GEOL 3450 Key Definitions EXAM 2

Lecture 6: Groundwater Flow

Mechanical energy: potential energy due to the pressure (P) of the surrounding fluid P = FA
Pressure head (hp): height of water in the water column; depth of piezometer – depth of water
Elevation head (z): height of water above the datum; surface elevation (relative to sea level) –
depth of the piezometer
Point-water head: pressure head of a saline fluid with a density ρ
Fresh-water head: pressure head of a fluid with a density ρ ~ 1

Fluid potential (): the mechanical energy per unit mass of fluid;  = gz + P/ρ + v2/2
Force potential: driving force of ground water flow
Laminar flow: slowly moving fluids; viscous forces dominate. Water follows smooth lines, so
called stream-lines; flow is laminar when R = 1-10
Turbulent flow: faster moving fluid flows in erratic fashion inertial forces more influential than
viscous forces
Reynolds number: R = ρqd / μ
- d = median grain diameter of passage way
- ρ = density of fluid
- q = discharge velocity of fluid
- μ = viscosity of fluid

Lecture 7: Flow Nets

Steady flow at tx: no change in head with time; i.e. no change in the position or slope of the
water table
Steady flow: flow that occurs when, at any point in the flow field, the magnitude and direction
of the specific discharge are constant in time
Unsteady flow:
Drawdown:
Transmissivity (T): a measure of the amount of water that can be transmitted horizontally
through a unit width by the full saturated thickness of the aquifer; T = Kb
Storativity (S): the volume of water that a unit area of aquifer releases or absorbs under a unit
decline or increase in hydraulic head; S = b ρw g(α + nβ)
- ρw = density of water
- α = compressibility of aquifer
- β = compressibility of water
- n = aquifer porosity
- b = aquifer thickness
Equipotential lines: contour lines representing equal values of hydraulic heads; trace of the
equipotential surface in a cross section
Flowline/streamline: an imaginary line that traces the path that a particle of groundwater would
follow as it flows through an aquifer
Isotropic medium: flow lines parallel to grad h (i.e. perpendicular to equipotential lines) but
opposite direction (flow of gw always parallel to grad h)
Anisotropic medium: flow lines will cross equipotential lines in angle = dictated by degree of
anisotropy
Flow nets: visualization of hydraulic heads and flow lines in a 2-D map; set of equipotential lines
and flowlines
Flowtube/streamtube: area between two adjacent flowlines
No flow boundary: boundary that gw cannot pass, adjacent flow line will be parallel,
equipotential lines intersect at right angles
Constant head boundary: head is constant everywhere on boundary, also an equipotential line,
flow lines will intersect at right angles
Water table boundary: not a flow line or equipotential line, line of known head, if recharge is
occurring across water table, flow lines will be oblique to it
Refraction of flow lines: when water passes from one medium to another medium with a
different K, the direction of the flow path will change
Regional flow in confined aquifers: controlled by topography and geology
Regional flow in unconfined aquifers: controlled by recharge (infiltration) and discharge (river
baseflow)

Lecture 8: Groundwater Flow to Wells

Analysis of pumping tests :
 - Thiem: steady state, distance-drawdown
- Theis: time-drawdown (log-log)
- Cooper-Jacob: time-drawdown (semi-log)
Steady state conditions: if a well pumps long enough, the water level may reach a state of
equilibrium; recharge rate = pumping rate
Slug: solid piece of metal
Bailer: water sampler (pipe with a valve)
Slug/bail tests (piezometer tests): performed by either draw or add a volume of water to a
piezometer or monitoring well. The water level rises or falls is measured and then analyzed by
an appropriate method

Lecture 9: Unsaturated Flow

Gravimetric water content (g): for a soil, it is the mass of the contained water divided by the
mass of the solid particles: water (Ww) / dry soil (Ws); g = 100(Ww/Ws)

Volumetric water content (): for a soil, it is a volume of the contained water divided by the
total volume of the soil; equals porosity for saturated system
Saturation ratio (Rs): the ratio of the volume of contained water in a soil to the volume of the
voids of the soil; Rs = Vw / Vv
- Vw = volume of water in sample
- V v = volume of voids in sample
Particle density: ρs = Msolids / Vsolids
Dry bulk density: ρb = Msolids / Vtotal
Absolute porosity: n – 1 = ρb / ρs
- ρb = dry bulk density of a sample (ρb = M / V)

Cohesion: attraction of water molecules to each other, producing surface tension; responsible
for polymerization, accounts for relatively high: boiling point, specific heat, viscosity, surface
tension
Adhesion: attraction of water molecules to walls of tube; responsible for capillary rise, depends
on: surface charge and types of cations/anions in solution
Capillary Fringe: boundary between the water table and the unsaturated zone; it has all the
pore spaces full of water but you could not draw water from a well at that depth. It is the pores
that are filled by almost 100% with water; water held by capillary forces (capillary force > gravity
force)
Intrinsic permeability (k): representative of the character of the porous medium alone, it’s the
function of the size of the openings through which the fluid moves (“openness” of the flow path),
depends on POROUS MEDIUM

Hydraulic conductivity (K): K = -Q / (A dh/dl), ability of a porous medium, such as soil or rock, to
transmit water. It represents the ease with which water can flow through the subsurface material under
the influence of a hydraulic gradient, depends on POROUS MEDIUM and FLUID PASSSING THROUGH.
The heavier the fluid is, the better the hydraulic conductivity

- K = hydraulic conductivity
- Q = flow rate/discharge
- A = cross sectional area
- i = Δh / ΔL = hydraulic gradient

Gravitational Potential (G; + value):

Matrix Potential (M; - value):

Solute (osmotic) Potential (S; - value):

Soil water:
Field capacity: maximum amount of water that the unsaturated zone of a soil can hold against
the pull of gravity. The field capacity is dependent on the length of time the soil has been
undergoing gravity drainage
Wilting point: the soil moisture content below which plants are unable to withdraw soil
moisture
Oven-dry:
Wetting process
Drying process:
Hysteresis:
Infiltration rate: