into ground, ultimately reaching
the WATER TABLE, thus joining GROUNDWATER
AQUIFER.
what can also glow down into aquifers and how
Surface water (e.g., river or lake water) can also flow
down into AQUIFERS through rock fractures/sediment
below it.
how long can water stay in aquifers
for 1000s of years
what do we call adding new water to aquifers
the recharging of aquifers
what is a groundwater scientist known as
hydrogeologist
how big are groundwater aquifers
- come in many different sizes,
from a few thousand square meters to thousands of square kilometers - can also be just a few meters
thick to 100’s of meters thick from top to bottom.
where may water table (and therefore groundwater aquifer) be
may be very deep or shallow depending on location.
usually is found within ___ meters of Earths surface. However, not always
100 meters
what is the worlds largest groundwater aquifer
Great Artesian Basin in Australia
- covers 1.7 million square kilometers
Its GROUNDWATER can be as deep as ___ below Earth’s surface!
In other areas, it _______
3 km
it rises to the surface
what is a spring
Any place where GROUNDWATER flows out onto
Earth’s surface!
true or false + explain: At some locations, ground level (Earth’s surface) may be lower than water table
true
At such locations, GROUNDWATER flows out onto surface, thus becoming SURFACE WATER.
in canada how many of the 8.9 million people depend on groundwater as their source of rinking water/source of water for domestic
use
about 30.3%
how many of those depend on groundwater live in rural areas (not in the city)
two thirds - 66%
which area depends on groundwater for its entire water supply
Prince Edward Island
- Over 60% of New Brunswick’s population also
depends on groundwater.
aside from domestic use/human consumption,
groundwater can also be used in ____
agriculture and industry
what is the use of groundwater in alberta, saskatchewan and manitoba (primarily)
agriculture
what is the primary use of groundwater in quebec
industry
what about USA and groundwater?
- South of the border, in USA, 38% of people rely on groundwater for drinking water.
- In USA, about 200 billion litres of groundwater are used for agriculture each day!!!
Like surface water and seawater, groundwater can be polluted/contaminated:
