Subsurface Hydrology
Part 1: Groundwater Cycle Groundwater is the single largest reservoir of available freshwater on Earth. Part 1 explores the essential processes and properties that affect underground water. Part 2: Wells Hydraulics To use the water from the ground, we first have to extract it! Part 2 introduces wells hydraulics. Part 3: Groundwater Contamination Part 3 describes the principles of transport in aquifers so that engineers can predict and plan the safe extraction of groundwater for private and public use.
CE54400
Credit Hours:
3Learning Objective:
After completing this course, successful students will be able to:
Part 1
- Describe the global and local water balance and quantify groundwater recharge from hydrographs
- Identify underground waters, describe the properties of aquifers, and recall their classification
- Explain and apply Darcy's law
- Derive the groundwater flow equations, apply their solutions to solve practical problems
- Understand the vadose zone and the influence of soil water content on groundwater recharge
Part 2
- Describe the steady state flow to wells in confined and unconfined aquifers
- Describe the unsteady flow to wells in confined, semi-confined, and unconfined aquifers
- Explain slug tests
- Model aquifers and wells
- Explain how well fields work
Part 3
- Describe the advection and dispersion transport processes in porous media
- Solve advection and dispersion
- Solve reactive transport problems
- Apply transport models to real world problems
Topics Covered:
Basic wave mechanics (wave descriptors, wave propagation, wave shoaling and refraction, and surf zone processes); water level fluctuations (storm surge, tides, and longer-timescale processes); breakwater design (armor stability, run-up, overtopping, transmission); sediment transport (wave- and current-caused); shoreline protection measures.
Prerequisites:
Undergraduate courses in hydraulics, differential equations and computer sciences are recommended but not required.
Homework:
12 homework assignments comprising 67% of the final grade.
Exams:
3 exams comprising 33% of the final grade.
Textbooks:
Applied Hydrogeology, C.W. Fetter, Pearson Education 0-13-88239-0