Visit the following website https://has.concord.org/groundwater-movement.html
You will be presented with a groundwater simulation tool. Using this tool, explore the various types of porosity and permeability of land surfaces, as well as the dynamics of aquifer types and their affect on groundwater pumping.
Click on the “template” dropdown menu and select “Confined vs. unconfined aquifers.” In this template, you have one aquifer that is not bound on top by an impermeable layer, while the lower aquifer is bound on both the top and bottom.
Add two “non-flowback wells” side by side in the central peak above the aquifers. Extend one well into the unconfined aquifer, and extend the second well into the confined aquifer.
Question 1
Observe the “Well Output” graph (click the zoom button to see the data better). Let approximately 2 years go by. Why well maintained a higher output? Why do you think this is?
Question 2
How might drawing water from a confined aquifer prevent contamination of well water?
Question 3
Now try adding layers to extend the confined aquifer to the surface. First, add a layer of high-permeability material
Next, overlay an impermeable layer to form a conduit from the surface to the confined aquifer:
Set the “Rain probability ” slider to about 75% and click play. Compare and contrast the two aquifers as water recharges them.
Where is water entering? Which one recharges faster?
Question 4
If you were deciding where to place a groundwater pump, what are the pros and cons of placing a pump in a confined versus an unconfined aquifer?
Be sure to view information on “Artesian Wells” in the information available in this module.
Part 2
In the simulator, click on the “Template” dropdown menu and select the “Gaining Stream” template. Set the “Rain probability” slider to 0% and click the play button.
Question 1
Observe the water table around the stream(this is a cross-section, so stream is the low point toward the center of the viewing window)
What happens to the “Water Level” as time goes by? What happens to the water table?
What local weather conditions in Georgia might produce a gaining stream?
Question 2
Now click on the “Template” dropdown menu and select the “Losing Stream” template. Set the “Rain probability” slider to 0% and click the play button.
Observe the water table around the stream(this is a cross-section, so the stream is the low point toward the center of the viewing window).
What happens to the “Water Level” as time goes by? What happens to the water table?
What climate or weather conditions might produce a losing stream?
Question 3
Based on your answers above, explain the affects urban sprawl, population increase, and climate change in arid regions might impede major rivers like the Colorado River from reaching the ocean. Do you think this could happen in a region like Georgia? Explain you reasoning.
