Complete List of Terms and Definitions for Groundwater 7

Terms Definitions
aquitards groundwater is confined by
stalagmites form from the ground up.
Karst topography irregular terrain, with many depressions
recharge the process of infiltration and migration through which groundwater is replenished, usually by precipitation.
aquitard impermeable layers that hinder or prevent water movement (ex:clay)
Diffusion A way pollution moves (dissolved components move in response to chemical concentration gradients from places of higher concentrations to places of lower concentrations
permeable where water can go through, the ability to transmit a fluid through interconnected pore spaces
drawdown Difference between the water level in a pumped well and the original water-table level
Permeability Connectivity of the pore or empty spaces. How fast water can flow through the pores?
Spring A place where ground water emerges onto the surface
deficit the condition in which stored soil water is gone and the need for moisture is greater than the rainfall.
aquifier permeable rock strata or sediment that transmit groundwater freely (ex: sands/gravels)
Groundwater Water that occurs in soil and rock
capacity/load how much stuff a river can hold
Infiltration The process of water moving into the ground to the water table.
groundwater table separates the zone of aeration from the zone of saturation. It is not flat like a table, but follows the topography (shape of the land).
Saturated zone Below the water table, where water completely fills pores
Porosity holes in rocks, amount of void space in a rock, sandstone, limestone
water produced from a confined aquifer will rise to the pressure surface
runoff water that wont infiltrate the soil or rock
zone of saturation Depth below Earth's surface where all the pores of a material are completely filled with groundwater
water table the upper level of the saturated zone of groundwater
flowing artesian well due to pressure in a confined aquifer
meanders curves cut into a river by the speed of the water's flow
unsaturated zone (also known as the zone of aeration or vadose zone) has pore spaces filled
with air
perched water table a type of spring formation where an aquitard is situated above the main water table, as water percolated downward a portion of it is intercepted by the aquitard, creating a localized zone of saturation and a perched water table
cone of depression inverted cone shaped dip in the water table due to the removal of water from a water table by a well
what holds water around sedimentary particles? the capillary fringe that extends upward from the water table and groundwater is held by surface tension in tiny passages between grains of soil or sediment; (capillus= hair)
what does groundwater velocity depend on? the permeability of the rock and the slope of the water table