MOVEMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF
GROUNDWATER
BASIC GEOSCIENCE SKPP-2213
2016/2017
LECTURER
PROF. DR. RADZUAN JUNIN
SECTION 01
NAME: MOHAMAD ZAKWAN AKMAL BIN MOHAMAD ARIFFIN
MATRIC NO: A15KP0064
Definition
Groundwater is defined as the water exist underneath Earth's surface in soil pore
spaces and in the fractures of shake arrangements. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated store is
called an aquifer when it can yield a usable amount of water. The profundity at which soil
pore spaces or cracks and voids in shake turn out to be totally immersed with water is known
as the water table. Groundwater is energized from, and in the long run streams to, the surface
normally; common release regularly happens at springs and leaks, and can frame desert
springs or wetlands. Groundwater is likewise frequently pulled back for rural, metropolitan,
and mechanical use by developing and working extraction wells. The investigation of the
appropriation and development of groundwater is hydrogeology, likewise called groundwater
hydrology.
Usually, groundwater is considered as water moving through shallow aquifers, at the
same time, in the specialized sense, it can likewise contain soil dampness, permafrost
(solidified soil), fixed water in low penetrability bedrock, and profound geothermal or oil
development water. It is likely that a lot of Earth's subsurface contains some water, which
might be blended with different liquids in a few cases.
Aquifer
An aquifer is a layer of permeable substrate that contains and transmits groundwater.
At the point when water can stream straightforwardly between the surface and the immersed
zone of an aquifer, the aquifer is unconfined. The more profound parts of unconfined aquifers
are normally more soaked since gravity causes water to stream descending.
The upper level of this soaked layer of an unconfined aquifer is known as the water
table or phreatic surface. Beneath the water table, where by and large all pore spaces are
immersed with water, is the phreatic zone.
Substrate with low porosity that licenses restricted transmission of groundwater is
known as an aquitard. An aquiclude is a substrate with porosity that is so low it is for all
intents and purposes impermeable to groundwater.
A limited aquifer is an aquifer that is overlain by a generally impermeable layer of
shake or substrate, for example, an aquiclude or aquitard. In the event that a bound aquifer
takes after a descending evaluation from its energize zone, groundwater can get to be
pressurized as it streams. This can make artesian wells that stream openly without the need of
a pump and ascend to a higher rise than the static water table at the above, unconfined,
aquifer.
The qualities of aquifers differ with the geography and structure of the substrate and
geology in which they happen. By and large, the more gainful aquifers happen in sedimentary
geologic developments. By examination, weathered and cracked crystalline rocks yield littler
amounts of groundwater in numerous situations. Unconsolidated to ineffectively solidified
alluvial materials that have aggregated as valley-filling dregs in real stream valleys and
geographically dying down auxiliary bowls are incorporated among the most gainful
wellsprings of groundwater.
The high particular warmth limit of water and the protecting impact of soil and shake
can alleviate the impacts of atmosphere and keep up groundwater at a moderately unfaltering
temperature. In a few spots where groundwater temperatures are kept up by this impact at
around 10 C, groundwater can be utilized for controlling the temperature inside structures at
the surface. For instance, amid hot climate generally cool groundwater can be pumped
through radiators in a home and afterward came back to the ground in another well. Amid
frosty seasons, since it is generally warm, the water can be utilized as a part of an
indistinguishable path from a wellspring of warmth for warmth pumps that is considerably
more proficient than utilizing air.
The volume of groundwater in an aquifer can be evaluated by measuring water levels
in nearby wells and by inspecting geologic records from well-penetrating to decide the
degree, profundity and thickness of water-bearing residue and rocks. Prior to a speculation is
made underway wells, test wells might be penetrated to quantify the profundities at which
water is experienced and gather tests of soils, shake and water for lab investigations. Pumping
tests can be performed in test wells to decide stream qualities of the aquifer.
Zone of Saturation
An area where all of the pore spaces are filled with water is called the zone of
saturation. Water table is the upper limit of zone of saturation.
Groundwater: note zone of aeration above water table
How and why does groundwater move?
Groundwater movement depends on 2 factors which are:
1. Porosity of material
Porosity is the percentage of pores (open spaces in the soil or rock). It determines how
much groundwater can be stored.
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2. Permeability
Permeability is the measure of how easily water to flow through. For example, clay
has a very low permeability so it is an aquiclude (it doesnt involves water). Sand has
a very high permeability (lots of pores) so it is an aquifer.
Water Cycle
Groundwater makes up around 20% of the world's new water supply, which is around
0.61% of the whole world's water, including seas and lasting ice. Worldwide groundwater
stockpiling is generally equivalent to the aggregate sum of freshwater put away in the snow
and ice pack, including the north and south posts. This makes it an imperative asset that can
go about as a characteristic stockpiling that can cushion against deficiencies of surface water,
as in amid times of drought.
Groundwater is normally renewed by surface water from precipitation, streams, and
waterways when this revive achieves the water table.
Groundwater can be a long haul "supply" of the regular water cycle (with living
arrangement times from days to centuries), instead of transient water supplies like the air and
new surface water (which have home circumstances from minutes to years). The figure
demonstrates how profound groundwater (which is very far off from the surface revive) can
set aside a long opportunity to finish its characteristic cycle.
Features produced by groundwater
1. Groundwater is often mildly acidic so it dissolves calcite in limestone.
2. Caverns
They are formed as groundwater dissolves rock. Usually formed in zone of saturation
(this is why caves are usually damp). Features that can be found in caverns:
-Stalactitesform on ceiling when calcite is deposited as water drips from ceiling.
-Stalagmitesform on ground when water drips from cave ceiling.
Environmental problems associated with groundwater
1. Overpumping
Groundwater is used as a source of water for irrigation and drinking water. However,
overpumping removes water faster than it can be replaced causing the water table to
drop the the ground to sink. Sinkholes can lead to cracks forming which can damage
buildings nearby.
2. Treating groundwater as a non-renewable source
Groundwater does get replaced but it takes far longer to replace than the rate of
pumping it.
3. Contamination
The amount of toxins infiltrating in the ground in many places exceeds the ability of
the ground to filter and clean it. A lot of groundwater is so seriously contaminated that
it is no longer fit for human (or wildlife) consumption.
References
Arnold, J. G., Allen, P. M., & Bernhardt, G. (1993). A comprehensive surface-groundwater
flow model. Journal of hydrology, 142(1), 47-69.
Bredehoeft, J. D., & Papaopulos, I. S. (1965). Rates of vertical groundwater movement
estimated from the Earth's thermal profile. Water Resources Research, 1(2), 325-328.
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Chicago
Groundwater, Milan Area Schools Organization, Retrived from Toth, J. (1963). A theoretical
analysis of groundwater flow in small drainage basins. Journal of geophysical research,
68(16), 4795-4812.
Shin, J. H., Addenbrooke, T. I., & Potts, D. M. (2002). A numerical study of the effect of
groundwater movement on long-term tunnel behaviour. Geotechnique, 52(6), 391-403.
Toth, J. (1963). A theoretical analysis of groundwater flow in small drainage basins. Journal
of geophysical research, 68(16), 4795-4812.
