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Geology & Earth Sciences vocabulary · Water Cycle & Hydrology

Aquifer

Meaning in geology & earth sciences, with examples

/ˈækwɪfər/nounCore term

In geology & earth sciences, aquifer means: An underground body of permeable rock or sediment that holds groundwater and lets it flow, so that it can supply wells and springs.

In Turkish: akifer, su taşıyan katman

How it is used

A key word in hydrogeology. Sand, gravel, sandstone and fractured limestone make good aquifers. Aquifers are recharged, tapped, contaminated or overexploited. A confined aquifer lies between impermeable layers; an unconfined aquifer is open to the surface.

Example sentences

  1. The city gets most of its drinking water from a limestone aquifer.

  2. Fertiliser from the fields is slowly contaminating the shallow aquifer.

Common collocations

  • confined aquifer
  • unconfined aquifer
  • karst aquifer
  • recharge an aquifer
  • aquifer depletion
  • groundwaterWater held underground in the pores and cracks of soil, sediment and rock below the water table. It feeds wells and springs.
  • permeableAllowing water or other fluids to pass through easily. Sand, gravel and cracked limestone are permeable, while clay and shale let very little water through.
  • water tableThe upper surface of groundwater, below which soil and rock are fully saturated with water. Its depth rises and falls with rainfall and pumping.
  • limestoneA sedimentary rock made mostly of calcium carbonate in the form of the mineral calcite, often built from the shells and skeletons of sea creatures.

More terms: Water Cycle & Hydrology

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