FIGURE 16.8 Geological settings in which springs form. (d) Grouncwater seeps out o 3 cif fae at he top ofa rately impermeab bos (e] Anetwork of merconnected ractures enanses wate othe sureee of anil al ofthe Gand Canyon occurred recently, so that magma and/or very hot rock resides close to the Earth’s surface (Fig. 16.92). Hot groundwater dissolves minerals from rock that it passes through because water becomes a more effective solvent when hot, so people use the water emitted at hot springs as relaxing mineral baths (Fig. 16.9b). Natural pools of geothermal water may become brightly colored—the gaudy greens, blues, and oranges of these pools come from thermophylic (heatloving) bacteria and archaea that thrive in hot water and metabolize the sulfur- containing minerals dissolved in the groundwater (Fig, 16.9c). Numerous distinctive geologic features form in geother- smal regions as a result of the eruption of hot water In places where the hot water rises into soils rich in voleanie ash and clay, a viscous slurry forms and fills bubbling mud pots. Bub- bles of steam sising through the slurry cause it to splatter about in goopy drops. Where geothermal waters spill out of natu- ral springs and then cool, dissolved minerals in the water pre- ipitate forming colorful mounds or terraces of travertine and other chemical sedimentary rocks (Fig. 16.94) ‘Under special circumstances, geothermal water emerges fom the ground in a geyser (rom the Ieelandie spring, Geysir, and the word for gush, a fountain of steam and hot water that erupts epi- soically from a vent in the ground (Fig 16.9¢). To understand why a geyser erupts, we fist need a picture ofits underground plumbing, Beneath a geyser lies a network of iregular fractures in very hot rock; groundwater sinks and fils these fractures, Heat transfers from the rock tothe groundwater and makes the waters16.5 Hot Springs and Goysors FIGURE 16.9 Geothermal waters and examples of their manifestation in the landscape. UI (a) Goysers and nat srings accu where grouncwater, heated st dest, ‘aes othe surace, Water tie Parmesbia, because of freewwes — . z (e) Colorful nectar and archaes-aden pols, Yellowstone Natonal Park, Wyoming. (61 The Old Fathfl geyser, in Yetowsione, erupts preketaby temperature rise, Since the boiling point of water (the tempera- ‘ture at which water vaporizes) increases with increasing pressure, hot groundwater at depth can remain in liquid form even if its temperature has become greater than the boiling point of water {) ot soxngs in elena, ated by magia below, atract tous from round the worl {4) Torsc0s of moras procotates at Mommet Hat Sprnas, Yellowstone at the Earth's surface. When such “superheated” groundwater begins to rise through a conduit toward the surface, pressure in it decreases until eventually some of the water transforms into steam, The esulting expansion causes water higher up to spill out of the conduit at the ground surface. When this spill happens, pressure in the conduit, from the weight of overlying water, sud- denly decreases. A sudden drop in pressure causes the superhot ‘water at depth to turn int steam instantly, and this steam quickly rises, ejecting all the water and steam above it out of the con- duitin a geyser eruption. Once the conduit empties, the eruption ceases, and the conduit ills once again with water that gradually heats up, starting the eruptive cycle all over again. Take-Home Message In geothermal regions, or in localities where discharged ‘groundwater followed a flow path deep into the crust, hot ‘springs appear. Geysers develop under special circum- stances where pressure builds up sufficiently to eject water and steam forcefully.a 16.6 Groundwater Problems Since prehistoric times, groundwater has been an important resource that people have relied on for drinking, irrigation, and industry. Groundwater feeds the lushness of desert oases in the Sahara, the amber grain in the North American high plains, and the growing cities of sunny arid regions. ‘Though groundwater accounts for about 95% of the liquid freshwater on the planet, accessible groundwater cannot be replenished quickly, and this leads to shortages. Groundwa- ter contamination is also a growing tragedy. Such pollution, ‘caused when toxic wastes and other impurities infiltrate down to the water table, may be invisible to us but may ruin a water supply for generations to come. In this section, we'll take a look at problems associated with the use of groundwater supplies Depletion of Groundwater Supplies Is groundwater a renewable resource? In a time frame of 10,000 years, the answer is yes, for the hydrologic cycle will eventually resupply depleted reserves. But in a time frame of 100 to 1,000 years—the span of a human lifetime FIGURE 16.10. Effects of human modification of the water table Flowing river Sumo Gio {2) Bolore humans start pumping sroundater, the water tables high ‘Aswamp and permanent stream exist 1700 CE {el The Fords Evorglados before tho advent of utben grown and intensive seule CHAPTER 16 A Helden Reserve: Groundwater or a civilization—groundwater in many regions may be @ non renewable resource. By pumping water out ofthe ground ata rate faster than nature replaces it, people are effectively “mining” the groundwater supply. In fact, in portions of the desert Sunbelt region ofthe United States, supplies of young groundwater have already been exhausted, and deep wells now extract 10,000-year- old groundwater. Some ofthis ancient water has been in rock so Jong that it has become too mineralized to be usable. A number of other problems accompany the depletion of groundwater. > Lowering the wate table: When we extract groundwater from ‘wells ata rate faster than it ean be resupplied by nature, the wa- ter table drops. First a cone of depression forms focally around the well then the water table gradually becomes lower in a broad region. As a consequence, existing wells, springs, and rivers, and swamps dry up (Fig 16.10a,b). To continue tap- ping into the water supply, we must drill progresively deeper ‘Notably, the water table can also drop when people di- vert surface water from the recharge area, Such a problem has developed in the Everglades of southern Florida, a huge swamp where, before the expansion of Miami and the devel- opment of agriculture, the water table lay a the ground su face (Pig. 16.106, d). Diversion of water from the Everglades’ Dry iver Ory swamp gated ane aye Shas cee) {b) Pumping for consumers in 8 nearby city causes the water table to skin sothe swam dies up.166 Groundwater Problems recharge area into canals has significantly lowered the water table, eausing parts of the Everglades to dry up. > Reversing the flow direction of groundwater: The cone of de- pression that develops around a well creates a local slope to the water table. The resulting hydraulic gradient may be large enough to reverse the flow direction of nearby groundwa- ter (Fig 16.11a, b). Such reversals can allow contaminants, seeping out ofa septic tank, o contaminate the wel. > Saline intrusion: In. coastal areas, fresh groundwater lies in a layer above saline (salty) water that entered the aquifer fom the adjacent ocean (Fig. 16.11e, d). Because fresh water is FIGURE 16.11 Some causes of groundwater problems. Betore Sept, Home water supply wel cme nants (a) BeFore pumping, effluent from a septc tank its with he regional (rounder ls, ane the home wel pumps clean ster Betore Weer in pores hols sins apart and Koop ores open, {e) When intensive iigaton removes groundwater, pore space nan stulercolapses, Jess dense than saline water, it floats above the saline water. If people pump water out of a well too quickly, the bound- ary between the saline water and the fresh groundwater rises. And if this boundary rises above the base of the well then the ‘well will start to yield useless saline water. Geologists refer to this phenomenon as saline intrusion > Pore collapse and land subsidence: When groundwater fills the pore space ofa rock or sediment, i hold the grains apart, for ‘water cannot be compressed, The extraction of water from a pore eliminates the support holding the grains apat, because the air that replaces the water can be compressed. As a result, ane Contaminated water supely Large iigaton wall nis tow hes ranged rection. (b) Arter pumping by a nearby irigason wel effluent ws into the home wellin response fo the new lea shoe ofthe water ible. (4) the reshwatris pumped to fst, saltwater fom below is sueked uo ina the well Tm sate neusion ator emovalof wate alws pores fo colapse, so Groune cracks; Sssures and sarps velo. (014s 3 rest, te land surface snk, lading othe formation of ground fissures ane causing houses to crac,the grains pack more closely together. Such pore collapse permancntly decreases the porosity and permeability of a sock, and thus lessens its value as an aquifer (Fig. 16.11¢, 0) Pore collapse also decreases the wolume ofthe aquifer, with the result thatthe ground above the aquifer sinks. Such land subsidence may cause fissure ac the surface to develop and the ground to tlt, Buildings constricted over regions undergoing Jand subsidence may themselves tt, or thes foundations may crack. In the San Joaquin Valley of Califomia, the land surface subsided by 9 m between 1925 and 1975, because water was removed to iergate farm fc Natural Groundwater Quality Much of the world’s groundwater is crystal clear, and pure ‘enough to drink right out of the ground. Rocks and sediment are natural filters capable of removing suspended solids—these solids get trapped in tiny pores or stick to the surfaces of clay flakes, Tn fact, the com mercial distribut ottled ‘groundwater (spring water”)has become a major business world wide, But dissolve and in some cases. methane, may make some natural groundwater unusable, For example, ‘groundwater that has passed through salt containing. strata may become selty and unsuitable for irrigation or drinking. Ground= ‘water that has passed through limestone or dolomite contains dissolved calcium (Ca?) and magnesium (Mg?") ions; this water, called hard water, can be problem because earbon- ate minerals precipitate from it to form “scale” that clogs pipes. Also, washing with hard water can be difficult because soap ‘won't develop a lather. Groundwater chat has passed through ‘beating socks may contain dissolved iron oxide that pre~ ipitates to form rusty stains. Some groundwater contains dis- solved hydrogen sulfide, which comes out of solution when the ‘groundwater rises to the surface; hydrogen sulfide is a poison ‘ous gas that has a rotten-egg smell. In recent years, concern has ‘grown about arsenic, a highly toxic chemical that enters ground= ‘water when arsenic-bearing minerals dissolve in groundwater. Did you ever wonder where does bottled “spring water” come from? = worl Human-Caused Groundwater Contamination [As we've noted, some contaminants in groundwater occur naturally. But in recent decades, contaminants have increas- ingly been introduced into aquifers because of human activ- ity (Pig. 16.123). These contaminants include agricultural waste (pesticides, fertilizers, and animal sewage), industrial waste (dangerous organic and inorganic chemicals), efflu- cent from “sanitary” landfills and septic tanks (including bac~ teria and viruses), petroleum products and other chemicals that do not dissolve in water, radioactive waste (From weapons CHAPTER 16 A Helden Reserve: Groundwater manufacture, power plants, and hospitals), and acids leached from sulfide minerals in coal and metal mines. The cloud of contaminated groundwater that moves away from the source of contamination is called a contaminant plume (Fig. 16.12) The best way to avoid such groundwater contamination is to prevent contaminants fom entering groundwater in the first place. This can be done by placing contaminants in sealed con- ‘iners or on impermeable bedrock so that they are isolated from aquifers. If such a site is not available, the storage area should be Tined with plastic or with a thick layer of clay for the clay not only acts as an aquitard, bt it can bond to contaminants. Fortu- nately, in some cases, natural processes can clean up groundwater contamination. Chemicals may be absorbed by clay, oxygen in the water may oxidize the chemicals, and bacteria in the water ‘may metabolize the chemicals, thereby tuning them into harm- less substances, Where contaminants do make it into an aquifer, environ mental engincers drill rest wells to determine which way and how fist the contaminant plume is flowing; once they know the low path, they can close wells in the path to prevent consump- tion of cont inated water. Engineers may attempt to clean the groundwater by drilling a series of extraction wells to pump it jut ofthe ground. If the contaminated water does not rise fist enough, engineers dil injection well to force clean water or steam into the ground beneath the contaminant plume (Fig. 16.126). The injected fuids then posh the contaminated water up into the extraction wells More ecently, environmental engineers have begun exploring techniques of bioremediation: injecting oxygen and nutrients into a contaminated aquifer to foster growth of bac teria that can react with and break down molecules of contami- nants. Needless to say, cleaning techniques are expensive and generally only partially effective. Unwanted Effects of Rising Water Tables ‘We've seen the negative consequences of sinking water tables, bat what happens when the water table rises? Is that necessarily good? Sometimes, but not always. Ifthe water table rises above the level of « house’ basement, water seeps through the foun- dation and foods the basement floor. Catastrophic damage ‘occurs when a rising water table weakens the base ofa hillslope or a failure surface underground triggers landslides and sharps. Take-Home Message Groundwater usage can cause problems. Too much pump- ing lowers the water table, causing land subsidence and/ or saltwater intrusion. Contamination can ruin a ground- ‘water supply, for remediation of groundwater is extremely expensive.