What is a groundwater discharge area?
A simplified description of the distribution of geohydrological objects in the landscape is that groundwater recharge areas occur at local elevation curvatures and discharge occurs in lakes, brooks, and low situated slopes. Wetlands are assumed to be groundwater discharge areas.
Where is groundwater discharge?
Groundwater discharge is the term used to describe the movement of groundwater from the subsurface to the surface. There is natural discharge which occurs into lakes, streams and springs as well as human discharge, which is generally referred to as pumping.
What is the discharge zone of an aquifer?
Recharge areas are where aquifers take in water; discharge areas are where groundwater flows to the land surface. Water moves from higher-elevation areas of recharge to lower-elevation areas of discharge through the saturated zone.
Is groundwater everywhere?
Groundwater is everywhere beneath the soil surface and can be ever-present in many places if allowed to recharge. Even in dry conditions, it maintains the flow of rivers and streams by replenishing them, providing a valuable substitute for precipitation.
What is groundwater flow in geography?
Groundwater flow – the deeper movement of water through underlying permeable rock strata below the water table. Limestone is highly permeable with lots of joints and can lead to faster groundwater flow. Infiltration – the downward movement of water into the soil surface.
What is a discharge area?
This is the area where groundwater seeps up to the soil surface or into streams. Waterlogging and salinity are most likely to occur in these areas.
What is groundwater discharge and recharge?
Replenishment of infiltrating groundwater is known as recharge. Discharge of groundwater occurs when water emerges from the ground. Confined aquifers are generally recharged where the aquifer materials are exposed at the surface (outcrop).
What is groundwater evaporation?
Groundwater evaporation represents groundwater loss by direct evaporation from water table. This process takes place in bare soil environments and it is the most distinct in dry lands with shallow water table and coarse unsaturated zone material.
What is recharge and discharge of groundwater?
Summary. Groundwater recharge and discharge are important—although typically inconspicuous—aspects of the global hydrological cycle. Recharge involves the downward movement and influx of groundwater to an aquifer; discharge involves the upward movement and outflux of groundwater from an aquifer.
How is groundwater formed?
Most groundwater comes from precipitation. Precipitation infiltrates below the ground surface into the soil zone. When the soil zone becomes saturated, water percolates downward. Groundwater continues to descend until, at some depth, it merges into a zone of dense rock.
What are the source of groundwater?
Groundwater sources are beneath the land surface and include springs and wells. As can be seen from the hydrologic cycle, when rain falls to the ground, some water flows along the land to streams or lakes, some water evaporates into the atmosphere, some is taken up by plants, and some seeps into the ground.