Article
Article
Groundwater hydrology
Article By:
Pinder, George F. College of Engineering, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont.
Barcelona, Michael J. Institute for Water Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Last reviewed:November 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.301300
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- Groundwater hydrology, published June 2014:Download PDF
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The occurrence, circulation, distribution, and properties of any liquid water residing beneath the surface of the Earth. This article excludes any water molecules that constitute mineral species such as clays. Generally, groundwater is that fraction of precipitation that infiltrates the land surface and subsequently moves, in response to various hydrodynamic forces, to reappear once again as seeps or in a more obvious fashion as springs (Fig. 1). Most of groundwater discharge is not evident because it occurs through the bottoms of surface water bodies; in fact, large freshwater springs are relatively common on the ocean bottom off the eastern coast of Florida. See also: Hydrology; Spring (hydrology)
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