Geofluids (2009) 9, 386–387 doi: 10.1111/j.1468-8123.2009.00253.

Book Review

Groundwater in Geologic On a practical level, the book is simplify the derived equations to be
Processes 536 pages long, consisting of 13 of practical application.
Geofluids (2009) Ingebritsen, S.E., Sanford, chapters and an extensive 71-page Chapter 3 provides the foundations
W.E., Neuzil, C.E., Second Edition., 2006. reference list. The reference list alone of solute transport, including sections
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, is worth the price of the book. on governing equations, single and
UK, 536 pp. The chapters are broken up into multi-component diffusion, disper-
two broad types: those covering pro- sion, and an introduction to reactive
cesses (chapters 1–4) and those exam- transport. It has new sections on
I have to admit to being a fan of
ining how coupled groundwater flow ultrafiltration and the role of
the first edition of this book. That is
plays a role in various geological phe- microbes in groundwater.
partly because of being an ‘early’ con-
nomena (chapters 5–13). As with the Chapter 4 deals with heat transport
vert to the paradigm of groundwater
1st edition of the book, the text is in groundwater, providing extensive
as a geologic agent and partly because
very well written and almost free of coverage of conductive and convec-
it served so well as a textbook for my
typos, the diagrams are clear and well tive transport processes as well as the
graduate class at the University of
labelled, and everything is well refer- dimensionless numbers used for their
Alberta titled ‘Regional Groundwater
enced and current. The attention to characterization. This chapter con-
Flow’. The 2nd Edition of Ground-
detail makes this a very easy book to tains a new section on using pressure
water in Geologic Processes is even bet-
read, even though many of the con- and enthalpy as dependent variables
ter than the first. Whether one works
cepts covered are enormously compli- for moderate- to high-temperature
on ‘regional’ scale hydrogeology or
cated. The true beauty of this book is groundwater flows. Later in the chap-
not, this book should be on the shelf
that each of the chapters provides a ter, the pressure-enthalpy formulation
of every hydrogeologist.
great overview of its topic but also is compared to the more traditional
The tone of this book is set in the
serves as a starting point for further pressure and temperature heat-trans-
Preface, by the authors stating ‘histori-
investigation. I believe that this is one port formulation.
cally, interest in groundwater and
of the rare books that hits the fine Chapter 5, ‘Regional-scale flow and
other subsurface fluids was confined to
balance between ‘superficial’ and ‘too transport’, is a bridge between the
a few specific disciplines in the Earth
much’ detail. preceding ‘theory’ chapters and the
sciences, notably groundwater hydrol-
Chapter 1 covers the basics of remainder of the book. This chapter
ogy, soil physics, engineering geology,
groundwater flow and associated covers a number of fundamentals of
petroleum geology and petroleum
equations. In approximately 35 pages flow in basins: regional groundwater
engineering... with practitioners con-
this chapter reviews most of a very flow, anomalous fluid pressures, and
centrating on the immediate and prac-
solid undergraduate course in large-scale solute and heat transport;
tical problems of water supply, water
groundwater. Besides the usual it also introduces the stress-heat flow
quality, mine dewatering, deforma-
Darcy’s Law and groundwater flow paradox of the San Andreas Fault.
tion... and the location and recovery of
equations, this chapter also touches Chapter 6 is the first of the ‘appli-
hydrocarbons’. Groundwater in Geo-
on permeability, porosity, applicability cation’ chapters and illustrates the
logic Processes (2nd edition) demon-
of equations and conceptualizing flow role of groundwater in the formation
strates that the study of groundwater
domains. of ore deposits. The authors empha-
goes far beyond pumping tests and
Chapter 2, ‘Hydromechanical cou- size Mississippi Valley type (MVT)
water chemistry. The authors elo-
pling’, is a new addition to the book, lead-zinc deposits, other stratiform
quently make the case for groundwater
and it has the biggest chance of los- (SEDEX) base-metal deposits, tabular
as a geologic agent: from near-surface
ing non-engineering trained readers. and unconformity-type uranium
to tens of km deep in the crust, on
This chapter covers the mechanical deposits, supergene enriched deposits,
land to under the oceans, from short
coupling between deformation and and the formation of emeralds
to ancient time scales, over small areas
groundwater flow, providing detailed because ‘each type of deposit is eco-
to the basin scale, coupled groundwa-
accounts of stress, strain, constitutive nomically significant, was apparently
ter flow, heat ⁄ solute transport, and
laws, failure criterion, uncertainty controlled by the regional patterns of
deformation play a major role in shap-
and, mercifully, how to pragmatically groundwater flow, and has been the
ing and controlling the planet.

 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd


subject of paleohydrologic recon-
structions’.
Chapter 7 attempts to describe the
linkage between groundwater and
hydrocarbons. It contains sections on
thermal maturation and equations of
migration ⁄ entrapment and provides a
couple of US case studies. In my
opinion this chapter is weak, mostly
because it is based on traditional
1950s ‘hydrodynamics’ and is missing
numerous worldwide examples of the
interaction(s) between groundwater
and petroleum. The authors have
added some new case studies to the
2nd edition, but the chapter could
use some field examples of tilted oil-
water contacts, and ⁄ or implications of
paleohydrogeology on hydrocarbon
deposits.
Chapter 8 provides further details
of the coupling between groundwater
flow and heat transport. Topics
include crustal heat flow, hydrother-
mal systems, steam-water flow, hot
springs, and geysers. To keep this
chapter to a reasonable length, meta-
morphism is dealt with in a later
chapter.
Chapter 9 explores the relationship
between groundwater and seismic
activity. It contains exceptionally suc-
cinct explanations of effective stress,
Mohr-Colomb theory, induced seis-
micity, and earthquake-induced
hydrologic phenomena, making this
one of my favourite chapters in the
book. This chapter alone illustrates
the diverse and important linkages
between groundwater and the Earth’s
crust.
Chapter 10 deals with the role of
marine or continental water in the
 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Geofluids, 9, 386–387
formation of evaporites. This turns
out to be a large-scale solute-trans-
port problem, with selective precipita-
tion controlling different types of
evaporites. At the other end of the
spectrum, evaporite dissolution near
salt domes is shown to create density-
dependent flow of dense brines.
A new section, albeit short, on
sabkhas is a valuable addition to the
2nd edition.
Chapter 11, ‘Compaction and dia-
genesis’, discusses the role of ground-
water flow and effective stress in
causing physical alterations to the
rock framework. The authors define
diagenesis as ‘all of the chemical,
physical, and biological changes
undergone by a sediment after its ini-
tial deposition... exclusive of weather-
ing and metamorphism’.
Its scope is limited to sedimentary
basin environments but manages to
include compaction, erosional
unloading, tectonic compression, sub-
sidence, and details of diagenesis.
This chapter is vastly expanded and
improved over the 1st edition.
Chapter 12 looks into the role of
groundwater and other fluids in
metamorphism. Metamorphism is
defined as ‘all adjustments of solid
rocks to changes in physical and
chemical conditions’, excluding dia-
genesis (i.e., where P generally
<100 MPa and T < 100C). Topics
in this chapter include a discussion of
metamorphism in general and the
role of fluids in metamorphism, trac-
ing fluids using stable isotopes, and
crustal-scale permeability estimates
down to 35 km depth! This will be
an enlightening read for those
Book Review 387
hydrogeologists accustomed to near-
surface problems.
Chapter 13, ‘Subsea Hydrogeolo-
gy’, is new to the 2nd edition of the
book and is another of my favorites.
It provides a framework for examina-
tion of ‘the flow of aqueous fluids
beneath the seafloor’ in such diverse
environments as mid-ocean ridges,
seamounts, subduction zones, and
passive margins. In this chapter, the
authors examine the role of hydroge-
ology in the famous ‘black smoker’
marine hydrothermal systems and
near-shore dolomitization of carbon-
ate platforms; they close the book
with a section on subduction, meta-
morphism and ocean chemistry.
In summary, I think the authors
have done an exceptional job of creat-
ing a book that shows that ground-
water is much more than well
hydraulics in the near surface. Inge-
britsen, Sanford, and Neuzil have ably
managed to cover an incredible range
of topics, spanning enormous spatial
and temporal scales, yet haven’t got-
ten lost in minute details. This book
will serve as a ‘gate key’ to the myriad
of geological phenomena linked to,
and by, groundwater flow.
I highly recommend the 2nd edi-
tion of Groundwater in Geologic Pro-
cesses to any hydrogeologist who
wants to learn more about groundwa-
ter in the Earth’s crust.
Benjamin J. Rostron
Department of Earth and
Atmospheric Sciences, University of
Alberta, Alberta, Canada
E-mail: Ben.Rostron@UAlberta.ca