Occurrence and Movement of Groundwater

Course Outline

This course provides guidance on occurrence and movement of groundwater for engineers, hydrologists and geologists who are responsible for groundwater-related projects. The course materials are based entirely on Chapter 2 of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Engineering Manual EM 1110-2-1421 Groundwater Hydrology. The occurrence and movement of groundwater are related to physical forces acting in the subsurface and the geologic environment in which they occur. This course presents a general overview of basic concepts which explain and quantify these forces and environments as related to groundwater. A discussion on saltwater intrusion is also included.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of course materials.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

• Have a better understanding of groundwater movement;
• Be familiar with forces acting on groundwater;
• Be familiar with general flow equations; and
• Be able to analyze groundwater movement using flow lines and flow nets.

Course Content

The purpose of this course is to provide guidelines to determine occurrence and movement of groundwater . You are required to study the following U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Engineering Manual:

Chapter 2 of Groundwater Hydrology (Engineering Manual EM 1110-2-1421, 1999 edition, 18 pages, PDF file).

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study.

The following contains the outline of Chapter 2 of the Engineering Manual EM 1110-2-1421:

Engineering and Design - Groundwater Hydrology

Chapter 2 - Occurrence and Movement of Groundwater

2-1 General
2-2 Hydrologic Cycle
2-3 Subsurface Distribution
2-4 Forces Acting on Groundwater
2-5 Water Table
2-6 Potentiometric Surface
2-7 Aquifer Formations
2-8 Principal Types of Aquifer Materials
2-9 Movement of Groundwater
2-10 Porosity and Specific Yield
2-11 Darcy's Law and Hydraulic Conductivity
2-12 Flow and Transmissivity
2-13 Homogeneity and Isotropy
2-14 Flow in Stratified Media
2-15 Aquifer Storage
2-16 General Flow Equations
2-17 Aquifer Diffusivity
2-18 Flow Lines and Flow Nets
2-19 Estimating Capture Zones of Pumping Wells
2-20 Specialized Flow Conditions

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:

USGS - Water Resources of the United States
National Ground Water Association
The Groundwater Foundation
Ground-Water Remediation Technologies Analysis Center

Once you finish studying the above course content you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDHonline.org or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered professional engineer. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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