Hydrogeology, EEES-4410/5410

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Course Objective: Introduce the fundamentals of the relationships between groundwater flow and geology with applications to water resource evaluation, utilization, chemical characterization and contaminant transport. This course is designed as the fundamental course in groundwater for students who plan to use hydrogeology in their carriers, e.g., environmental geologists, civil and environmental engineers, and environmental specialists and scientists.

Required Text: Applied Hydrogeology, 3rd. ed. by C.W. Fetter, Macmillan College Publishing, Inc., New York, NY.

Grading: Homework/quizzes 30%, Two exams 20% each, Final exam 30%

The course will be presented in three units, 1) Fundamentals of hydrogeology; 2) Regional Groundwater Flow and Geology; and 3) Water resource evaluation (hydraulic and chemical). Each of these units will be followed by and exam.

Homeworks, generally assigned weekly, are due the following week unless otherwise noted. These homeworks will consist of readings and worked problems. Quizzes on Fridays will alternate between quizzes on the reading and quizzes on the problems.

Course Schedule:

Week Unit 1: Fundamentals of hydrogeology. Exam: Monday, September 28

1. 8/25 Introduction to groundwater and hydrogeology
2. 8/30 Properties of fluids (water)
3. 9/06 Properties of porous media (aquifers)
4. 9/13 Principles of groundwater flow, Darcy’s law
5. 9/20 Principles of groundwater flow, continued.

Unit 2: Groundwater Flow and Geology. Exam: Monday, October 26

6. 9/29 (Exam on Unit 1, Sept. 28), Regional groundwater flow and flow nets
7. 10/04 Regional groundwater flow and flow nets, continued
8. 10/11 Geology and groundwater flow
9. 10/18 Geology and groundwater flow, continued

Unit 3: Water Resource Evaluation

10. 10/25 (Exam on Unit 2, Oct. 26), Steady state groundwater flow and wells,
11. 11/01 Transient groundwater flow to wells
12. 11/08 Basic groundwater chemistry
13. 11/15 Groundwater chemistry and presentation of hydrogeochemical data
14. 11/22 Presentation of hydrogeochemical data, continued (Thanksgiving vacation)
15. 12/01 Groundwater contamination
16. 12/07 Groundwater contaminant remediation

Final: Friday, December 17, 10:15-12:15, BO-3045

Assessment: GEOL-4410, Hydrogeology

Knowledge to be brought to course

1. Basic physics of materials: density, pressure, energy, units, volumes, phases.
2. Basic chemistry: dissolution, concentration, reactions, equilibrium, ions, acids, and bases
3. Mathematics: geometry, fundamental differential calculus, vectors, constructing and analyzing graphs, and using functions.
4. Properties of geological materials: density, fracturing, stratigraphy, grainsize distributions, mineralogy, chemical make-up, textures, weathering
5. Surficial geology: erosion, deposition and sediment types, stratigraphy, glacial sediment types.
6. Maps and cross sections: Reading and constructing maps and cross sections including topographic maps and geologic maps.

Knowledge to be gained from course

Students are expected to:

1. Be able to assess a geological scenario and construct a conceptual model of the hydrogeology: how is the formation recharged, how does the geology influence the flow paths of groundwater, what properties of the formation influence how fast groundwater will be transported,
2. Draw a piezometric surface map and use it to assess groundwater flow regimes.
3. Assess the influence of using groundwater as a resource: efficient extraction, vulnerability to contamination, depletion, and surface water interactions.
4. Evaluate groundwater resource availability given a geological situation
5. Evaluate water quality and contamination of water resources
6. Use physics and mathematics of groundwater flow to perform quantitative analyses of groundwater flow and advective contaminant transport.
7. Analyze data from hydrogeological tests on geological materials.