Introduction

1. Significance of groundwater
2. Hydrology and hydrogeology
3. Historical evolution of Hydrogeology
4. Application of modern Hydrogeology

Hydrologic cycle
5. Characterization and processes
6. Water balance equation
1. Significance of groundwater

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1. Significance of groundwater

Water supply
Water is a strategic resource, groundwater provides drinking water, thermal
water, water for agriculture – with limited availability and high vulnerability

Global water
resource/person:
6000m3/year
(Cosgrove és Rijberman 2000)
 1. Significance of groundwater

Environmental issues
Environmental problems and importance of groundwater

• negative effects of unlimited use of

groundwater: drought, dried up
springs and wells
• contamination of water resources
• recognition of the importance of
groundwater in the environment
• groundwater is a part of the
subsurface environmental
processes
• groundwater has to be protected
2. Hydrology and hydrogeology
(after Tóth, 1984)

Hydrology: the science of terrestrial water. It deals with the

interaction of Earth and water and with the global transport of
water in and between the spheres of the Earth.

Hydrogeology: is the branch of hydrology. It is an earth

science, it deals with the interaction between the lithosphere
and water. Those physical, chemical, hydrologic and hydraulic
processes belongs to its subject which are the consequence of
this interaction.

Groundwater: under the surface as far as that depth where

free water exists.
3. Historical evolution of hydrogeology
Engineering sciences
(~3000BC-1960s)
• Empirical development: techniques of water
drainage and use of springs, wells, qanats (khettaras)
• Quantitative estimations: water storage and
hydraulic conductivity, flow to wells in aquifers
(unconfined, confined)

(Mádl-Szőnyi, 2011)
3. Historical evolution of hydrogeology
A qanat is a water
management system
used to provide a
reliable supply of
water for human
settlements and
irrigation in hot, and
semi-arid climates.
(Beaumont 1973, p.24.)

Qanat systems
in the Middle-East from
2500 BC

These use the water of

saturated alluvial deposits
by horizontal gravitational
pipeline and shaft systems
without evaporation loss.
3. Historical evolution of hydrogeology

Qanat system in Morocco

3. Historical evolution of hydrogeology
Aqueducts from the Roman Empire
from IVth century BC to
IIIth centuryAC

The first pump system: Archimedes-

screw
(source: Chambers's Encyclopedia)

River diversion
3. Historical evolution of hydrogeology
Recharge Recharge area
Artesian well

river
upper aquifer

aquiclude Chamberlain, 1885

There are no absolute

impermeable strata!
aquifer
aquifer

The artesian paradigm works with absolute

impermeable strata. That was the first coherent
paradigm in Hydrogeology. (Mádl-Szőnyi, 2011)
 3. Historical evolution of hydrogeology
Definition of modern hydrogeology*
„The hydrogeology is the
discipline of those natural
processes which are the
consequences of rock-water
interaction. Many water
related natural phenomena
can be derived from this
interaction.”

groundwater=subsurface
water

groundwater is a geologic (Mádl-Szőnyi, 2011)

agent

*after J., Tóth: „The Modern Scope of Hydrogeology”, Indian Hydrogeology, 8(1) pp. 21-41, 1972
3. Historical evolution of hydrogeology

Future hydrogeology
Specialization for different purposes

• Not only for water supply which is the conventional

purpose of Hydrogeology!
• Ecological
• Land use, land subsidence
• Salinization
• Environmental Locally liquefied ground due to

• Karst near-surface sand lens (Central

Alberta, Canada, by Tóth)

• Contaminant Soil salinization at Lake Kelemenszék

(Hungary, by Czauner)

• Geothermal
• Petroleum etc. Geodynamics of the Pannonian
Basin (Horváth, 2007)
4. Application of modern hydrogeology
Auxiliary disciplines of Hydrogeology
4. Application of modern hydrogeology
 Summary questions
1. What is hydrology and hydrogeology?
Hydrology: the science of terrestrial water. It deals with the
interaction of Earth and water and the global transport of
water in and between the spheres of the Earth.
Hydrogeology: it deals with the interaction between the
lithosphere and water. Those physical, chemical, hydrologic
and hydraulic processes belong to its subject which are the
consequence of this interaction.

2. In which practical disciplines can hydrogeology be applied?

Water supply, land use planning, engineering geology,
geothermal energy, balneology, agriculture, exploration for
mineral and hydrocarbon resources …
5. Hydrologic cycle – characterization and processes

Hydrosphere

Lithosphere
5. Hydrologic cycle – characterization and processes
The Hydrologic Cycle (or water cycle) describes the
continuous movement of water in various forms (liquid, vapor
and ice) between the three main water reservoirs of the
Earth: the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the lithosphere
1. Energy-driven: by the heat of the Sun

2. Conservative
The amount of water is constant on
human scale
The state of water and form
of storage is changing.
The amount of water is
rising on geologic scale

3. Cyclic and unidirectional

5. Hydrologic cycle – characterization and processes
Water types - new classification
Oceanic water: water that is found in the Earth’s oceans, or water
that is found elsewhere but has not significantly changed its
composition from the time it left the oceans

Meteoric water: water that is found in the atmosphere or

originates from the atmosphere

Evolved water: water that originated as either meteoric or

oceanic water, but has subsequently changed its composition
through chemical and/or physical processes

With our present understanding of plate tectonics and subduction, it

appears likely that most volcanic emissions may contain substantial
amounts of recycled water that originated in the oceans or
atmosphere, so it’s evolved water.
5. Hydrologic cycle – characterization and processes
 5. Hydrologic cycle – characterization and processes
Infiltration
The infiltration means that part of water falling
down to the surface which can reach the water
table and can supply the zone of saturated
groundwater.

Wadi, Negev Desert:

intermittent loosing stream

Concentrated recharge: sinkholes

Loosing stream arid region
5. Hydrologic cycle – characterization and processes
Groundwater discharge
The process by which water escapes from the saturated zone and gets
back to the atmosphere or hydrosphere.
The terminal can be....

lake
river

spring
5. Hydrologic cycle – characterization and processes
Forms of groundwater discharge

...into lakes

... as springs
5. Hydrologic cycle – characterization and processes
Gaining stream in
...into rivers humid region

...to the atmosphere by evaporation

6. Water balance equation

• It is used to describe the flow of water in, through

and out of a system
• Based on the law of mass conservation
• Can be referred to given volume/region (e.g., region,
watershed) and time period (annual, monthly,
weekly)→ reference volume and time!

INFLOW = OUTFLOW ± ΔSTORAGE

Importance: Water Management - Professional use of surface

and subsurface water resources.
6. Water balance equation

Application of Water Balance Equation for

Open Systems

• Calculating major inputs, outputs and delayed components

over specific spatial and temporal scale.

• Annual water budget: from monthly climate averages

• Assessing human impacts

• Why is this equation useful?

• We can answer the question e.g. : Why are wetlands/lakes
drying up?
Smaller areas
Shorter times
6. Water balance equation

Considerations for
a closed system:
the Earth as a whole
can be handled as closed
hydrologically

Global water balance -

the Earth globally a
closed system:
1,4·109 km3

Grid Arendal
Larger areas
Longer times
6. Water balance equation

Considerations for
a closed system:
the Earth as a whole
can be handled as closed
hydrologically

Grid Arendal
Larger areas
Longer times
6. Water balance equation Case study: Lake Aral
 Summary questions
1. What are the types of water?
oceanic, meteoric, evolved

2.What are the processes of the hydrologic cycle?

evapotranspiration (evaporation + transpiration), condensation,
precipitation, interception, infiltration, runoff (overland, stream,
interflow, groundwater)
3. Write down the water balance equation of the lake below.
IN = OUT +/–ΔS P + Ro + GWin = ET + GWout +/–ΔS
+ Precipitation
+ Surface runoff
+ Groundwater inflow
– Evapo(transpi)ration
– Groundwater outflow
+/– Storage change