Chapter 11 The Flow of Fresh Water
Chap 11, Sec 3 (Water Underground – new book) Objectives: Identify and describe the location of the water table. 2. Describe how people obtain water from an aquifer.
Tech Terms: water table – marks the top of the saturated zone (the dividing line between the unsaturated and saturated zones). aquifer – a rock layer that stores enough groundwater for humans to use.
3. porosity – the percentage of open space between individual rock particles in a rock layer (open spaces = pores). 4. permeable – the ability of a rock layer, that has tiny holes (pores) which are connected, to allow water to pass freely through.
Larger the particles = Higher the permeability impermeable – the ability of a rock layer to stop the flow of water. Larger the particles = Higher the permeability 6. saturated zone – the area of permeable rock or soil that is totally filled (saturated) with water.
7. unsaturated zone – layer of rock above the water table that contains mostly air instead of water. recharge – new water that enters the aquifer from the surface of the Earth (this occurs in a recharge zone).