| Term | Definition |
|---|
| aquifer | thick layer of saturated, permeable and porous sediments or fractured rock |
| porosity | percent of the rock or sediment that is void (has cracks and pres) which water can occupy |
| permeability | ease that sediments or rock allow fluid to flow through |
| why it is not enough for a rock to be porous | the pores also have to be connected for the water to flow through |
| hydraulic conductivity | permeability, where the fluid is water |
| why clay is a bad aquifer | clay is porous but nor permeable |
| good water supply | porous, permeable sediments or fractured rock is also a good source |
| unconfined aquifer | not sealed in by an impermeable layer, water level in a well is the water level of the aquifer |
| confined aquifer | aquifer is sealed in by an impermeable layer (aquitard), water pressure can build up so the water level in the well is higher than the water level in the aquifer |
| water table | level of water |
| in a confined aquifer | the elevation to which the water would rise in a (tall enough) well is the "hydraulic head" |
| in an unconfined aquifer | "hydraulic head" is the same as the water table elevation |
| artesian aquifer | 'water table' is above the ground surface (not common anymore) |
| Dakota Sandstone | early 1900s, do to groundwater removal water doesn't shoot out like this anymore |
| direction of groundwater flow | flows from high to low hydraulic head, water level slope indicates direction of flow in an unconfined aquifer |
| why hydraulic head slope is important | indicates direction of flow which is important in predicting where groundwater will go |
| where flow rate comes from | Darcy's Law |
| aquifer test | measure drawdown vs. time and calculate aquifer parameters |
| leachate | travels from landfill to aquifer, the plume advects (moves downstream) and diffuses (spreads out) |
| treating contaminated groundwater | remove the source, extract and treat the water, install impermeable barriers |
Combine with other sets
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