EARTHSC 1G03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Igneous Rock, Aquifer, Speleothem
5 Apr 2017
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Document Summary
About 95% of the freshwater on earth is groundwater. Water follows a tortuous path as it flows from pore to pore. Unsaturated zone: water and air fill pores. Moisture sticks to grain surfaces; air pockets remain. Saturated zone: pores of rock/sediment filled with water. Water table: upper limit of saturated zone. Water percolates down to the water table, position of the water table depends on seasonal factors. In general, only in water the saturated zone is considered to be groundwater . Water infiltrates from rainfall etc. through the soil. Groundwater flows from recharge to discharge areas. Recharge: an area in which surface water enters the groundwater zone. Discharge: an area in which groundwater emerges at surface, typically in lakes, ponds, streams etc. Porosity: is the fluid storage capacity of rock or sediments. Permeability: is the ability to transmit that fluid the volume of water that can move through a given cross sectional area per unit of time.
