Aquifers, Groundwater, and Surface Water

Aquifer- area of saturated, underground rock that lets water move freely

Aquifers in the U.S. Ogallala Aquifer Lubbock

Surface runoff—surface water that runs down into watersheds Of all the water on Earth, 97% is salt water, 2% is frozen glaciers, and 1% is fresh water. Watershed—a ridge of high land dividing two areas that are drained by different river systems Surface runoff—surface water that runs down into watersheds

Surface Runoff Surface Runoff Surface Runoff Surface Runoff Surface Water

Surface Water Surface water: Water on the surface of the Earth that runs into rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, etc. VS. Groundwater: the water that soaks into the ground

runoff Permeable rock aquifer

Recharge zone—an area on the surface of land in which water can be absorbed into underground water (aquifer)

What would happen if… We put concrete parking lots over a recharge zone? Concrete (Impermeable)

Lubbock, TX – Walmart on 4th and Frankford This happens often when it rains because Walmart was built on top of a recharge zone !

Water Table Water Table: the water level in an aquifer (will be the same level as surface bodies of water)

Zone of Saturation Zone of Saturation: area where all of the pores or spaces in permeable rock are filled with water Zone of saturation

Permeable Rock Permeable rock: rock or soil with spaces that allow water to pass through it H2O

Impermeable Rock Impermeable rock: rock or soil with FEW or NO spaces that DOES NOT allow water to pass through

Water Well water well: a structure created in the ground by digging or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. Aquifer Saturated Rock Impermeable rock

What would happen if… We overuse the well and pump large amounts of groundwater, but there is no precipitation to recharge the aquifer? http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/learning/7_water_cycle/activities/groundwater.html#activity

Key Points for an Aquifer: This drawing is an example of a watershed. There is water stored underground in an Aquifer. The water is stored in pores of the permeable rock. You can over use a well and it will dry up until it is recharged again by precipitation through recharge zones. It takes a long period of time to recharge an Aquifer.

Renewable resource Renewable resource: a natural resource, such as water, that can be recycled or replaced by nature

Groundwater Vocabulary 63 Groundwater (p. 749) Zone of saturation “saturated” (p. 750) Impermeable (p. 750) Permeable (p. 750) Aquifer (p. 750) Water table (p. 750) Cavern (p. 754) Sinkhole (p. 754) Renewable resource (p. 646)

Water Cycle Vocabulary Evaporation – when the sun heats up liquid water and changes it into water vapor (gas). LIQUID  GAS Transpiration – when plants loose water vapor from their leaves. Condensation – when water vapor (gas) cools down and turns back into liquid water, forming clouds. GAS  LIQUID Precipitation – forms of water that fall from clouds: rain, snow, sleet, hail. Surface runoff – flow of water over land when rainfall is so heavy that the ground can not soak in the water. Sublimation – When solid water (ice) change directly into water vapor (gas). SOLID  GAS Percolation - Water seeping (soaking) into the ground down to the groundwater.

A quick summary of the water cycle The water cycle has no starting point. But, we'll begin in the oceans, since that is where (96%) most of Earth's water exists. The sun, which drives the water cycle, heats water in the oceans. Some of it evaporates as vapor into the air. Ice and snow can sublimate directly into water vapor. Rising air currents take the vapor up into the atmosphere, along with water from evapotranspiration, which is water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil. The vapor rises into the air where cooler temperatures cause it to condense into clouds. Air currents move clouds around the globe, cloud particles collide, grow, and fall out of the sky as precipitation. Some precipitation falls as snow and can accumulate as ice caps and glaciers, which can store frozen water for thousands of years. Snowpacks in warmer climates often thaw and melt when spring arrives, and the melted water flows overland as snowmelt.

Most precipitation falls back into the oceans or onto land, where, due to gravity, the precipitation flows over the ground as surface runoff. A portion of runoff enters rivers in valleys in the landscape, with streamflow moving water towards the oceans. Runoff, and ground-water seepage, accumulate and are stored as freshwater in lakes. Not all runoff flows into rivers, though. Much of it soaks into the ground as infiltration. Some water infiltrates deep into the ground and replenishes aquifers (saturated subsurface rock), which store huge amounts of freshwater for long periods of time. Some infiltration stays close to the land surface and can seep back into surface-water bodies (and the ocean) as groundwater discharge, and some ground water finds openings in the land surface and emerges as freshwater springs. Over time, though, all of this water keeps moving, some to reenter the ocean, where the water cycle "ends" ... oops - I mean, where it "begins."