Gourt > Science > Environment > Water Resources > Groundwater (8)
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of geologic formations. A formation of rock/soil is called an aquifer when it can yield a useable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces become saturated with water is called the water table. Groundwater is recharged from, and eventually flows to, the surface naturally; natural discharge often occurs at springs and seeps and can form oases or wetlands. Groundwater is also often withdrawn for agricultural, municipal and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells. The study of the distribution and movement of groundwater is hydrogeology.
Groundwater can be a long-term 'reservoir' of the natural water cycle (with residence times from days to millennia), as opposed to short-term water reservoirs like the atmosphere and fresh surface water (which have residence times from minutes to years). The figure shows how deep groundwater (which is quite distant from the surface recharge) can take a very long time to complete its natural cycle. Groundwater is naturally replenished by surface water from precipitation, streams, and rivers when this recharge reaches the water table. It is estimated that the volume of groundwater is fifty times that of surface freshwater; the icecaps and glaciers are the only larger reservoir of fresh water on earth.
Usable groundwater is contained in aquifers, which are subterranean areas (or layers) of permeable material (like sand and gravel) that channel the groundwater's flow. Aquifers can be confined or unconfined. If a confined aquifer follows a downward grade from a recharge zone, groundwater can become pressurized as it flows. This can create artesian wells that flow freely without the need of a pump. The top of the upper unconfined aquifer is called the water table or phreatic surface, where water pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure.
More on [ Groundwater ]
Water Sources :: Geology
Geochemistry :: Earth Sciences
Geology :: Earth Sciences
Caves and Karst :: Geomorphology
Underground Storage Tanks :: Petroleum in the Environment
Remediation Technology
RT @sciencenewsorg: Irrigation draining California groundwater at 'unsustainable' pace: The GRACE satellites have tracked water moveme. ...
gastromom (Meenakshi Budhraja) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:17:50 -0000
RT @sciencenewsorg: Irrigation draining California groundwater at 'unsustainable' pace: The GRACE satellites have tracked water moveme. ...
The Excellent Groundwater Resources of Tennessee: Author : Samson PaulottiTennessee has been blessed with an abunda... http://bit.ly/78M8k0
ArticleMind (ArticleMind.com) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:07:44 -0000
The Excellent Groundwater Resources of Tennessee: Author : Samson PaulottiTennessee has been blessed with an abunda... http://bit.ly/78M8k0
RT @SustAgDavis: Groundwater loss in CA feautures a photo from ASI's field trip to the western San Joaquin Valley. http://bit.ly/70Zk36
MaubyAllNatural (Mauby All Natural) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:18:03 -0000
RT @SustAgDavis: Groundwater loss in CA feautures a photo from ASI's field trip to the western San Joaquin Valley. http://bit.ly/70Zk36
Stealing water from the future: California's massive groundwater overdraft newly revealed: A NASA report summarizi... http://bit.ly/4HUg7W
PlumberTweets (1st Choice Plumbing) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:16:45 -0000
Stealing water from the future: California's massive groundwater overdraft newly revealed: A NASA report summarizi... http://bit.ly/4HUg7W
Irrigation draining California groundwater at 'unsustainable' pace: ... by drought conditions since 2006, state and... http://bit.ly/6vIs0l
epoxypaint (John McCormack ) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:16:32 -0000
Irrigation draining California groundwater at 'unsustainable' pace: ... by drought conditions since 2006, state and... http://bit.ly/6vIs0l
NASA data reveal major groundwater loss in Central Valley|New space observations reveal that since October 2003, .. http://oohja.com/x3Fqi
eraser1320 (Orion) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:57:33 -0000
NASA data reveal major groundwater loss in Central Valley|New space observations reveal that since October 2003, .. http://oohja.com/x3Fqi
Aquifer Test Forum - Information relating to the design, performance and evaluation of aquifer tests, including pumping tests, slug tests and single-well tests
Meta Description: [ Aquifer Test Forum is a site for the exchange of information on the design, performance and analysis of aquifer tests sponsored by HydroSOLVE, Inc. ]
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ater Management, UTS (Sydney, Australia) - Consultancy and training in groundwater and environmental applications. Information about courses, distance learning (including online), research and consultancy interests, and links.
CMI Aquifers Group - Describes research on the behavior of carbon dioxide in hydrogeologic systems, aimed at developing systems for storing carbon in saline aquifers.
Distributed Aquifer Recharge Enhancements in Arid Zones - Paper describes a modeling study to explore possible options for enhancing natural recharge.
Meta Description: [ 1.714 Final Project: ]
Dye Tracing - Explains the process of using dyes for cave tracing, finding groundwater contaminants, wellhead protection programs, tracking sewer leaks and mapping pipelines. Provides information about the technique, and case histories.
Environment Canada: Groundwater - A thorough introduction to the topic of ground water and its management. Part of Environment Canada's Fresh Water web site.
Meta Description: [ An exploration of all aspects of groundwater - an essential and vital resource for 30% of all Canadians. ]
Fayette County Groundwater Conservation District - Mission is to protect and conserve the underground water resources for the current and future residents of Fayette County, Texas. Offers publications, information on projects and services as well as general information.
Meta Description: [ Welcome to the homepage of The Fayette County Groundwater Conservation District. Our mission is to protect and conserve the underground water resources for the current and future residents of Fayette County. ]
George F. Pinder - Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Vermont. Information about past and present research in groundwater modeling, including mathematical evaluation of contamination problems.
Meta Description: [ The professional Website of George F. Pinder, Director of the Research Center for Groundwater Remediation Design ]
Ground Water Modelling Discussion Group - A forum for technical discussions; announcement of new software; calls for abstracts and papers; conference and workshop announcements; and summaries of research results, recent publications, and case studies.
Meta Description: [ gwmodel: Ground Water Modelling ]
Ground-Water Remediation Technologies Analysis Center - Information on innovative groundwater remediation technologies. GWRTAC prepares reports by technical teams selectively chosen from Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC), the University of Pittsburgh, and other supporting institutions.
Groundwater Geochemistry and Remediation, University of Waterloo - Summaries of research activities on the fate, transport and remediation of dissolved metals, metalloids and nutrients in groundwater, as well as development and application of in situ permeable reactive barrier technologies and reactive transport modelling.
Meta Description: [ Research activities within the Groundwater Geochemistry and Remediation Group at the University of Waterloo. Pagesdescribing investigation of mine drainage sites, metals-contamininated industrial sites. Technologies for passive remediationof metal contaminated groundwater. ]
Groundwater in British Columbia - B.C. ministry site, with general ground water information, water well data, information on groundwater consultants, and links.
Groundwater Pollution Primer - Virginia Tech University online primer covers pollution sources, contaminant types, transport and fate, monitoring, modeling, remediation, and legal aspects.
Groundwater Tracing Unit, University College London - British research group. Describes current activities and capabilities in the use of tracers in hydrogeology, provides background on this technology and it history, lists consultancy capabilities, and lists links to related sites.
Meta Description: [ * ]
Henry Darcy and His Law - About Henri Darcy and his contributions to understanding flow in porous media. Includes biography, discussions of basic concepts and the Darcy-Weisbach equation, and a lab procedure for falling-head permeability tests.
Meta Description: [ History, references, outside links and other information on Henry Darcy and Darcy's Law. French original and English translation of Appendix D. ]
http://www.gees.bham.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/msc_hydrogeology/index.htm - Hydrogeology research including groundwater resources, numerical modelling, geochemistry, g/w contamination and remediation. Taught programmes include hydrogeology and hydroinformatics MSc courses, CPD modules and short courses.
Hydrogeology Research Group, University of Tennessee, Knoxville - Conducts research on contaminant transport in groundwater and age-dating of groundwater.
King County (Washington) Groundwater Management - Generic and local information on the occurrence, movement, and management of ground water.
Meta Description: [ Comprehensive information about groundwater in King County including well data, maps, reports, policies, regulations and plans for the long-term management of the region's aquifers. ]
Organic Compounds in Near Surface Environments - Describes USGS studies of organic contaminants in groundwater, including landfill leachate and petroleum spills. Focus is on biological and chemical processes that control contaminant fate.
PEST Parameter Estimation Groundwater Modeling Workshop - The Groundwater Resources Association is conducting a workshop Model Calibration and Predictive Uncertainty Analysis Using PEST April 19-21, 2004, Santa Ana, CA
Meta Description: [ Dedicated to protecting California groundwater against contamination such as Hexavalent Chromium, Perchlorate, NDMA, MtBE and Arsenic ]
SaltNet: Saltwater Intrusion Resources Network - Bibliography, computer codes, directory of researchers, and other information resources related to salt water intrusion into coastal groundwater aquifers.
The Groundwater Foundation - Dedicated to the education about and preservation of our most important natural resource.
Meta Description: [ nonprofit...educate people about groundwater...take action for protection and conservation...water education activities...festivals, community projects, workshops, conferences, seminars, programs...improving drinking water quality and human health. ]
The Hydrogeologist's Home Page - Collection of hundreds of links to hydrogeological organizations, software and data repositories, publications, and other resources.
Meta Description: [ Hydrogeology is the theme of The
Hydrogeologist's Home Page, a collection of hundreds of links to
hydrogeological organizations, software and data repositories,
publications, and other sources of information of potential use to
hydrogeologists. The Hydrogeologist's Home Page is organized int... ]
The University of Arizona Contaminant Transport Group - Publications lists and other information from the Brusseau research group, which investigates the fate and transport of contaminants in the subsurface.
UK Groundwater Forum - Source of information and a platform for information exchange on groundwater topics in and for the UK.
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Understanding Groundwater - A primer on the subject, covering definitions, movement, storage, uses, contamination, and protection. Includes glossary of terms and extensive information on groundwater science and issues in Portage County, Wisconsin.
Water Framework Directive - Groundwater Statistics - Report from a European Union project to develop statistical methods for data aggregation for assessment of groundwater quality status, including trend assessment.
Young-Jin Kim - Describes his research, particularly on preferential flow and its influence to contaminant transport in the vadose zone.
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