Groundwater

11/17/16

“What is the water held underground like and how is it useful?”

Water is one of the most important substances in the universe, if not the most important. It keeps humans alive, causes plants to grow, and generally causes life to exist. And luckily for us, water is also one of the most plentiful resources as well, with over 71 % of the surface area of the Earth being composed of it! However, water is not just found in the ocean, but in a myriad of other locations. In fact, an immensely important storage area for water is in the subterranean world. This water (termed groundwater by geologists) is contained in geological structures termed aquifers (the spaces between soil particles and pores in fractured rocks). Groundwater can be replenished when rain and melted snow seeps down into the aquifers, and water from aquifers can be discharged through lakes, streams, and springs. Groundwater is so plentiful that it supplies 51 percent of the drinking water to the residents of the United States and 99 percent of it’s rural inhabitants. Much of our civilization runs off groundwater, as a whopping 64 percent of American agriculture is produced using groundwater. Although humanity uses groundwater for a multitude of uses, groundwater can be easily polluted with the leakage of waste into aquifers, which in turn will cause damage to the nearby population. An event of this sort illustrates how humanity is not disconnected from it’s surrounding environment, as as such we must take care of it to take care of ourselves. 

• Earth/Climate science