Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 12 views

    Water Table - Wikipedia

    Uploaded by

    toegyi2527
    The document discusses the water table, which is defined as the upper surface of the zone of saturation in the ground. It describes how the water table varies based on factors like surface topography, precipitation, and permeability of the soil. It can be affected by things like seasonal changes, proximity to rivers or oceans, and the presence of impermeable layers in the ground. Maintaining the proper depth of the water table is important for crop yields and construction projects.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Water Table - Wikipedia

    Uploaded by

    toegyi2527
    12 views7 pages
    The document discusses the water table, which is defined as the upper surface of the zone of saturation in the ground. It describes how the water table varies based on factors like surface topography, precipitation, and permeability of the soil. It can be affected by things like seasonal changes, proximity to rivers or oceans, and the presence of impermeable layers in the ground. Maintaining the proper depth of the water table is important for crop yields and construction projects.

    Original Description:

    Nice

    Original Title

    Water table - Wikipedia

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document discusses the water table, which is defined as the upper surface of the zone of saturation in the ground. It describes how the water table varies based on factors like surface topography, precipitation, and permeability of the soil. It can be affected by things like seasonal changes, proximity to rivers or oceans, and the presence of impermeable layers in the ground. Maintaining the proper depth of the water table is important for crop yields and construction projects.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    12 views7 pages

    Water Table - Wikipedia

    Uploaded by

    toegyi2527
    The document discusses the water table, which is defined as the upper surface of the zone of saturation in the ground. It describes how the water table varies based on factors like surface topography, precipitation, and permeability of the soil. It can be affected by things like seasonal changes, proximity to rivers or oceans, and the presence of impermeable layers in the ground. Maintaining the proper depth of the water table is important for crop yields and construction projects.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    You are on page 1of 7

    YADANABON UNIVERSITY

    DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY

    Water Table

    Project Paper Submitted by

    ROLL NO. NAME


    4/Geol. 50 Mg Htun Naung Oo

    December 2023
    Water table

    The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is
    where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater,[1] which may be
    fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the locality. It can also be simply explained as the depth
    below which the ground is saturated.

    Cross section showing the water table varying with surface


    topography as well as a perched water table

    Cross-section of a hillslope depicting


    the vadose zone, capillary fringe,
    water table, and the phreatic or
    saturated zone.
    (Source: United States Geological Survey.)
    The water table is the surface where the water pressure head is equal to the atmospheric
    pressure (where gauge pressure = 0). It may be visualized as the "surface" of the subsurface
    materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given
    vicinity.[2]
    The groundwater may be from precipitation or from groundwater flowing into the aquifer. In
    areas with sufficient precipitation, water infiltrates through pore spaces in the soil, passing
    through the unsaturated zone. At increasing depths, water fills in more of the pore spaces in the
    soils, until a zone of saturation is reached. Below the water table, in the phreatic zone (zone of
    saturation), layers of permeable rock that yield groundwater are called aquifers. In less
    permeable soils, such as tight bedrock formations and historic lakebed deposits, the water table
    may be more difficult to define.

    “Water table” and “water level” are not synonymous. If a deeper aquifer has a lower permeable
    unit that confines the upward flow, then the water level in this aquifer may rise to a level that is
    greater or less than the elevation of the actual water table. The elevation of the water in this
    deeper well is dependent upon the pressure in the deeper aquifer and is referred to as the
    potentiometric surface, not the water table.[2]
    Form

    The water table may vary due to seasonal changes such as precipitation and evapotranspiration.
    In undeveloped regions with permeable soils that receive sufficient amounts of precipitation, the
    water table typically slopes toward rivers that act to drain the groundwater away and release the
    pressure in the aquifer. Springs, rivers, lakes and oases occur when the water table reaches the
    surface. Groundwater entering rivers and lakes accounts for the base-flow water levels in water
    bodies.[3]
    Surface topography

    Within an aquifer, the water table is rarely horizontal, but reflects the surface relief due to the
    capillary effect (capillary fringe) in soils, sediments and other porous media. In the aquifer,
    groundwater flows from points of higher pressure to points of lower pressure, and the direction
    of groundwater flow typically has both a horizontal and a vertical component. The slope of the
    water table is known as the “hydraulic gradient”, which depends on the rate at which water is
    added to and removed from the aquifer and the permeability of the material. The water table
    does not always mimic the topography due to variations in the underlying geological structure
    (e.g., folded, faulted, fractured bedrock).
    Perched water table

    A perched water table (or perched aquifer) is an aquifer that occurs above the regional water
    table. This occurs when there is an impermeable layer of rock or sediment (aquiclude) or
    relatively impermeable layer (aquitard) above the main water table/aquifer but below the land
    surface. If a perched aquifer's flow intersects the surface, at a valley wall, for example, the water
    is discharged as a spring.

    Tidal

    On low-lying oceanic islands with porous soil, freshwater tends to collect in lenticular pools
    on top of the denser seawater intruding from the sides of the islands. Such an island's freshwater
    lens, and thus the water table, rises and falls with the tides.
    Seasonal

    In some regions, for example, Great Britain or California, winter precipitation is often
    higher than summer precipitation and so the groundwater storage is not fully recharged in
    summer. Consequently, the water table is lower during the summer. This disparity between the
    level of the winter and summer water table is known as the "zone of intermittent saturation",
    wherein the water table will fluctuate in response to climatic conditions. Long-term

    Fossil water is groundwater that has remained in an aquifer for several millennia and occurs
    mainly in deserts. It is nonrenewable by present-day rainfall due to its depth below the surface,
    and any extraction causes a permanent change in the water table in such regions.

    Effects on crop yield

    in Australia. The critical depth is 0.6 m.


    Most crops need a water table at a minimum depth.[6] For some important food and fiber crops a
    classification was made because at shallower depths the crop suffers a yield decline.
    DWT
    Crop and location Classification Explanation
    tolerance

    Wheat, Nile Delta,


    45 Very tolerant Resists shallow water tables
    Egypt

    Sugar cane, The water table should be deeper than


    60 Tolerant
    Australia 60 cm

    Yield declines at water tables < 70 cm


    Banana, Surinam 70 Slightly sensitive
    deep

    Cotton needs dry feet, water table should


    Cotton, Nile Delta 90 Sensitive
    be deep
    (Where DWT = depth to water table in centimeters)

    Effects on construction

    A water table close to the surface affects excavation, drainage, foundations, wells and leach
    fields (in areas without municipal water and sanitation), and more.

    When excavation occurs near enough to the water table to reach its capillary action, groundwater
    must be removed during construction. This is conspicuous in Berlin, which is built on sandy, marshy
    ground,
    and the water table is generally 2 meters below the surface. Pink and blue pipes can often be
    seen carrying groundwater from construction sites into the Spree river (or canals).
    See also

    Artesian aquifer – Confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure

    Groundwater recharge – Groundwater that recharges an aquifer

    Hydrogeology – Study of the distribution and movement of groundwater


    Water table control – Use of drainage to control the groundwater level in an area

    References

    (http://imnh.is .u.edu/digitalatlas/hydr/concepts/gwater/ wattable.htm). imnh.isu.edu.


    (https://www.worldcat.o rg/oclc/252025686).
    (https://pubs.usgs.gov/cir c/circ1139/pdf/part1bb.pdf) (PDF).

    You might also like