Greenland Aquifer Pumping Test
Channel: NASAEarthObservatory
Date: 2016-08-17

During a pumping test, scientists pump water out of the aquifer and measure the lowering of the water table. If the water table lowers just a small amount, it means that the water nearby can flow to the pump fairly easily. If the water table goes down a lot, it means that the water in the surrounding firn cannot flow easily enough to keep up with the water pumped out. In summer 2016, scientists pumped 1 liter of water per second out of the ice sheet for 5 hours. The water table barely lowered, which means that the firn is very permeable.