Water table
Characteristics
The water table illustrates how water passes into the earth, illustrating ground water at a depth of approximately five kilometers and labels this area the saturated zone.
How it is related toground water
The water table basically describes how ground water comes to be. Beginning with water on the Earth’s surface the water table illustrates how that water seeps on through the soil before reaching dedimentary and igneeous rock about five kilometers below the surface. The pores of these rock types make it much harder for water to continue on and so the collection of water at this level known as ground water is depicted through formation using the water table.
Aquifer
An aquifer is a body of sediment which allows water to pass through or collect easily. Specific sediments such as sandstone, conglomerate, and types of limestone act as good aquifers. Aquifers are generally divided into two types unconfined aquifers in which the aquifer is only partially filled with water, and confined aquifers, which are entirely filled with water.
Aquifers help locate ground water by providing a large body of permeable sediment in which ground water can collect. Aquifers can be either partially, or entirely filled with ground water and this fact classify the type.
Well
Wells are drilled or dug down from the Earth’s surface until ground water, or an aquifer is reached. This ground water is stored in the saturated zone, and the well marks the beginning of ground water and the water table.
Well’s tap into ground water resources by drilling down through to the saturated zone. This zone of sediment contains all the groundwater and is described as an area where all spaces between particles are filled with water. As a well is drilled down the water line beginning the water is known as the water table, because it marks the beginning of the ground water, or saturated zone.
Cave
Ground water becoming acidic due to outside influences help develop caves by dissolving sediment like limestone opening up formations and carrying away the calcite to continue the cavern.
Caves rely on groundwater for much of their formation. Dissolved carbon dioxide, or gases within groundwater helping to make it acidic actually dissolve or help to break away existing rock to form caves. Caves are also thought to be caused by water circulation below the water table.
Karst topography describes an area beneath the surface composed of many sinkhole and caverns. Categorized by areas with little surface water.
Karst topography rarely causes drastic effects on ground water. These formations occur above the water table and so while sometimes absorbing or helping to absorb a surface stream, karst topography does not harm ground water.
Geothermal energy is a energy source devoid of fuel to harness. Using steam, hot water, or water velocity as with damns to move turbines, steam from wells can also be harnessed into energy.
Geothermal energy can harness steam power pumped from wells which ultimately tap into ground water. While harnessing ground water without producing toxins geothermal energ y does help to consume massice amounts of water capable of drying up streams over time.
Just wrote this all for a class, hope it helps you!
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