Water Extraction Flashcards
Define groundwater:
Water hold under ground in soil/pores/crevices in rocks
Define water table:
The level below which the ground is saturated with water
Define abstraction:
Taking water from a ground source
Define recharge
Water moves downwards from surface water to groundwater
Define syncline:
A fold in rocks where rock layers dip inwards from both sides
Define artesian pressure:
Water reaches ground surface under natural pressure of aquifer
Define aquifer:
Permeable rock which contains groundwater
Define potentiometric surface:
An imaginary surface that shows the level water would rise to if it weren’t trapped in an aquifer
Define water extraction
Removal of water from surface/groundwater to meet demand
What is the case study for water extraction?
River Kennet
Where is the River Kennet?
Southern England
Wiltshire
River Kennet drainage basin:
1 200km^2
Geology of River Kennet
Highly permeable chalk
Effect of extraction rate on river flow:
14% reduction in river flow
What are the advantages of the River Kennet flow?
Flows through chalk so is filtered, high oxygen levels
Impact of oil and gas exploitation on water cycle:
Removal of vegetation
Increased run off due to melting permafrost
Impact of oil and gas exploitation on carbon cycle:
Dust deposition increases sunlight absorption
Increase in decomposition
Tundra -> 7-40 tonnes CO2 loss per year
Strategies to reduce impacts on water/carbon cycle
Insulated pads Elevated pipelines Lateral drilling (oil and gas cab be reached from further) More powerful computers Refrigerated support
How many tonnes of carbon and released into the atmosphere from groundwater extraction annually?
13.5 million tonnes
