Hydrodynamics and geomorphology of groundwater environments [Chapter 1]

Abstract

Within the global water cycle, the groundwater pool represents a substantial volume of water, containing approximately 8,000-23,000•103 km3 (Abbott et al., 2019). Annual groundwater discharge to the ocean (0.1e6.5•103 km3/year) is two to three orders of magnitude smaller than oceanic evaporation (350e510•103 km3/year), which initiates the continental part of the water cycle through atmospheric condensation and landward precipitation (88e120•103 km3/year). The other segments of the water cycle are part of our daily life: the clouds in the sky, the polar ice seen from satellites and the snow, closer to us, the rivers we like to walk along, and the lakes where we go fishing and swimming. Conversely, the underground part of the water cycle remains poorly known to the general public. It is the invisible part of the water cycle. In fact, for many people, the notion of groundwater is generally associated with the idea of an underground lake or river. Instead, groundwater is a spongelike hydrologic system that occupies an extensive network of voids in near-surface (crustal) rocks of the continents and ocean floor. While groundwater systems are understood conceptually, less is often known about the specific movement of water through the subsurface system and the associated annual water cycle.

Citation

Aquilina, Luc; Stumpp, Christine; Tonina, Daniele; Buffington, John M. 2023. Hydrodynamics and geomorphology of groundwater environments [Chapter 1]. In: Malard, F.; Griebler, C.; Retaux, S., eds. Groundwater Ecology and Evolution (2nd edition). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. p. 3-37.