RESEARCH NOTES

JUSTIN M. MERCULIO

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GROUND WATER

Groundwater, water that occurs below the surface of Earth, where it occupies all or part of the void
spaces in soils or geologic strata. It is also called subsurface water to distinguish it from surface water,
which is found in large bodies like the oceans or lakes or which flows overland in streams. Both surface
and subsurface water are related through the hydrologic cycle (the continuous circulation of water in
the Earth-atmosphere system). Groundwater Is water that has infiltrated the ground to fill the spaces
between sediments and cracks in rock. Groundwater is fed by precipitation and can resurface to
replenish streams, rivers, and lakes.

Most groundwater comes from precipitation. Precipitation infiltrates below the ground surface into the
soil zone. When the soil zone becomes saturated, water percolates downward. A zone of saturation
occurs where all the interstices are filled with water. There is also a zone of aeration where the
interstices are occupied partially by water and partially by air. Groundwater continues to descend until,
at some depth, it merges into a zone of dense rock. Water is contained in the pores of such rocks, but
the pores are not connected and water will not migrate. The process of precipitation replenishing the
groundwater supply is known as recharge. In general, recharge occurs only during the rainy season in
tropical climates or during winter in temperate climates. Typically, 10 to 20 percent of the precipitation
that falls to the Earth enters water-bearing strata, which are known as aquifers.

Groundwater is constantly in motion. Compared to surface water, it moves very slowly, the actual rate
dependent on the transmissivity and storage capacity of the aquifer. Natural outflows of groundwater
take place through springs and riverbeds when the groundwater pressure is higher than atmospheric
pressure in the vicinity of the ground surface. Internal circulation is not easily determined, but near the
water table the average cycling time of water may be a year or less, while in deep aquifers it may be as
long as thousands of years.

Groundwater plays a vital role in the development of arid and semiarid zones, sometimes supporting
vast agricultural and industrial enterprises that could not otherwise exist. It is particularly fortunate that
aquifers antedating the formation of deserts remain unaffected by increases in aridity with the passage
of time. Withdrawal, however, will deplete even the largest of groundwater basins so that development
based on the existence of aquifers can be only temporary at best.

A vast amount of groundwater is distributed throughout the world, and a large number of groundwater
reservoirs are still underdeveloped or uninvestigated. Scientists estimate that some 5.97 quintillion
gallons (22.6 million cubic km [5.4 million cubic miles]) of groundwater reside in the upper 2 km (1.2
miles) of Earth’s surface. The most frequently investigated or exploited groundwater reservoirs are of
the unconsolidated clastic (mainly sand and gravel) or carbonate hardrock type found in alluvial valleys
and coastal plains under temperate or arid conditions.

Though some groundwater dissolves substances from rocks and may contain traces of old seawater,
most groundwater is free of pathogenic organisms, and purification for domestic or industrial use is not
necessary. Furthermore, groundwater supplies are not seriously affected by short droughts and are
available in many areas that do not have dependable surface water supplies. However, aquifers and
other groundwater supplies are at risk of chemical pollution from fracking, agricultural chemicals,
leaking or unfit landfills and septic tanks, and other point and nonpoint sources of pollution. Such
contamination can render groundwater unfit for use and is expensive and difficult to clean up.

Water table, also called groundwater table, upper level of an underground surface in which the soil or
rocks are permanently saturated with water. The water table separates the groundwater zone that lies
below it from the capillary fringe, or zone of aeration, that lies above it. The water table fluctuates both
with the seasons and from year to year because it is affected by climatic variations and by the amount of
precipitation used by vegetation. It also is affected by withdrawing excessive amounts of water from
wells or by recharging them artificially.

Aquifer, in hydrology, rock layer that contains water and releases it in appreciable amounts. The rock
contains water-filled pore spaces, and, when the spaces are connected, the water is able to flow through
the matrix of the rock. An aquifer also may be called a water-bearing stratum, lens, or zone. Wells can
be drilled into many aquifers, and they are one of the most important sources of fresh water on Earth.

Types

A confined aquifer is a water-bearing stratum that is confined or overlain by a rock layer that does not
transmit water in any appreciable amount or that is impermeable. There probably are few truly confined
aquifers, because tests have shown that the confining strata, or layers, although they do not readily
transmit water, over a period of time contribute large quantities of water by slow leakage to
supplement production from the principal aquifer.

A groundwater aquifer is said to be unconfined when its upper surface (water table) is open to the
atmosphere through permeable material. As opposed to a confined aquifer, the water table in an
unconfined aquifer system has no overlying impervious rock layer to separate it from the atmosphere.

Recharge

The water found in aquifers is replenished by drainage through the soil, which is often a slow process.
This drainage is referred to as groundwater recharge. Rates of groundwater recharge are greatest when
rainfall inputs to the soil exceed evapotranspiration losses. When the water table is deep underground,
the water of the aquifer may be exceedingly old, possibly a result of a past climatic regime. A good
example is the water of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System, which extends through several countries
in an area that is now the Sahara. The water is being used extensively for water supply and irrigation
purposes. Radioisotope dating techniques have shown that this water is many thousands of years old.
Similarly, the massive Ogallala Aquifer of the Great Plains in the United States no longer receives the
water recharge from the Rocky Mountains that formed it during the Pliocene Epoch (5.3 million to 2.6
million years ago). The use of such water, which is not being recharged under the current climatic
regime, is known as groundwater mining.

In many aquifers, groundwater levels have fallen drastically in recent times. This is commonly due to the
diversion of aboveground water sources as well as to excessive groundwater mining for irrigation and
other uses. Such depletion increases pumping costs, causes wells and rivers to dry up, and, where a
coastal aquifer is in hydraulic contact with seawater, can cause the intrusion of saline water. Attempts
have been made to augment recharge by the use of wastewaters and the ponding of excess river flows.

References

https://www.britannica.com/science/water-table

https://youtu.be/oNWAerr_xEE

https://youtu.be/zyHtkDCwQUw