Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions

Madeline Schreiber

Virginia Tech

This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Peer Reviewed Teaching Activities collection.

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This page first made public: Jun 27, 2005

Summary

This activity has three exercises:

measuring groundwater flow and velocity,
measuring vertical gradients in piezometers, and
sampling a well field.

These field exercises are meant to give students better comprehension of groundwater-stream interactions. It is better for use in smaller classes, as some instrumentation is needed.

Water cycle/groundwater-surface water interface, Surface Water | College Upper (15-16), Graduate/Professional

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Context

Audience

For upper level undergraduates and lower level graduate courses on hydrogeology or hydrology.

Skills and concepts that students must have mastered

Students must have reviewed Darcy's Law, concepts of hydraulic gradients, and some basic aquifer test methodology.

How the activity is situated in the course

Exercise should be coupled with lecture discussion of groundwater-surface water interactions.

Goals

Content/concepts goals for this activity

Groundwater-surface water interactions

Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity

-application of Darcy's Law
-analysis of spatial patterns
-correlation between gradients and discharge
-correlation between physical and chemical parameters

Other skills goals for this activity

-piezometer installation
-water level measurement
-calculation and mapping of gradients
-slug tests and slug test analysis

Description of the activity/assignment

In class, instructor provides background on groundwater-surface water interactions, defines the hyporheic zone, and describes why knowledge of the HZ is important for both hydrology and ecology.