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A
ACRE-FOOT--The volume of water necessary to cover one acre to a depth of one foot.
Equal to 43,560 cubic feet or 325,851 gallons, or 1,233 cubic meters.
ALABASTER--A fine-grained massive variety of gypsum that may be white, pink,
gray, or even black. It can be polished and made into attractive objects of art.
ALLUVIAL AQUIFER--An aquifer formed by material laid down by physical
processes in a river channel or on a floodplain.
ALLUVIAL PLAIN--A level, gently sloping, or slightly undulating land surface
produced by extensive deposition of alluvium, usually adjacent to a river that
periodically overflows its banks.
ALLUVIUM--Unconsolidated clay, silt, sand, or gravel deposited duringrecent geologic
time by running water in the bed of a stream or on its floodplain.
AMPHIPOD--An invertebrate animal, member of the biologic order Amphipoda.
Amphipods are small segmented crustaceans. Some amphipods are nonpigmented caveadapted species.
ANASTOMOSIS--A network of tubular passages or holes in a cave or in a solutionsculpted rock. A complex of many irregular and repeatedly connected passages. A
labyrinth.
ANHYDRITE--A mineral usually associated with gypsum and of nearly the same
chemical composition. Anhydrite is distinguished from gypsum in that it lacks water, as
its name implies.
AQUICLUDE--An impermeable layer of rock that does not allow water to move
through it. Some shales, for example, have such low permeability that they effectively
form an aquiclude.
AQUIFER--A geologic formation (or one or more geologic formations) that is porous
enough and permeable enough to transmit water at a rate sufficient to feed a spring or a
well. An aquifer transmits more water than an aquitard. Sandstone beds and the Ogallala
Formation are some of the best water-producing layers in Kansas and are used
extensively for private and municipal water supplies.
AQUITARD--A part of a geologic formation (or one or more geologic formations) that
is of much lower permeability than an aquifer and will not transmit water at a rate
sufficient to feed a spring or for economic extraction by a well.
ARID--Said of a climate characterized by dryness, variously defined as rainfall
insufficient for plant life; less than 10 inches (254 mm) of annual rainfall.
ARTESIAN AQUIFER--An aquifer in which ground water is confined under pressur
significantly greater than atmospheric pressure. This pressure, called artesian pressure,
is generally due to the weight of water at higher levels in teh same zone and is sufficient
to cause water to rise above the level of the aquifer in a well or natural fissure. An
artesian aquifer is bounded above and below by confininf beds of less permeable rock.
Synonym: confined aquifer.
ATMOSPHERE--(1) The gaseous portion of the planet. (2) Standard unit of pressure
representing the pressure exerted by a 29.92-inches (760-mm) column of mercury at sea
level at 45 degrees latitude and equal to 14.696 pounds per square inch (psi) or 101.325
kilopascals (An).
AVAILABLE MOISTURE (OR MOISTURE)--Portion of water in a soil that can be
absorbed by plant roots. It is the amount of water released from a wet soil between field
capacity and the permanent wilting percentage.
B
BASEFLOW (OR BASE FLOW)--Streamflow derived mainly from ground water
seepage into the stream.
BASE LEVEL--In general, the lowest point in the water table in a given area. Water in
the area flows toward this destination by gravity and hydrostatic pressure.
BASE MAP--A map that shows only essential geolgraphic references (such as roads,
towns, section lines, etc.) on which additional information is plotted: for example, a
topographic map on which geologic information is recorded.
BED--A layer of rock in the earth. Also the bottom of a body of water such as a river,
lake, or sea.
BEDDING--The solid rock that underlies any unconsolidated sediment or soil.
Limestone and sandstone are common types of bedrock in Kansas.
BEDROCK--General term for the solid rock at or near the surface that underlies soil or
other unconsolidated materials.
BIOSTROME--A layer of rock composed of the remains of various fossilized animals,
such as crinoids and coral.
BLUFF--A high and steep bank or cliff.
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (BIODIVERSITY)--Variety of living organisms at all
levels, from genes to species, populations and communities, including the variety and
hierarchy of habitats and ecosystems that contain different biological communities.
BIOMASS--Total dry organic matter or stored energy content of living organisms that
is present at a specific time in a defined unit (community, ecosystem, crop, etc.) of the
earth's surface.
BIOME--Large, easily recognized community unit formed by the interaction of regional
climates with regional biota and substrates. Examples include the tundra biome, the
grassland biome, the desert biome, etc.
BIOSPHERE--Portion of earth and its atmosphere that can support life. The part
(reservoir) of the global carbon cycle that includes living organisms (plants and
animals) and life-derived organic matter (litter, detritus). The terrestrial biosphere
includes the living biota (plants and animals) and the litter and soil organic matter on
land, and the marine biosphere includes the biota and detritus in the oceans.
BLACKJACK--A synonym of sphalerite, especially a dark variety. The term was
originated by miners who regarded sphalerite as an impish intrusion ("jack") of
worthless material in lead ores.
BRACHIOPOD--A marine invertebrate that has two differently shaped valves and
equilateral symmetry.
BREAKDOWN--Rock (often found in heaps) that has collapsed from the walls and
ceiling of a cave.
BRECCIA--Profusely cracked, broken rock cemented by calcite or other minerals. In
the Tri-State mining district, which includes southeastern Kansas, breccia consisting of
chert and limestone is often found with deposits of lead and zinc ore.
BRINE--Highly salty water, commonly with more than 10,000 milligrams per liter of
chloride. In parts of Kansas, ground water may be naturally salty. Brine also is regularly
produced along with oil in Kansas.
BRYOZOAN--Tiny animal that lives in colonies in seawater and occasionally in
freshwater. Belongs to the phylum Bryozoa.
BUTTE--A hill with steep sides that usually stands away from other hills.
C
CALCITE--The mineral calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is the main component of
limestone and one of the most common minerals in Kansas.
CALICHE--A type of calcite-cemented sandstone that forms in the soil of dry regions.
Generally impure and soft.
CAMBRIAN PERIOD--The interval of geologic time between 545 and 495 million
years ago.
CARBONATE--A class of minerals. Calcite is calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Dolomite is
calcium-magnesium carbonate [CaMg(CO3)2]. Calcite is a main constituent of many
Kansas limestones. The mineral dolomite, less common, is the principal mineral in the
rock dolomite, also sometimes referred to as a dolostone.
CAVE--A natural cavity or chamber beneath the surface of the earth that is large
enough to permit entry to people.
CAVE PEARL--Aspeleothem consisting of concentric layers of calcite usually formed
in pools of water. A small particle, as it is turned by moving water, will have calcite
deposited on its surface. Pearls range in diameter from 1 millimeter to several
centimeters.
CARRYING CAPACITY--(1) The maximum number of organisms that an area or
habitat can support without reducing its ability to support the same number of
organisms in the future; (2) the amount of biological matter the system can yield, for
consumption by animals or humans, over a given period of time without impairing its
ability to continue producing, or the number of animals it can support without being
degraded; (3) the maximum population of a given species that can be supported
indefinitely, in a particular region, allowing for seasonal and random changes, without
any degradation of the natural resource base that would diminish the maximum
population in the future; (4) the maximum intensity of use an area will continuously
support under a management program without inducing a permanent change in the
biotic environment.
CENOZOIC ERA--One of the four large divisions of geologic time, it includes two
geologic period, from about 65 million years ago to the present.
CHALK--A soft form of limestone that is not well cemented and thus is often powdery
and brittle.
CHAT--Small pieces of crushed rock and gravel. May be used for paving roads and
roofs.
CHERT--Commonly called flint, this is a fine-grained, noncrystalline sedimentary rock
made up of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert layers are commonly found in eastern Kansas,
occurring as irregular beds or rounded nodules within limestone formations. Chert is
harder than limestone and is thus more resistant to erosion. The chert-topped hills in the
Flint Hills resulted from this differential erosion of the landscape. Chert has the same
chemical formula as the mineral quartz.
CLAY--A very fine grained material, smaller than silt (clay has a diameter of less than
1/256 mm). Clay is formed by the weathering and breaking down of rocks and minerals.
CLEAVAGE--The breaking of a mineral along its crystallographic planes, mirroring
crystal structure. Cleavage is one of the characteristics used to identify minerals.
CLIMATE--Generalized weather at a given place on earth over a fairly long period
(usually decades); a long term average of weather. Compare weather.
CLIMATE CHANGE--Long-term fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, wind, and
all other aspects of the earth's climate. External processes, such as solar-irradiance
variations, variations of the earth's orbital parameters (eccentricity, precession, and
inclination), lithosphere motions, and volcanic activity, are factors in climatic variation.
Internal variations of the climate system also produce fluctuations of sufficient
magnitude and variability to explain observed climate change through the feedback
processes interrelating the components of the climate system.
COAL--A general term used to describe black deposits consisting chiefly of carbon
compounds derived from plants and plant debris that have been compacted into firm,
brittle rocks.
COLUMN--A secondary deposit of calcite or other minerals that extends from ceiling
to floor, usually created by the joining of a stalactite and a stalagmite.
CONCHOIDAL--Used to describe a smoothly curving fracture surface of certain rocks
and minerals that is either concave or convex.
CONCRETION--A hard, compact mass of mineral material formed when minerals in
water are deposited about a nucleus (such as a leaf or shell or other particle) forming a
rounded mass whose composition or cement is usually different form the surrounding
rock.
CONE OF DEPRESSION--Cone-shaped lowering of the water table or potentiometric
surface around a pumped well.
CONFINED AQUIFER--An aquifer that is bounded above and below by aquitard units;
water levels in wells screened in a confined aquifer are higher than the top of the
aquifer.
CONFINING BED--A layer of relatively impermeable (i.e., incapable of transmitting
fluids) material overlying an aquifer.
CONGLOMERATE--Rock that consists of nonsorted, cemented particles usually
containing sand and gravel. Resembles concrete.
CONSERVATION--Management of water resources so as to eliminate waste or
maximize efficiency of use.
CONTACT--A plane or surface between two different types, or ages, or rock. The
contact is sometimes marked by a bedding plane, and sometimes caves are eroded or
dissolved out of the rock at a contact. Caves formed in this manner are known as contact
caves.
CONTACT SPRING--A type of gravity spring whose water flows to the land surface
from permeable rocks that are underlain by less permeable rocks, preventing the
downward movement of water.
CRETACEOUS PERIOD--The interval of geologic time between 142 and 65 million
years ago. It is named after the Latin word for chalk ("creta") because of the English
chalk beds of this age. The well-known chalk of Kansas was deposited late in the
Cretaceous, about 60 million years ago. The Dakota Formation is another famous
Cretaceous deposit in Kansas, frequently called the Dakota sandstone because the most
prominent beds--those that cap the hills and stand out as cliff formers--are sandstones.
CROSSBEDDING--A series of thin, inclined layers in a larger body of rock (usually
sandstone) that form a distinct angle to the principal horizontal bedding plane. Formed
by currents of water or wind, crossbedding is found in dune, stream channel, or delta
deposits.
CUBIC FOOT PER SECOND (cfs)--Rate of discharge representing a volume of one
cubic foot (28.317 x 10-3 m3) passing a given point during 1 second. This rate is
equivalent to approximately 7.48 gallons (0.0283 m3) per second.
CUESTA--A hill with a steep slope on one side and a gentle slope on the other. Such
topography characterizes part of eastern Kansas, which is called the Osage Cuestas.
Cuesta is the Spanish word for cliff.
D
DELTA--A deposit of sand and other sediment, usually triangular in shape. Deltas form
at the mouths of rivers where the water flows into the sea.
DEPOSITION--The laying down of sediment such as sand, soil, clay, or gravel by wind
or water. It may later be compacted into hard rock and buried by other sediment.
DEPTH TO WATER--The depth of the water table below the earth's surface.
DESERTIFICATION--Progressive destruction or degradation of vegetation cover
especially in arid and semiarid regions bordering existing deserts. Overgrazing of
rangelands, large-scale cutting of forests and woodlands, drought, and burning of
extensive areas all serve to destroy or degrade the land cover. The climatic impacts of
this destruction include increased albedo leading to decreased precipitation, which in
turn leads to less vegetation cover; increased atmospheric dust loading could lead to
decreased monsoon rainfall and greater wind erosion and/or atmospheric pollution.
DETRITUS--Parts of dead organisms and cast-off fragments and wastes of living
organisms.
DEVONIAN PERIOD--The interval of geologic time between about 417 and 354
million years ago.
DEW POINT--Temperature at which condensation occurs for a given amount of water
vapor.
DIP--In geology, dip is the angle at which a rock layer is inclined relative to the
horizontal. In Kansas most rock layers dip, or get deeper, as you move from east to
west.
DISCHARGE--Movement of ground water from the subsurface to the land surface,
usually from a spring or to a marsh, river, or stream.
DISCHARGE AREA--An area where ground water is lost naturally from an aquifer
through springs, seeps, or hydraulic connection to other aquifers. The water leaving the
aquifer is called discharge.
DISSOLUTION--See solution.
DIVIDE (DRAINAGE DIVIDE)--Boundary between one drainage basin and another.
DOLOMITE--The mineral dolomite [CaMg(CO3)2] is similar to calcite (CaCO3) and is
the principal mineral in the rock dolomite, also called dolostone. The rock dolomite is
cavernous in some states but is so rare and so thin in Kansas that no caves have been
found in it.
DOWNGRADIENT--In reference to the movement of ground water, the "downstream"
direction from a point of reference (e.g., a well).
DRAINAGE AREA--Of a stream at a specified location is that area, measured in a
horizontal plane, enclosed by a topographic divide from which direct surface runoff
from precipitation normally drains by gravity into the stream above the specified
location.
DRAINAGE BASIN--Hydrologic unit consisting of a part of the surface of the earth
covered by a drainage system made up of a surface stream or body of impounded
surface water plus all tributaries. The runoff in a drainage basin is distinct from that of
adjacent areas. A river basin is similarly defined.
DRAWDOWN--Lowering of the ground-water surface or the piezometric pressure
caused by pumping, measured as the difference between the original ground-water level
and the current pumping level after a period of pumping.
DRIPSTONE--Secondary mineralization in caves formed by dripping water, as opposed
to flowing water (see flowstone). Dripstone includes stalactites, stalagmites, helictites,
and columns (columns can also involve flowing water).
DROUGHT--(1) interval of time, generally of the order of months or years in duration,
during which the actual moisture supply at a given place rather consistently falls short
of the climatically expected or climatically appropriate moisture supply (meteorological
drought); (2) a condition that occurs only when available soil moisture is inadequate to
meet evaporative demand by plants (agricultural drought); (3) a period of below-normal
streamflow (hydrological drought).
E
ECOSYSTEM--Biological communities that interact with the physical and chemical
environment as a unified system, while simultaneously interacting with adjacent
ecosystems and with the atmosphere.
EFFLUENT--Any substance, particularly a liquid, that enters the environment from a
point source. Generally refers to wastewater from a sewage-treatment or industrial
plant.
EFFLUENT STREAM--Stream or reach of a stream whose flow is being increased by
inflow of ground water. A gaining stream.
EL NIÑO--Irregular changes in the ocean currents off the west coast of South America
that result in prolonged increases in sea-surface temperatures along the coast of Peru
and in the equatorial eastern Pacific Ocean. El Ni–o has been linked to distant
atmospheric features having diverse effects, such as the Indian monsoon, shrimp
production in Louisiana, and wildland fires in the United States.
ENVIRONMENT--Sum of all external conditions affecting the life, development, and
survival of an organism.
EOCENE EPOCH--The interval of geologic time between approximately 58 and 37
million years ago.
ERA--A unit of geologic time usually lasting hundreds of millions of years. Eras are
divided into smaller units of geologic time called periods.
EROSION--The wearing away, breaking down, or dissolving of rock and other material
by wind or water. The eroded material is often carried off and deposited in other areas.
Types of erosion include solution, corrosion, and abrasion. Most limestone and gypsum
caves are formed mainly by solution. Shelter caves and many sandstone caves are
formed by abrasion.
ESCARPMENT--A steep slope or cliff.
ESTUARY--The seaward end or widened funnel-shaped tidal mouth of a river valley
where freshwater comes into contact with seawater and where tidal effects are present.
EVAPORATION--Process of liquid water becoming water vapor, including
vaporization from water surfaces, land surfaces, and snow fields, but not from leaf
surfaces. Compare with transpiration.
EVAPORITE--A sedimentary rock made up mostly of minerals deposited when a saline
solution (such as seawater) evaporates. Gypsum, salt, and anhydrite are evaporites left
behind when ancient Kansas seas dried up.
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION--A collective term for water that moves into the
atmosphere from evaporation from land or water and from transpiration from plants.
EXTINCT--No longer existing. Many types or species of animals, such as dinosaurs,
lived in the past but are found no where in the world today. They are extinct.
F
FAULT--A fracture or break in underground rock usually resulting from tectonic
stresses along which one or both sides move. Movement along faults may produce
earthquakes; most faults are relatively minor with movement involving only a few feet.
FLOODPLAIN OR FLOOD PLAIN--Land bordering a stream, built up of sediments
from overflow of the stream and subject to inundation when the stream is at flood stage.
FLOWSTONE--Speleothems formed by flowing water. Includes bacon (banded
flowstone that resembles bacon and forms along sloping cave walls), rimstone dams,
travertine, and columns.
FOOD CHAIN--Sequence of organisms, each of which uses the next lower member of
the sequence as a food source.
FORAMINIFER--Any protozoan belonging to the subclass Sarcodina, order
Foraminifera, characterized by the presence of a test of one to many chambers made up
of secreted calcite (rarely silica or aragonite) or of agglutinated particles.
FORMATION--A body of rock identified by physical characteristics and stratigraphic
position and mappable at the earth's surface or traceable in the subsurface. The
formation is the fundamental unit in lithostratigraphic classification. Formations can be
subdivided into members or lumped together into groups.
FOSSIL--The outline, traces, or body part of a plant or animal that has been preserved
in rock. Animal tracks preserved in rocks are also fossils.
FOSSILIFEROUS--Describing a rock in which fossils are profuse. Many of Kansas
limestones are studied for such fossils as crinoids, brachiopods, and other marine
invertebrates. In the chalk beds of western Kansas, large fossils of reptiles and fish of
the Cretaceous Period are found.
FRESHWATER--Water containing only small quantities (generally less than 1,000
milligrams per liter) of dissolved materials.
FUSULINID--Tiny, single-celled marine animals that became extinct at the end of the
Permian Period. Although fusulinids were single-celled, their shells are large enough to
see with the naked eye.
G
GAGING STATION--Site on a stream, lake, reservoir, or other body of water where
direct systematic observations of hydrologic data are obtained.
GALENA--Lead sulfide (PbS), one of the lead ores mined in southeast Kansas.
GAMMA RADIATION--Radiation consisting of electromagnetic wave-type energy
similar to X-rays. See also radioactivity.
GENERAL CIRCULATION MODELS (GCMs)--Large-scale computer models used to
predict the response of the climate system to a carbon dioxide (CO2) increase or other
stresses. Generally, the atmosphere, land, and oceans are divided into a number of
discrete layers, with each layer consisting of a two-dimensional grid of thousands of
points. The model then solves equations for the transport of heat, momentum, moisture
(in the atmosphere and land), and salinity (in the ocean) on this three-dimensional grid.
The typical resolution is 4¡ latitude by 5¡ longitude.
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS)--Computer-based systems for
storing and manipulating geographic (spatial) information.
GEOLOGY--The study of the earth, what it's made of, and how it changes over time.
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES--Features produced by deformation or displacement of the
rocks, such as folds, faults, and fractures.
GLACIAL DRIFT--Sediment and rocks transported by glaciers and deposited directly
on the land or indirectly in streams, lakes, and oceans. It consists of a heterogeneous
mixture of clay, silt, sand, gravel, and boulders ranging in size and shape.
GLACIER--A moving mass of ice.
GOUR--Small rimstone found on stalagmites and flowstones often measuring less than
1 inch in diameter.
GRAVEL PACK--Coarse sand and gravel placed in the annular space between the
borehole and the well casing in the vicinity of the well screen. The purpose of the gravel
pack is to minimize the entry of fine sediment into the well, stabilize the borehole, and
allow the flow of ground water into the well.
GREENHOUSE EFFECT--Popular term used to describe the roles of water vapor,
carbon dioxide, and other trace gases in keeping the earth's surface warmer than it
would be otherwise. These "radiatively active" gases are relatively transparent to
incoming short wave radiation but are relatively opaque to outgoing long wave
radiation. The latter radiation, which would otherwise escape to space, is trapped by
these gases within the lower levels of the atmosphere. The subsequent reradiation of
some of the energy back to the surface maintains surface temperatures higher than they
would be if the gases were absent. There is concern that increasing concentrations of
greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and manmade
chlorofluorocarbons, may enhance the greenhouse effect and cause global warming.
GREENHOUSE GASES--Gases, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane,
nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and ozone, that insulate the earth, letting sunlight
through to the earth's surface while trapping outgoing radiation. Also see greenhouse
effect and trace gas.
GROUND WATER--Underground water that is generally found in the pore space of
rocks or sediments and that can be collected with wells, tunnels, or drainage galleries, or
that flows naturally to the earth's surface via seeps or springs.
GROUND-WATER BASIN--Geologically and hydrologically defined area that
contains one or more aquifers that store and transmit water and will yield significant
quantities of water to wells.
GROUP--A formal stratigraphic unit made up of two or more contiguous or associated
formations. A group name is made up of a geographic name and the word "group."
GYPSUM--A soft mineral composed of calcium sulfate with water (CaSO4•H2O).
Gypsum can be found as rock gypsum, elenite, alabaster, or satin spar. Some secondary
cave formations can consist of gypsu, especially in the Red Hills.
H
HALF-LIFE--The time it takes for one-half of a given amount of a radioactive isotope
to decay to a stable daughter product.
HARD WATER--See hardness.
HARDNESS--(1) Water-quality parameter that indicates the level of alkaline salts,
principally calcium and magnesium, and expressed as equivalent calcium carbonate
(CaCO3). Hard water is commonly recognized by the increased quantities of soap,
detergent, or shampoo necessary to lather. (2) In mineralogy, the degree of hardness of a
mineral is an aid in identification. Geologists have assigned numbers to the hardness of
several minerals; in this hardness scale, softer minerals are assigned a low mineral and
the harder minerals a higher number.
HECTARE (ha)--One hectare equals 2.47 acres. One square kilometer equals 100
hectares. One square mile equals 259 hectares.
HELICTITES--Twisting, wormlike speleothems similar to strawtites but controlled by
surface tension rather than by gravity.
HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER--In Kansas, three, hydraulicaly connected but distinct
aquifers: the Ogallala, Great Bend Prairie, and Equus Beds aquifers. In general, the
Ogallala Formation is made up of unconsolidated sand, gravel, silt, and clay deposited
by streams that flowed east from the Rocky Mountains during the Miocene Epoch. The
Great Bend Prairie and Equus Beds aquifers are also composed of silt, clay, and gravel
deposits left by streams flowing through central Kansas, but these deposits are generally
younger (Pleistocene and Holocene) than the Ogallala. In some areas, these aquifers are
in contact with each other and thus form one continuous aquifer.
HOLOCENE EPOCH--The interval of geologic time between approximately 10,000
years ago and the present.
HYDRAULIC HEAD OR (STATIC) HEAD--Height that water in an aquifer can raise
itself above an (arbitrary) reference level (or datum), and is generally measured in feet.
When a borehole is drilled into an aquifer, the level at which the water stands in the
borehole (measured with reference to a horizontal datum such as sea level) is, for most
purposes, the hydraulic head of water in the aquifer. This term defines how much
energy water possesses. Ground water possesses energy mainly by virtue of its elevation
(elevation head) and of its pressure (pressure head). See also hydrostatic head. When
ground water moves, some energy is dissipated and therefore a head loss occurs.
HYDRAULICALLY CONNECTED--A condition in which ground water moves easily
between aquifers that are in direct contact. An indication of this condition is that the
water levels in both aquifers are approximately equal.
HYDROGEOLOGY--The study of ground water and its relationship to geology. Also
sometimes known as geohydrology.
HYDROLOGIC BUDGET OR BALANCE--Accounting of the inflow to, outflow from,
and storage in a hydrologic unit such as a drainage basin, aquifer, soil zone, lake, or
reservoir; the relationship between evaporation, precipitation, runoff, and the change in
water storage, expressed by the hydrologic equation.
HYDROLOGIC CYCLE--The complete cycle that water can pass through, beginning as
atmospheric water vapor, turning into precipitation and falling to the earth's surface,
moving into aquifers or surface water, and then returning to the atmosphere via
evapotranspiration.
HYDROLOGY--The study of the characteristics and occurrence of water, and the
hydrologic cycle. Hydrology concerns the science of surface and ground waters,
whereas hydrogeology principally focuses on ground water.
HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE--Pressure exerted by water at any given point in a body
of water at rest.
I
IGNEOUS ROCK--Rock that forms when a hot liquid (magma) cools and hardens.
INDUCED INFILTRATION OR INDUCED RECHARGE--Recharge to ground water
by infiltration, either natural or human-made, from a body of surface water as a result of
the lowering of the ground-water hydraulic head below the surface-water level.
INFILTRATION (SOIL)--Movement of water from the ground surface into the soil.
INFLUENT STREAM--Stream or reach of stream that loses water into the ground. Also
known as a losing stream.
INJECTION WELL--Well used for injecting water or other fluid into a ground-water
aquifer. See also artificial recharge.
INORGANIC--Not made of or derived from living matter. Minerals are inorganic.
INSURGENCE--A sinkhole opening that permits flowing surface water to be captured
and transported underground, to later reemerge as a spring (resurgence). Includes piracy
openings.
INTRUSION--An igneous rock formed from magma that pushed its way through other
rock layers. Magma often moves through rock fractures, where it cools and hardens.
ISOPOD--An invertebrate aminal in the biologic order Isopoda. Isopods are small
segmented crustaceans, the best known of which are sow bugs and other land-dwelling
species. In caves aquatic isopiods are often studied because many are troglobitic and
depend on caves for survival.
ISOTHERM--Line that connects points of equal temperature.
ISOTOPE--An isotope is an element that has a specific number of neutrons in its
nucleus. Neutrons, along with protons and electrons, are the building blocks of atoms.
Protons and neutrons form the nucleus of the atom, and electrons orbit around the
nucleus. The number of protons in an element is constant; if you change the number of
protons, you end up with a different element. Neutron numbers, however, can vary,
creating the different isotopes of a given element. For example, oxygen always has 8
protons, but it can have 8, 9, or 10 neutrons. All naturally occurring elements have
isotopes. Some isotopes are unstable (radioactive) and decay to stable isotopes. The
isotopes of an element have slightly different properties, owing to their mass
differences, by which they can be separated.
J
JOINT--In geologic terms, a natural fracture, usually vertical, in a rock. Joints are
common in limestones, and caves usually form along joints and bedding planes.
JURASSIC PERIOD--The interval of geologic time between approximately 205.7 and
142 million years ago. In Kansas, rocks of Jurassic age, about 175 million years old,
underlie much of the western part of the state and crop out in two locations in Morton
County (see discussion of Point of Rocks).
K
KARST--A terrain or type of topography generally underlain by soluble rocks, such as
limestone, gypsum, and dolomite, in which the topography is chiefly formed by
dissolving the rock; karst is characterized by sinkholes, depressions, caves, and
underground drainage.
KARST WINDOW--A sinkhole by which an underground stream can be observed and
studied.
L
LAVA--Hot molten rock (magma) that has reached the earth's surface after flowing out
of volcanoes or cracks in the earth.
LIMESTONE--Composed mainly of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), it is one of the most
common rocks in the state. Like most of the rocks found at the surface in the state, it is a
sedimentary rock.
LITHOLOGY--(1) The description of rocks on the basis of physical characteristics,
such as color and mineral composition. (2) The physical character of a rock.
LOESS--Nonstratified sediment composed of silt-sized particles deposited by the wind.
These windblown dust deposits were derived from glacial materials. Loess is found
throughout Kansas but is especially common in the northeastern and northwestern parts
of the state.
LUSTER--The appearance of a mineral in reflected light. Terms such as metallic or
greasy refer to general appearance; terms such as bright or dull refer to intensity.
M
MAGMA--Hot, liquid rock. Igneous rocks are formed when magma cools.
MARINE--Relating to the sea. Native to or formed by the sea.
MEASURED STRATIGRAPHIC SECTION--Recorded description of a rock outcrop,
usually depicted with a graphic column. Descriptions may include thickness,
composition, fossil content, geologic structures, and other features of the rock units.
MEMBER--A formal stratigraphic unit next in rank below a formation. It represents
some specially developed part of a formation.
MESA--A flat-topped hill with steep sides.
MESOZOIC ERA--One of the four large divisions of geologic time, it includes three
geologic period, from about 248 to 65 million years ago.
METAMORPHIC ROCK--Rock that has changed from one form to another by heat or
pressure.
METEOR--Small bodies of matter, such as rocks, traveling in space. They are heated
and often disintegrate after entering the earth's atmosphere.
METEORITE--Stony or metallic material of a meteor that has survived passage through
the Earth's atmosphere and reached the earth's surface.
METRIC TON--1,000 kilograms (kg). One metric ton = 1.1 U.S. (or short) ton.
MILLIGRAMS PER LITER (mg/L)--Milligrams per liter of water. This measure is
equivalent to parts per million (ppm).
MINERAL--A naturally occurring inorganic element or compound having a
periodically repeating arrangement of atoms and characteristic chemical composition,
resulting in distinctive physical properties.
MIOCENE EPOCH--The interval of geologic time between approximately 23.8 and 5.3
million years ago.
MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD--The interval of geologic time from 354 million to 323
million years ago. Rocks deposited during the Mississippian crop out in Kansas only in
the southeasternmost corner of the state.
MODEL--Assembly of concepts in the form of mathematical equations that portray
understanding of a natural phenomenon.
MODELING--Investigative technique that uses a mathematical or physical
representation of a system or theory that accounts for all or some of its known
properties. Models are often used to test the effects of changes of system components on
the overall performance of the system.
MONITORING WELL--Non-pumping well used primarily for drawing water-quality
samples; also for measuring ground-water levels.
MOSASAUR--An extinct marine reptile that lived in the Cretaceous seas. Some
mosasaur species were 45 to 50 feet long. Mosasaurs were the dominant carnivores in
many marine environments. See Oceans of Kansas Paleontology for more information
on the animals that lived in the Cretaceous seas of Kansas.
N
NATURAL GAS--Hydrocarbons that exist as a gas or vapor at ordinary pressures and
temperatures. Methane is the most important, but ethane, propane, and others may be
present. NATURAL RECHARGE--Naturally occurring water added to an aquifer.
Natural recharge generally comes from snowmelt and precipitation or storm runoff.
NONPOINT SOURCE--Source of water pollution that originates from a broad area,
such as agricultural chemicals, applied to fields, or acid rain.
O
OIL--see PETROLEUM. OLIGOCENE EPOCH--The interval of geologic time
between approximately 33.7 and 23.8 million years ago.
OOLITES--Small spherical concretions, commonly formed by calcite that was
deposited around a sand grain, shell fragment, or some other foreign particle in shallow,
wave-agitated water.
ORDOVICIAN PERIOD--The interval of geologic time between about 495 and 443
million years ago.
ORGANIC--Made from or derived from living matter. Coal is made from plants, which
are organic.
OUTCROP--That part of a rock unit that is exposed at the earth's surface.
OZONE--Molecule made up of three atoms of oxygen (O3). In the stratosphere, it
occurs naturally and it provides a protective layer shielding the Earth from ultraviolet
radiation and subsequent harmful health effects on humans and the environment. In the
troposphere, it is a chemical oxidant and major component of photochemical smog.
P
PALEOCENE EPOCH--The interval of geologic time between approximately 65 and
54.8 million years ago.
PALEONTOLOGY--The study of ancient life based on the examination of plant and
animal fossils.
PALEOZOIC ERA--One of the four large divisions of geologic time, it includes seven
geologic period, from about 545 to 248 million years ago.
PALYNOLOGY--Science of reconstructing the past flora and past climate from pollen
data obtained from lake and bog sediments. The fossil pollen record is a function of the
regional flora and vegetation at a given time and location.
PAMPAS--See prairie.
PARTS PER MILLION (ppm)--See milligrams per liter.
PELECYPOD--Any aquatic mollusk belonging to the class Pelecypoda (phylum
Mollusca), which includes clams, mussels, scallops, and oysters. Pelecypods have two
symmetrical calcareous shells, called right and left valves, that are joined by a hinge.
Pelecypods are also known as bivalves because of this bilateral symmetry. Most
pelecypods are bottom-dwelling and live in shallow marine waters.
PENNSYLVANIAN PERIOD--The interval of geologic time from approximately 323
million to 290 million years ago. The period is named after the state of Pennsylvania in
which rocks of this age are widespread and yield much coal. In Kansas, good exposures
of Pennsylvanian rocks showing alternations of shale and limestone exist in many
places in eastern Kansas.
PERCHED WATER TABLE--Water table of a relatively small ground-water body
lying above the general ground- water body.
PERCHING HORIZON--A relatively impermeable (i.e., incapable of transmitting
fluids) lens or layer of clay or bedrock in otherwise permeable sediments that slows or
prevents the downward movement of water.
PERIHELION--Point at which an object, travelling in an elliptical orbit around the sun,
is at its closest to the sun.
PERIOD--A unit of geologic time. Several periods make up an era.
PERMEABLE--Permeability is a measure of the ease with which a fluid will move
through a porous material (e.g., sand and gravel or rock). A geologic unit is permeable
if ground water moves easily throught it.
PERMEABILITY--(1) Ability of a material (generally an earth material) to transmit
fluids (water) through its pores when subjected to pressure or a difference in head.
Expressed in units of volume of fluid (water) per unit time per cross section area of
material for a given hydraulic head; (2) description of the ease with which a fluid may
move through a porous medium; abbreviation of intrinsic permeability. It is a property
of the porous medium only, in contrast to hydraulic conductivity, which is a property of
both the porous medium and the fluid content of the medium.
PERMIAN PERIOD--The interval of geologic time from approximately 290 to 248.2
million years ago. In Kansas, rocks from the early part of the Permian include many of
the limestones and shales that form the Flint Hills; later Permian deposits include the
red beds of south-central Kansas.
PETROGLYPH--An archeological term for carvings or lines cut into rock. Petroglyphs
have been carved into soft sandstones in central Kansas.
PETROLEUM--An oily liquid consisting of compounds of hydrogen and carbon
(hydrocarbons), which is formed from the remains of living organisms.
pH--measure of the relative acidity or alkalinity of water. Defined as the negative log
(base 10) of the hydrogen ion concentration. Water with a pH of 7 is neutral; lower pH
levels indicate an increasing acidity, while pH levels above 7 indicate increasingly basic
solutions.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS--Manufacture by plants of carbohydrates and oxygen from carbon
dioxide and water in the presence of chlorophyll with sunlight as the energy source.
Oxygen and water vapor are released in the process. Photosynthesis is dependent on
favorable temperature and moisture conditions as well as on the atmospheric carbon
dioxide concentration. Increased levels of carbon dioxide can increase net
photosynthesis in many plants.
PHREATIC--Indicating the water-saturated zone beolow the water table. The phreatic
zone is the area of the subsurface that is saturated with water.
PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGION (or PROVINCE)--A region of which all parts are similar
in geologic structure and climate and which has consequently had a unified geomorphic
history; a region whose patterns of relief features or landforms differs significantly from
that of adjacent regions. (from Glossary of Geology, 4th Edition).
PHYSIOGRAPHY--Description of the natural physical features (landforms) of the
earth.
PLAYA--Flat-floored bottom of an undrained desert basin, becoming at times a shallow
muddy lake after heavy rainfall; or the flooding of a river which on evaporation may
leave a deposit of salt or gypsum. A salt pan. The Great Basin in Nevada and Utah in
the western United States has many playas.
PLESIOSAUR--A large, fish-eating, marine reptile that became extinct at the end of the
Cretaceous Period.
PLEISTOCENE EPOCH--The interval of geologic time between approximately 1.6
million and 10,000 years ago.
PLIOCENE EPOCH--The interval of geologic time between approximately 5.3 and 1.6
million years ago.
POINT SOURCE--Source of pollution that originates from a single point, such as an
outflow pipe from a factory.
POPCORN--A term given to gnarled, bulbous, or pointed cave formations that form
either from slow seeping of mineralized water from porous bedrock or as coatings on
submerged walls and floors. Also know as cave coral.
POROSITY--Fraction of bulk volume of a material consisting of pore space.
POROUS--Geologically, this term describes rock that permits movement of fluids
through small, often microscopic openings, much as water moving through a sponge.
Porous rocks may contain gas, oil, or water.
POTENTIOMETRIC SURFACE--Imaginary surface representing the static head of
ground water and defined by the level to which water will rise in a well. The water table
is a particular potentiometric surface.
PRAIRIE--Gentle undulating, almost flat, generally treeless, grassy plains of North
America, covering the southern regions of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in
Canada and central United States from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains about as far
east as Lake Michigan. The light summer rains with local droughts and high summer
temperatures encourage a rich growth of grass, but few trees. They form the North
American equivalent of the Pampas of South America, the Steppes of Eurasia, and the
Veldt of South Africa.
PRECAMBRIAN--The interval of geologic time before the Cambrian Period, from
approximately 4.6 billion to 545 million years ago.
PRECIPITATION--Water in some form that falls from the atmosphere. It can be inthe
form of liquid (rain or drizzle) or solid (snow, hail, sleet).
Q
QUARTZ--An important rock-forming mineral, crystalline silica (SiO2) occurs either in
transparent hexagonal crystals or in crystalline or cryptocrystalline masses. Quartz is the
commonest mineral next to feldspar and forms the majority of most sands. It is widely
distributed in igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. It has a hardness of 7 on
the Mohs scale.
QUATERNARY PERIOD--The interval of geologic time between approximately 1.8
million years ago and the present. It is divided into the Pleistocene and Holocene
epochs.
R
RADIOACTIVITY--Release of energy and energetic particles by changes occurring
within atomic or nuclear structures. Radioactive energy is released in various ways such
as alpha radiation, beta radiation, and gamma radiation. Radioactivity data are expressed
in terms of concentration of specific nuclides. General measurements of total or gross
alpha or beta and gamma activity also are often reported. The radioactivity of water is
usually expressed in terms of the rate of radioactive disintegration (curies) per liter of
water.
RECHARGE--The addition of water into the aquifer, usually from precipitation
percolating into the ground.
RECHARGE AREA--A geographic area where water enters (recharges) an aquifer.
Recharge areas usually coincide with topographically elevated regions where aquifer
units crop out at the surface. In these areas infiltrated precipitation is the primary source
of recharge. The recharge area may also coincide with the area of hydraulic connection
where one aquifer receives flow from another adjacent aquifer.
RED BED--Red sedimentary units of Permian age in south-central Kansas. Consists of
shale and sandstone.
RESURGENCE--A speleologic term for spring of the exit of ground water to the
surface. Often refers to the downstream cave opening. An opening where flowing
surface water enters the subsurface is known as an insurgence.
RIMSTONE--A speleothem that results from the movement of water over a ridge where
minerals are deposited on the ridge. With time the ridge gradually builds upward in an
upstream direction forming a rimstone dam. Pools are formed behind these dams, and
cave pearls and cave popcorn may form in these pools.
RIPARIAN--Of, or pertaining to, rivers and their banks.
RIPARIAN HABITAT--Natural home of plants and animals occurring in a thin strip of
land bordering a stream or river. Dominant vegetation often consists of phreatophytes.
ROAD CUT--A location where rock or dirt, usually on a hill, is cut away to make room
for a road.
ROCK--Any naturally occurring mass that forms a part of the earth's crust. Rocks may
be made up of one or more minerals (e.g., granite, shale, marble), undifferentiated
mineral matter (e.g., obsidian), or solid orgainic material (e.g., coal).
ROOT ZONE--Subsurface zone extending from the land surface to the maximum depth
penetrated by roots.
RUNOFF--Drainage or flood discharge that leaves an area as surface flow or as pipeline
flow, having reached a channel or pipeline by either surface or subsurface routes.
Generally, surface water entering river, lakes, or reservoirs.
S
SAFE YIELD--(1) Rate of surface-water diversion or ground- water extraction from a
basin for consumptive use over an indefinite period of time that can be maintained
without producing negative effects; (2) the annual extraction from a ground-water unit
which will not, or does not, i. exceed the average annual recharge; ii. so lower the water
table that permissible cost of pumping is exceeded; iii. so lower the water table as to
permit intrusion of water of undesirable quality; or iv. so lower the water table as to
infringe upon existing water rights; (3) the attainment and maintenance of a long-term
balance between the amount of ground water withdrawn annually and the annual
amount of recharge; (4) the maximum quantity of water that can be guaranteed from a
reservoir during a critical dry period. Synonymous to firm yield.
SALINE WATER--Water containing more than 10,000 parts per million (ppm) of
dissolved solids of any type. Brackish water contains between 1,000 and 10,000 ppm of
dissolved solids.
SALINITY--The total quantity of dissolved salts in water, usually measured by weight
in milligrams per liter (mg/L) or parts per million (ppm). The upper limit for freshwater
is 1,000 mg/L; natural seawater has a salinity of approximately 35,000 mg/L.
SAND--A rock fragment or mineral particle smaller than a granule and larger than a
coarse silt grain. Its diameter ranges from 1/16 to 2 mm.
SANDSTONE--Rock formed by the compaction and/or cementing of sand. Cement
(matrix) material can be calcite, hematite (FeO2), or other materials.
SATURATED THICKNESS--The vertical thickness of an aquifer that is full of water.
The upper surface is the water table.
SCALLOP--A speleothem formed from solution by water movement on bedrock
surfaces. Abrasion erosion on rock surfaces forms flat surfaces on rock, but solutional
erosion often produces a dimpled surface like that of a golf ball. The steeper side of the
dimple is the upstream side.
SEDIMENT--Rock or other material that has been worn or broken into small pieces.
Sediment is often carried from its original location by wind or water and deposited in
other areas.
SEDIMENTARY ROCK--Rocks formed from sediment, broken rocks, or organic
matter. Many sedimentary rocks are formed when wind or water deposits sediment into
the layers, which are pressed together by more layers of sediment, forming underground
beds of rocks.
SEEP--A discharge of water that "oozes out of the soil or rock over a certain area
without distinct trickles or rivulets" (from H. Bouwer, 1978, Groundwater Hydrology:
New York, McCraw-Hill, 480 p.).
SEMIARID--Said of a type of climate in which there is slightly more precipitation (1020 inches [254-508 mm]) than in an arid climate, and in which sparse grasses are the
characteristic vegetation.
SHALE--Rock that is often impervious to water (will not allow water to move through
it) but rather soft, brittle, and easily eroded. Shale is the result of compaction of silt or
mud. Much of the Permian and Pennsylvanian strata in Kansas consists of various
shales, often brightly colored.
SILT--A rock fragment or mineral particle with a diameter of 1/16 mm to 1/256 mm,
smaller than a very fine sand grain and larger than coarse clay.
SILURIAN PERIOD--The interval of geologic time between about 443 and 417 million
years ago.
SINK (SINKHOLE)--A depression in the surface of the earth caused by solution and/or
collapse of rock. A sink is an entry point for water into cave and spring systems. All
sinks will carry water into the subsurface.
SOLAR NEBULA THEORY--The current theory for the origin of the solar system,
which involves a huge cloud of gases and dispersed solids condensing under its own
gravitational attraction, then contracting, rotating, and flattening into a disk, with the
sun forming in the center and planets forming in localized eddies around the sun.
SOLUTION--Geologically, the action of the dissolving of rock by water or the term to
describe the water that dissolves the rock. Limestone dissolves in acidic solutions;
gypsum can be dissolved in pure water. On dissolving the rock, the water becomes a
calcite solution (the calcite may later be redeposited).
SPELEOGEN--A bedrock form that results from differential solution of cave passages.
Speleogens are forms that are left behind after solution rather than forms created by
deposition (speleothems).
SPELEOGENESIS--The study of cave formation. Each cave has a unique origin.
SPELEOLOGY--The science of the cave environment. It embraces several brances of
biology and geology as well as chemistry, meteorology, and soil science.
SPELEOTHEM--Asecondary mineral deposit formed within a cave, such as stalactites
and stalagmites.
SPHALERITE--Zinc sulfide (ZnS), the principal zinc ore mined Tri-state deposits in
southeastern Kansas, usually found in breccia in ancient refilled sinks and caves.
SPRING--A place where ground water flows naturally from the earth into a body of
surface water or onto the land surface, at a rate sufficient to form a current.
STALACTITE--A normally cylindrical deposit of minerals suspended from the ceiling
of a cave. In Kansas stalactites are generally found in limestone caves.
STALAGMITE--A column of mineral deposits that grow upward from the floor, often
from water dripping down from a stalactite above.
STRATIGRAPHY--The study of sedimentary rock layers. Stratigraphy includes
deposition, age, distribution, and other characteristics.
STRAWTITE--Also known as a soda straw, this term describes stalactites in their infant
stage. When calcite-laden dripwater hangs on the ceiling and falls, movement releases
carbon dioxide and a ring of calcite is deposited at the point from which it fell. As the
formation grows, it resembles a drinking straw and can be several inches long.
Eventually, most soda straws will become clogged by calcite growths within them.
Then the water is forced to flow down the outside of the stawtites, and minerals
deposited on the outer surface. Ultimately, the stalactite becomes the carrot-shaped form
usually seen in caves.
STREAK--The finely powdered material left behind when a mineral is rubbed on a
piece of unglazed porcelain. This streak may have a different color from that of the
mineral itself and is an excellent check in identifying many minerals.
SUBLIMATION--Transition of water directly from the solid state to the gaseous state,
without passing through the liquid state; or vice versa.
SUBSURFACE--Underground. Below the earth's surface.
SURFACE WATER--Water found at the earth's surface, usually in streams or lakes.
T
TALUS--Fallen or broken rock that is found at the foot of a steep slope. The spaces
between talus boulders may be interconnected and large enough to be considered caves.
The longest talus cave in Kansas is 81 feet long (Talus Cave in Montgomery County).
TECTONICS--The study of the movement of the earth's outer crust. Tectonics includes
the study of earthquakes and other faulting, mountain uplifting, and plate tectonics.
TERTIARY PERIOD--The interval of geologic time between about 65 and 1.8 million
years ago. It includes the Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene epochs.
THERMAL POLLUTION--Reduction in water quality caused by increasing its
temperature, often due to the disposal of waste heat from industrial or power generation
processes. Thermally polluted water often undergoes biological changes that render it
less valuable for drinking, recreation, habitat, or industrial use.
TOPOGRAPHIC MAP--A map that shows natural human-made features of an area
using contour lines (lines of equal elevation) to portray the size, shape, and elevation of
the features.
TOPOGRAPHY--Physical features, such as hills, valleys, and plains that shape the
surface of the Earth.
TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS (TDS)--The total quantity of minerals (salts) in water,
usually measured by weight in milligrams per liter (mg/L) or parts per million (ppm).
TRANSPARENCY--(Mineralogy) The degree to which light passes through a small
piece of a mineral. If objects can be seen through the mineral, it is said to be transparent.
If no light passes through and nothing can be seen through a small piece, the mineral is
called opaque. Minerals that are neither opaque or transparent are said to be translucent.
TRAVERTINE--A finely crystalline limestone deposited by ground water and surface
water. Travertine can be found in Kansas caves and around springs and some waterfalls.
TRIASSIC PERIOD--The interval of geologic time between approximately 248.2 and
205.7 million years ago.
TROGLOBITE--One of four classes of cavernicoles (life forms found in caves). These
four classes are (1) accidental, animals washed into caves or those that fall into
sinkholes, (2) trogloxene, animals that visit caves, (3) troglophile, animals that live in
caves, and (4) troglobite. A troglobite is a cave-adapted animal living permanently
underground in the dark zone of caves and only accidentally leaving it. It is completely
dependent on caves for survival and cannot survive outside caves for long periods.
TROGLOPHILE--An animal that habitually enters or lives permanently within the dark
zone of a cave but is also capable of living outside because it is not evolved or adapted
specifically to caves. Some accidentals are capable of becoming troglophiles if they are
able to survive in caves.
TROGLOXENE--An animal that visits caves but is dependent on the outside for food.
Trogloxenes included all cave bats, people, raccoons, and other surface species that
must spend part of their lives outside caves to survive.
U
UNCONFINED AQUIFER--An aquifer that is not bounded above by an aquitard; water
levels in wells screened in an unconfined aquifer coincide with the elevation of the
water table.
UNCONFORMITY--Contact between rock layers representing a break or interruption
in the desposition process, which creates a gap in the geologic record.
UNCONSOLIDATED DEPOSITS--Sediment that is loosely arranged or unstratified, or
whose particles are not cemented together.
UPCONING--The upward movement of ground water from a deeper to shallower
position in the aquifer, usually induced by pumping a well or discharge to the surface.
UPGRADIENT--In reference to the movement of ground water, the "upstream"
direction from a point of reference (e.g., a well).
UPLIFT--An upheaval. Elevation or raising of part of the earth's surface through forces
within the earth.
V
VADOSE--Indicating the area below the earth surface but above the water table.
Includes all ground water above the water table. In caves vadose water forms stalactites
and other dripstone speleothems. Vadose cave streams carve trenches and canyons and
vertical pits as the water table lowers with time.
W
WATER TABLE--A fluctuating demarcation line between the unsaturated (vadose)
zone and the saturated (phreatic) zone that forms an aquifer. It may rise or fall
depending on precipitation (rainfall) trends. The water table is semiparallel to the land
surface above but is not always a consistent straight line. Because of impervious beds of
shale, etc., local water tables can be perched above the area's average water table.
WATER VAPOR--Water present in the atmosphere in gaseous form; the source of all
forms of condensation and precipitation. Water vapor, clouds, and carbon dioxide are
the main atmospheric components in the exchange of terrestrial radiation in the
troposphere serving as a regulator of planetary temperatures via the greenhouse effect.
Approximately 50 percent of the atmosphere's moisture lies within about 1.84 km of the
earth's surface, and only a minute fraction of the total occurs above the tropopause.
WATERSHED--The area of land drained by a single stream or river.
WELL--A vertical excavation into an underground rock formation.
WELL SCREEN--A slotted section of pipe usually placed in the borehole adjacent to
the main aquifer unit or units that supplies the well with water.
WETLAND--Land with a wet spongy soil, where the water table is at or above the land
surface for at least part of the year.