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Earth Science > (TEST 2) Earth Science, Lecture pt 5 (ch 11) > Flashcards

(TEST 2) Earth Science, Lecture pt 5 (ch 11) Flashcards

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1
Q

What is groundwater?

A

The water beneath the ground surface that is
stored within pores and fractures within the substrate

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2
Q

What is a major component of the hydrologic cycle?

A

Groundwater

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3
Q

What is a vital resource used for drinking water, agriculture, and industry?

A

Groundwater

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4
Q

Some precipitation enters the subsurface by

A

Infiltration

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5
Q

Infiltration water adds….?

A

Soil moisture and groundwater

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6
Q

Groundwater often resides in

A

Subsurface pore spaces

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7
Q

What are pores?

A

Open spaces within any sediment or rock

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8
Q

What is porosity?

A

The total volume of open space within sediment or rock

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9
Q

What is permeability?

A

The ease of water flow due to pore interconnectedness

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10
Q

What is hydraulic conductivity?

A

The ability of water to
move through a material

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11
Q

What is an aquifer?

A

A sediment or rock that can store and transmit water easily

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12
Q

What is an aquitard?

A

Impermeable or low permeability sediment or rock that hinders water flow

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13
Q

What are the two types of aquifers?

A
  1. Confined
  2. Unconfined
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14
Q

What is a confined aquifer?

A

An aquifer beneath an aquitard or an aquifer sandwiched between two impermeable layers

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15
Q

What is an unconfined aquifer?

A

An aquifer that intersects the surface

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16
Q

What type of aquifer is more likely to get polluted?

A

Unconfined aquitard

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17
Q

The water table is a subsurface
boundary where:

A

Pores are mostly filled with air above the water table and pores are filled with water below the water table

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18
Q

What is the unsaturated zone?

A

Where pores are filled with air above the water table

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19
Q

What is the saturated zone?

A

Where pores are filled with water below the water table

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20
Q

How does the water table position change with rainfall?

A
  • During seasonally rainy periods, the water table rises
  • During prolonged droughts, the water table falls
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21
Q

When do ponds/streams dry up?

A

When the water table falls below the bottom

22
Q

What do lens-shaped aquitards prevent?

A

They prevent downward infiltration to the regional water table. Additionally, they lead to a perched water table

23
Q

What is the potentiometric surface?

A

The elevation to which water in a confined aquifer would rise if a well were sunk into it

24
Q

What do artesian wells do?

A

They tap into confined tilted aquifers. The water rises to the potentiometric surface without having to be pumped

25
Q

Water distribution system mimics…..?

A

Artesian aquifers. Water is being pumped to an elevated storage tank

26
Q

In an unsaturated zone, flow moves…

A

Straight downward

27
Q

In a saturated zone, flow is….

A

Complicated because it’s governed by gravity and pressure

28
Q

Groundwater flow rate is governed by several factors, what are they?

A
  1. Permeability of the porous material
  2. The effect of friction between water and conduit walls
  3. The spatial change in hydraulic head to hydraulic gradient
29
Q

When do springs occur?

A

When groundwater discharges
at the surface

30
Q

Springs can occur in
many forms, what are they?

A
  • Discharge along the
    side of a hill
  • Discharge from a
    solution passageway in
    limestone
  • Discharge along faults
    or fractures in the rock
31
Q

Deep springs tend to be

A

Saline

32
Q

What is a hot spring

A

Groundwater discharges of hot water

33
Q

Hot springs waters are usually high in

A

Dissolved minerals

34
Q

What 2 settings do hot springs develop in?

A
  1. Where deep groundwater surfaces along faults
  2. In geothermal regions
35
Q

What is the source of heat in hot springs?

A

The geothermal gradient

36
Q

High geothermal gradients are linked to

A

Shallow magma

37
Q

What is cone of depression?

A

An area lacking groundwater due to the rapid withdrawal by a well

38
Q

What can drawdown cones do?

A

They can can pull contaminants into a well and reduce flow
to nearby streams or springs

39
Q

What is the recharge zone?

A

An area where water infiltrates downward from surface to groundwater

40
Q

What is the discharge zone?

A

Area where groundwater is removed from an aquifer, such as a spring, well, river, etc.

41
Q

Groundwater mining is

A

Groundwater is being used at an unsustainable rate. Pumping rate is higher than the recharge rate

42
Q

What does water in pore spaces hold apart?

A

Grains

43
Q

Subsidence is mostly

A

Irreversible

44
Q

Intense pumping in coastal communities can lead to

A

Saltwater intrusion

45
Q

What happens to pore pressures as water is removed?

A

They decrease

46
Q

What causes compaction in sediments?

A

Weight from overlying rocks

47
Q

What is desalination?

A

The removal of mineral extracts from saline water

48
Q

Distillation is also known as

A

Reverse osmosis

49
Q

What are some alternative sources to freshwater?

A
  • Reclaimed or recycled wastewater
  • Aquifer storage and recovery
  • Rainwater harvesting
  • Conservation
  • Xeriscaping
  • Directed irrigation
  • Drip irrigation
50
Q

Where does most water contamination come from?

A

They come from the surface

51
Q

What are some sources that contamination comes from?

A
  • Septic systems
  • industrial activities
  • roads
  • parking lots
  • older sanitary landfills
  • waste dumps
  • agriculture

Earth Science (7 decks)

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