Groundwat

er
Movement and Storage of
groundwater
The Hydrosphere
The Earth has about
1.3 billion km3 of
water!
All of the water at the
Earths surface makes
up the hydrosphere
About 97% of the
hydrosphere is
contained in the oceans
Groundwater and Precipitation
Water is constantly in motion in the hydrosphere. This movement
can be traced by the water cycle

When precipitation occurs bringing atmospheric moisture back to

Earths surface, infiltration can occur
Infiltration: process by which precipitation that has fallen on
land trickles into the ground and becomes groundwater

Groundwater slowly moves through the ground and eventually

returns to the surface through springs and seepage into
wetlands and streams, and then flows back to the oceans
Groundwater Storage
Rocks have the ability
to hold water. It is
measured with
porosity, or, the
percentage of a
materials volume that
is pore space that can
hold water
Pore spaces: small
openings within the
soil, sediment, and
rock
Zone of Saturation
Zone of Saturation: The
region below Earths surface in
which groundwater completely
fills all the pores of a material
Water table: The upper
boundary of the zone of
saturation
Zone of aeration: area above
the water table, materials are
moist, but because they are not
saturated with water, air
occupies much of the pores
 Water Movement
Water can be classified as
either gravitational or capillary
Gravitational: water the
trickles downward as a result
of gravity
Capillary: water that is drawn
upward through capillary
action above the water table
and is held in the pore spaces
of rocks and sediment because
of surface tension
 The depth of the water table
The Water Table often varies
Stream valleys- water table
close to Earths surface, only a
few meters deep
Swamps- water table is at
Earths surface
Hilltops- water table can be
hundreds of meters or more
beneath the surface
Water table fluctuates with
seasonal and other weather
conditions because of its
 Groundwater Movement
Groundwater flows downhill in the
direction of the slope of the water
table
Water has to flow through
numerous tiny pores in the
subsurface material
Permeability: the tendency of a
material to let water pass through
Materials with large, connected
pores, such as sand and gravel,
have high permeability and permit
relatively high flow velocities up to
hundreds of meters per hour
 Permeability
Groundwater flows through
permeable sediment and rock,
called aquifers
Pore spaces are large and
connected

Impermeable: pores are small

so flow is minimal and slow
Measured in millimeters per day
Example: silt, clay, and shale
Aquicludes: impermeable layer
Springs
Groundwater moves slowly
but continuously through
aquifers and eventually
returns to Earths surface
Usually groundwater
emerges wherever the
water table intersects
Earths surface

Spring: The natural

discharge of groundwater
Emergence of Springs
1) Permeable & Impermeable layers coming together
2) Perched water tables
- Perched water table: zone of saturation that overlies an
aquiclude and separates it from the main water table below
3) Along faults
- Fault brought two different types of bedrock together porous
and nonporous
4) Karst Springs
- Groundwater weathers through limestone bedrock, and the
water in the underground caverns emerges at Earths surface
Temperature of Springs
Hot springs: spring discharge water is much
warmer that the average annual temperature
Temperature increase due to igneous activity or
from emerging from tremendous depths in Earths
crust
Geysers: Explosive hot springs
Water is heated past its boiling point, causing it to
vaporize
The water vapor then builds up tremendous
pressure fuels the eruption
Ex. Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park,
Wyoming
 Dissolution by Groundwater
Most of groundwater is slightly
acidic due to carbonic acid
Groundwater usually reacts with
calcium carbonate rocks, like
limestone
When the groundwater
evaporates, a precipitate or solid
may crystalize out of the
groundwater solution
The process of dissolving and
precipitating calcite both play a
role in the formation of caves
 Caves
Cave (cavern): a natural underground
opening with a connection to Earths
surface
Formed when groundwater dissolves
limestone
Groundwater infiltrates the cracks and joints
of limestone formations and dissolves the
adjacent rock. Passages enlarge and form an
interconnected network of openings.
Begins in the zone of saturation
When water table lowers, the cave systems
becomes filled with air
Examples: Mammoth Cave in Kentucky &
Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico
Karst Topography
Karst Topography:
Sinkhole: depression
in the ground caused by
the collapse of a cave
or by the direct
dissolution of limestone
by acidic water
Disappearing
Stream: surface
stream drains into a
cave system and
continues to flow
underground
 Groundwater Deposits
Dripstones: formations that
build over time as water drips
through caves, forming
calcite minerals
Stalactite: hangs from the
caves ceiling like icicles and
forms gradually
Stalagmite: water drips to
the floor of the cave and
slowly builds a mound-
shaped dripstone
Dripstone column:
stalactites and stalagmites
growing together
Hard Water
Hard water: water that
contains high concentrations
of calcium, magnesium, or
iron
Common in areas where the
subsurface rock is limestone
Can cause problems within
the home precipitate in
water pipes and on the
heating elements of
appliances
Wells
Wells: holes dug or drilled into the ground to reach an aquifer.

2 types:
1. Ordinary Wells
Well dug or drilled below the water table
As water is drawn out of a well, it is replaced by surrounding water
in the aquifer
Overpumping: when water is drawn out of the well at a rate
faster than which it is replaced
Drawndown: The difference between the original water-table
level and the water level in the pumped well
Recharge: the process in which water from precipitation
replenishes the water content of an aquifer
Wells
2. Artesian Wells
An aquifers that contains water under pressure
When the rate of recharge is high enough,
pressurized water can spurt above the land surface
in the form of a fountain
 Artesian
Spring
Well

Aquifer
Aquifer

Water
Table

Aquifer

Well
Dry Well
Threats to Our Water Supply
Freshwater is Earths most precious natural resource
Estimates of water supplies are the result of a dynamic
equilibrium between various factors
Amount of Precipitation
Amount of Infiltration
Surface Drainage
Porosity and Permeability of rock
Volume of groundwater naturally discharged back to the surface

Changes to groundwater supplies can lead to environmental issues

such as a lowered water table, subsidence, and pollution
Threats to Our Water Supply
1. Overuse
If groundwater is pumped out at a rate greater than the recharge rate, the
groundwater supply will decrease and the water table will drop.
2. Subsidence
Sinking of land
The volume of water underground helps support the weight of the soil,
sediment and rock above.
Occurring along parts of the golf coast of Texas average subsidence was 15
cm
3. Pollution
Confined aquifers are affected less frequently than water-table aquifers,
because they are protected by an impermeable barrier
Sources of pollution include sewage form septic tanks and farms, landfills, and
other waste disposal sites, as well as chemicals, salt, and radon.
 Protecting Our Water Supply
How to protect and restore groundwater:
1. Identify and eliminate pollution sources

2. Build an impermeable underground barrier around the

polluted area

3. Pump out polluted groundwater for chemical treatment

4. Educate human on their impact of the groundwater system