Groundwater discharge
Encyclopedia
Groundwater discharge is the volumetric flow rate
Volumetric flow rate
The volumetric flow rate in fluid dynamics and hydrometry, is the volume of fluid which passes through a given surface per unit time...

 of groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...

 through an aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...

.

Total groundwater discharge, as reported through a specified area, is similarly expressed as:
where
Q is the total groundwater discharge ([L3·T−1]; m3/s),
K is the hydraulic conductivity
Hydraulic conductivity
Hydraulic conductivity, symbolically represented as K, is a property of vascular plants, soil or rock, that describes the ease with which water can move through pore spaces or fractures. It depends on the intrinsic permeability of the material and on the degree of saturation...

 of the aquifer ([L·T−1]; m/s),
dh/dl is the hydraulic gradient ([L·L−1]; unitless), and
A is the area which the groundwater is flowing through ([L2]; m2)


For example, this can be used to determine the flow rate of water flowing along a plane with known geometry.

See also

  • Groundwater flow equation
    Groundwater flow equation
    Used in hydrogeology, the groundwater flow equation is the mathematical relationship which is used to describe the flow of groundwater through an aquifer. The transient flow of groundwater is described by a form of the diffusion equation, similar to that used in heat transfer to describe the flow...

  • Groundwater energy balance
    Groundwater energy balance
    The groundwater energy balance is the energy balance of a groundwater body in terms of incoming hydraulic energy associated with groundwater inflow into the body, energy associated with the outflow, energy conversion into heat due to friction of flow, and the resulting change of energy status and...

  • Submarine groundwater discharge
    Submarine groundwater discharge
    Submarine groundwater discharge is the net inflow of fresh water through an aquifer medium to the sea. Depending upon the hydrogeology, nutrient loads, and location, the SGD may vary. It is greatly dependent on the tides. Especially in the estuary regions, SGD is more relevant. It is important in...

  • Discharge (hydrology)
    Discharge (hydrology)
    In hydrology, discharge is the volume rate of water flow, including any suspended solids , dissolved chemical species and/or biologic material , which is transported through a given cross-sectional area...

     – for river
    River
    A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

    s
  • volumetric flow rate
    Volumetric flow rate
    The volumetric flow rate in fluid dynamics and hydrometry, is the volume of fluid which passes through a given surface per unit time...

  • flux
    Flux
    In the various subfields of physics, there exist two common usages of the term flux, both with rigorous mathematical frameworks.* In the study of transport phenomena , flux is defined as flow per unit area, where flow is the movement of some quantity per time...

     (transport definition)
  • Darcy's Law
    Darcy's law
    Darcy's law is a phenomenologically derived constitutive equation that describes the flow of a fluid through a porous medium. The law was formulated by Henry Darcy based on the results of experiments on the flow of water through beds of sand...

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