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Aquifers

Aquifers. Ground Water Storage By Nainoa Nathanson. What is an Aquifer?. Groundwater storage unit The body of water is stored in underground Spaces between rocks Clay Sand Where the earth is permeable enough to hold water. Why Do They Exist?.

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Aquifers

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  1. Aquifers Ground Water Storage By NainoaNathanson

  2. What is an Aquifer? • Groundwater storage unit • The body of water is stored in underground • Spaces between rocks • Clay • Sand • Where the earth is permeable enough to hold water

  3. Why Do They Exist? • Infiltration fills gaps between underground rocks • Once the water infiltrates deep enough that it hits an impermeable layer this forms an aquifer

  4. How do They Work? • Water infiltrates and is filtered through the ground • Fills up the cracks and gaps in the underground rocks • Discharged into streams, lakes, marshes, and wells • Water is constantly moving through the aquifer

  5. Water pressure high here

  6. What is a Confined Aquifer? • An aquifer sandwiched between two impermeable layers of rock or earth • Confining layers are also know as aquitards, they have the ability to store water but cannot easily transmit it • The water pressure can be high (as shown in diagram)

  7. What is an Unconfined Aquifer? • An Unconfined or water table aquifer is an aquifer with only one confining layer at the bottom • These aquifers aren’t under very much pressure because they are all at one water level so pumping water is a little bit harder

  8. Are Aquifers Underground Rivers? • Like rivers water flows in and out • The water may move as fast as 50 feet a year or as slow as 50 centimeters a century, it all depends on the earth’s permeability • Unlike rivers they flow much more slowly and they can’t support higher life forms than bacteria • There are no large open voids or cavities

  9. How Do They Filter and How are They Contaminated? • Filtered by slowly moving through the earth • Some contaminants are removed while others are only slowed • Contaminated with any pollution • Any way that speeds up the waters journey through the earth has potential to raise contamination in the aquifer

  10. Questions? • Any Questions • ?????????????

  11. Bibliography • http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/hydr/concepts/gwater/aquifer.htm • http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/hydr/concepts/gwater/aquifer.htm

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