Groundwater Midterm

Groundwater

Water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock.

Aquifers

Water “saturated” rocks that are capable of storing water and transmitting it in useable quantities.

Aquicludes

any geological formation that absorbs and holds water but does not transmit it at a sufficient rate to supply springs, wells

Aquifuge

an absolutely impermeable unit that will not transmit any water

Porosity

the quality or degree of having minute spaces or holes through which liquid or air may pass.

Permeability

the state or quality of a material or membrane that causes it to allow liquids or gases to pass through it.

Unconfined Aquifers

An aquifer that is open to the surface, with no confining layer above it

Confined Aquifers

An aquifer that is sandwiched between two impermeable layers (confining layers like clay or rock)

Water table

an underground boundary between the soil surface and the area where groundwater saturates spaces between sediments and cracks in rock

Vadose Zone

The unsaturated zone, also called the zone of aeration.

Saturated Zone

Pores in this zone is completely filled with water

Karst Aquifer

a type of groundwater system that forms in soluble rocks, primarily limestone, dolomite, or gypsum, where the rock has been dissolved by slightly acidic water over time. This dissolution creates a highly irregular and complex network of caves , sinkholes, fissures, underground channels 

Transmissivity

Describes the overall transmission capacity of an aquifer system, not just the properties of a small volume of the aquifer

Aquifer Storage

Refers to the ability of an aquifer to store and release water