EARTH 219 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Aquifer, Solvent, Vadose Zone
21 Mar 2019
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Document Summary
Earth 219 - lecture 9 - groundwater contamination. Water flows across the city of ann arbor through the huron river in one day. More than 98% of world"s liquid freshwater is groundwater. Water is moved through precipitation, evaporation, and evapotranspiration (tree sweat) Surface water: water on earth"s surface (lakes, streams) Rain or snow filtered through soils (unsaturated zone) and eventually accumulates (zone of saturation) Water table: underground border between unsaturated and saturated zones. Aquifer: ground saturated with water that can be pumped to surface (accessible) Saturated zone has pore spaces all filled by water. Aquifer not an underground lake, but ground saturated with water that can be brought to surface with a well or spring. Slope (difference in elevation of water table h over distance l) Porosity = % of void space in rock or soil (as % of total volume) Tells us how much water rock or soil can hold. Depends on rock shape, size, and arrangement.
