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Definition
| A subsurface rock or sediment unit that is porous and permeable. To be an aquifer it must have these traits to a high enough degree that it stores and transmits useful quantities of water. |
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artesian formation [image] |
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Definition
| Of, being, or concerning an aquifer in which water rises to the surface due to pressure from overlying water. |
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evapotranspiration [image] |
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Definition
| All methods of water moving from a liquid to water vapor in nature. Includes both evaporation and transpiration. |
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Definition
| A hot spring that intermittently erupts a spray of steam and hot water. Caused by the heating of ground water within a confined opening in hot rock. |
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Definition
| The water vapor in the earth's atmosphere |
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| A layer of rock, sediment or soil that does not allow water to pass through. This could be caused by a lack of pore space or pore spaces that are so small that water molecules have difficulty passing through. |
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Definition
| A measure of how well a material can transmit water. |
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Definition
| The volume of pore space in a rock, sediment or soil. Usually expressed as a percentage. This pore space can include openings between grains, fracture openings and caverns. |
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Definition
| Water added to an aquifer or other water body. An aquifer is recharged by precipitation in an area where the aquifer has a porous connection to the surface. |
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Definition
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Definition
| The movement of water between the atmosphere, ground and surface water bodies through the processes of evaporation, precipitation, infiltration, percolation, transpiration and runoff. Also known as the "hydrologic cycle". |
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Definition
| A level beneath the Earth's surface, below which all pore spaces are filled with water and above which the pore spaces are filled with air. The top of the zone of saturation in a subsurface rock, soil or sediment unit. |
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