GEOL 1010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Aquifer, Water Cycle, Subsidence
1 Dec 2016
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Document Summary
Groundwater: water that resides underground, provides ~ of freshwater resources. Nonrenewable time scale of taking water out is so much faster than time. Industry scale of putting water back in: component of the hydrologic cycle. High porosity - lots of pore space. Low porosity - very little open space. A rock can have high porosity but low permeability, but usually they reflect each other: permeability rocks" ability to transmit fluid degree of interconnectedness of pore spaces. Pore spaces are connected to each other. Impermeable materials act as a barrier to water flow. Permeability is highest in coarse sediments and sedimentary rocks. Depends on geometry of pores and cracks. Fractured bedrock: fracture permeability (can be high or low: aquifer. Earth materials with high porosity and permeability that hold a lot of water in their pore spaces. Sand, gravel, sandstone, and limestone are common aquifers: aquitards. Earth materials with low permeability that block water from flowing deeper into the ground.
