The Water Underground

The Water Cycle Runoff: water added to rivers/streams Water is continuously moving from the oceans to the air, then onto land, into the ground, and back to the oceans Evaporation: changing liquid water into water vapor Condensation: going from gaseous water to liquid water (adiabatic cooling)on a condensation nuclei Precipitation: rain, snow, sleet, hail Transpiration: water vapor given back to the atmosphere by photosynthesis Infiltration: water that soaks into soil Groundwater: water underground

Groundwater Well go figure…the water we find underground is called groundwater ! Through precipitation, water will infiltrate into the soil and eventually reach the water table Two zones of water: the zone of aeration (not completely filled with water) and the zone of saturation (completely filled with water) The boundary between the two is called the water table!

Water is Stored in Rocks? A layer of rock that stores and allows the flow of groundwater is called an aquifer Rock layers need to be porous, which means it must have open spaces between the sediments for water to pass through If the layer of rock is permeable, water can pass through fairly easily The best rock types for aquifers are sandstone, limestone, or a sandstone/gravel mix

Underground Features Just like rivers erode the land at the surface, groundwater erodes rocks below the surface Limestone dissolves due to the flowing groundwater and produces caves When the roof of a cave collapses, a sinkhole forms Sinkholes and caves are known as karst topography.