Impact of ground water on

Geology
Groundwater
Groundwater Dynamics
Aquifer Stream relationship
 Topics Included
• Cave formation
• Sinkholes
• Petrified wood
• Hot springs
• Geysers
• Karst topography
• Geothermal Gradient
Cave Formation
Formation of Sinkholes
 Sinkholes (large dissolution cavities)
• Some sinkholes are formed when caves have
collapsed, others are formed from dissolution.
• Many sinkholes are located at the
intersection of joints.
• New sinkholes are forming because of the
lowering of the water table due to excessive
pumping.
• The floors of sinkholes lie below the water
table.
Suffosion
 Mechanism of Land Subsidence
• The weight of overlying sediments is supported
by the pore water pressure and the effective
stress in an aquifer.
• When groundwater is withdrawn, the pore water
pressure is reduced, and meanwhile, the effective
stress between mineral grains is increased,
causing the compression of sediments. As a
result, the land surface subsides.
The amount of subsidence depends on:
• How much the water pressure is reduced.
• The thickness and compressibility of the aquifer.
 Petrified wood(Replacement)
• Petrified wood is a fossil
in which the organic
remains have been
replaced by minerals in
the slow process of being
replaced with stone . The
process by which a fluid
dissolves matter already
present and at the same
time deposits from
solution an equal volume
of a different substance.
 Petrified Wood
• is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains
of terrestrial vegetation.
• It is the result of a tree or tree-like plants having
completely transitioned to stone by the process of
permineralization.
• Permineralization is a process of fossilization in which
mineral deposits form internal casts of organisms.
• Carried by water, these minerals fill the spaces within
organic tissue.
• Because of the nature of the casts, permineralization is
particularly useful in studies of the internal structures
of organisms, usually of plants
 Petrified wood contin’d
• All the organic materials have been replaced
with minerals (mostly a silicate, such as quartz), while
retaining the original structure of the stem tissue.
• Unlike other types of fossils which are typically
impressions or compressions, petrified wood is a three-
dimensional representation of the original organic
material.
• The petrifaction process occurs underground, when
wood becomes buried under sediment and is initially
preserved due to a lack of oxygen which inhibits
aerobic decomposition
 Petrified wood contin’d
• water flowing through the sediment deposits
minerals in the plant's cells; as the
plant's lignin and cellulose decay,
a stone mould forms in its place.
• The organic matter needs to become petrified
before it decomposes completely.
• A forest where such material has petrified
becomes known as a petrified forest.
 Yellowstone National Park
• Yellow stone National Park is the nation's first national
park, established in 1872
• Occupies 2.2 million acres in northwestern Wyoming
and southwestern Montana. Located along the
continental divide within the Middle Rocky Mountains.
• Yellowstone is on a high plateau averaging 8,000 feet in
elevation. The mountain ranges that encircle
Yellowstone vary from 10,000 ft to nearly 14,000 ft.
• Yellowstone National Park contains the headwaters of
two well known rivers, the Yellowstone River and the
Snake River.
• In active volcanic zones such as Yellowstone National Park,
water may be heated by coming into contact
with magma (molten rock).
• The high temperature gradient near magma may cause
water to be heated enough that it boils or
becomes superheated.
• If the water becomes so hot that it builds steam pressure
and erupts in a jet above the surface of the Earth, it is
called a geyser.
• If the water only reaches the surface in the form of steam,
it is called a fumarole.
• If the water is mixed with mud and clay, it is called a mud
pot.
Grand prismatic hot spring in Yellow
stone National park
 Thermal Features of Yellow stone
National Park
Fumaroles Mud pots
Mammoth Hot spring Terraces
Old Faithful Geyser erupting, Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone
National Park.
 Hot Water Underground
• Hot springs: springs in
which the water is
warmer than human body
temperature.
• Ground water may
circulate near a magma
chamber.
• Geyser: a type of hot
spring that periodically
erupts hot water and
stream; the water is
generally near boiling
(100oC)
 4 processes of geyser formation
• Steam rises from heated water
• Pulses of water swell upward
• Surface is broken
• Ejected water spouts upward and falls back
down into the pipe
 GEYSERITE
• Geyserite is the name given to
siliceous or calcareous mineral
deposits in the vicinity of hot
springs and geysers. Such
mineral deposits are typically
composed of opaline silica
(SiO2·nH2O), but sometimes they
are calcareous, resulting in a
surficial travertine deposit (e.g.,
Mammoth Hot Springs,
Wyoming). Siliceous geyserite is
also known as siliceous sinter. It
tends to be porous, lightweight,
and somewhat friable. The
hydrous silica forms by
precipitation from the hot waters
emerging from hot spring or
geyser vents.
 Karst Topography
• Karst topography is a landscape in which caves
and sinkholes are so numerous that they form a
peculiar topography characterized by:
• Many small, closed basins.
• Disrupted drainage pattern.
• Streams disappearing into the ground.
• Streams reappearing as large springs.
• Karst topography was first described in the Karst
region of the former Yugoslavia, extending from
Slovenia to Montenegro.
 Karst Topography
Karst Landscape in France Karst in Slovenia
 Geothermal gradient
• is the rate of increasing temperature with
respect to increasing depth in the Earth's
interior.

• Away from tectonic plate boundaries, it is

about 25 °C per km of depth (1 °F per 70 feet
of depth) in most of the world.
 How to calculate

• Difference b/w depths of two points divided

by difference in their temperatures
Temperature profile of Earth
 Geothermal Energy
• Electricity can be generated by harnessing
naturally occurring stream and hot water in
areas that are exceptionally hot underground
(geothermal areas);
• Nonelectric uses of geothermal energy include
space heating, as well as paper
manufacturing, ore processing, and food
preparation.
Changes in the water table as a Result
of Pumping
• When water is pumped from a new well, the rate of
withdrawal initially exceeds the rate of local groundwater
flow.
• This imbalance in flow rates creates a conical depression in
the water table immediately surrounding the well
called a cone of
depression.
• The locally steepened
slope of the water table
increases the flow of water
to the well.
 Groundwater Contamination
• Water circulating through sulfur-rich rocks may contain
dissolved hydrogen sulfide (H2S) that has the odor of
rotten eggs.
• If the contaminated water percolates through sand or
permeable sandstone, it become purified within short
distances.
• Sand promotes purification by:
• Mechanically filtering out bacteria.
• Oxidizing bacteria so they are rendered harmless.
• Placing bacteria in contact with other organisms that
consume them.
Contamination of Groundwater by Toxic Wastes
Municipal and industrial wastes, Pesticides & herbicides,
Landfills and underground storage tanks