Groundwater

Question 1

This is a major source of water, major component of the hydrologic cycle, and is mostly hidden from view

Answer 1

Groundwater

Question 2

What percent of the world’s water is groundwater?

Answer 2

0.6%

Question 3

What percent of the world’s freshwater is groundwater?

Answer 3

12%

Question 4

What are two sources of groundwater?

Answer 4

1. Precipitation that infiltrates the ground; 2. Surface water that infiltrates or is connected to water table

Question 5

How many major aquifers are in Oklahoma?

Answer 5

23

Question 6

80% of groundwater withdrawals are for this

Answer 6

Irrigation

Question 7

How many groundwater permits are there?

Answer 7

> 9,500

Question 8

What are six things that influence infiltration?

Answer 8

1. Climate; 2. Slope; 3. Soil/rock type; 4. Vegetation; 5. Land use; 6. Degree of saturation

Question 9

This is the percentage of a material’s total volume that is pore space

Answer 9

Porosity

Question 10

What is the equation for porosity?

Answer 10

Porosity = pore volume/total volume x 100

Question 11

What are two ways water can get through bedrock?

Answer 11

1. Bedrock fractures; 2. Slightly acidic water dissolves other substances

Question 12

What are two particle qualities that affect porosity?

Answer 12

Shape and sorting

Question 13

Porosity is highest when these are equal in size

Answer 13

Sediment clasts

Question 14

Which has higher porosity: well-sorted or poorly-sorted sediment?

Answer 14

Well-sorted

Question 15

What particle shape results in higher porosity: rounded or angular?

Answer 15

Rounded particles

Question 16

Does porosity depend on particle size?

Answer 16

No

Question 17

This is a material’s ability to allow fluids to pass through

Answer 17

Permeability

Question 18

What are three factors that affect permeability?

Answer 18

1. Porosity; 2. Pore size; 3. Pore interconnection

Question 19

This is a permeable layer beneath the surface that transports groundwater easily

Answer 19

Aquifer

Question 20

This is an impermeable layer that prevents groundwater movement

Answer 20

Aquiclude/aquitard

Question 21

What materials are aquifers typically composed of?

Answer 21

Well-sorted and well-rounded sands and gravels

Question 22

What materials are aquicludes/aquitards typically composed of?

Answer 22

Shales and clays

Question 23

What are the two types of aquifer?

Answer 23

Confined and unconfined

Question 24

This type of aquifer is completely filled with water under pressure and is separated from the surface by an impermeable layer (aquitard)

Answer 24

Confined aquifer

Question 25

Are confined aquifers recharged slowly or rapidly?

Answer 25

Slowly recharged

Question 26

This type of aquifer has a water table and is only partly filled with water

Answer 26

Unconfined aquifer

Question 27

Are unconfined aquifers recharged slowly or rapidly?

Answer 27

Rapidly recharged

Question 28

Water infiltrates the ground through this sediment zone, where pore space is mostly filled with air

Answer 28

Zone of aeration

Question 29

This is the boundary between the zone of aeration and saturation where water can seep upwards through capillary action

Answer 29

Capillary fringe

Question 30

Water collects in this sediment zone, where all available pore space is filled with water

Answer 30

Zone of saturation

Question 31

This can become dissolved in groundwater from the atmosphere to make it acidic

Answer 31

Carbon dioxide

Question 32

When carbon dioxide dissolves in water, it forms this acid

Answer 32

Carbonic acid

Question 33

This is a common sedimentary rock composed of calcite (CaCO3) that is easily dissolved in carbonic acid

Answer 33

Limestone

Question 34

This topography forms where limestone bedrock dissolves both at the surface and in underlying cave networks

Answer 34

Karst topography

Question 35

These form where groundwater seeps through pores and cracks and reaches soluble materials like limestone

Answer 35

Caves

Question 36

These are surface streams that flow underground into caves

Answer 36

Disappearing streams

Question 37

What are four ways groundwater has been over-exploited/contaminated?

Answer 37

1. Lowering the water table (cones of depression); 2. Saltwater intrusion; 3. Land subsidence; 4. Groundwater pollution

Question 38

This occurs when groundwater use exceeds the amount of recharge in an aquifer

Answer 38

Groundwater overdraft

Question 39

This occurs when overuse of wells depletes groundwater and lowers the water table in the vicinity

Answer 39

Cone of depression

Question 40

This occurs mostly in coastal communities when excessive pumping draws saltwater into wells

Answer 40

Saltwater intrusion

Question 41

This occurs when groundwater removal causes poorly consolidated sediments to become compacted

Answer 41

Land subsidence