Anticipated Learning Outcomes Students will learn the difference between confining layers and aquifers in a basic water table aquifer scenario. Students will have a good understanding of how monitoring wells are constructed and used in the field. Students will be able to contour groundwater elevation and petroleum product thickness data. Parts one through four are background information for teachers. Figures 1 - 5 are to be copied for students to use.
New vocabulary is in bold letters and has been repeated on the figures.
Water Table Aquifer Figure 1 is a cross-section showing the different soil layers and zones in a typical water table aquifer setting. A cross-section is like slicing a layer cake in half and looking at the layers from a side view. Some rainwater may run over the ground surface and flow into a lake or stream. Some of the water may infiltrate into the soils and with gravity slowly migrate deeper until it reaches or recharges water-saturated soils or sediments. The water-saturated soils or sediments are referred to as the water table aquifer and are usually composed of larger particles like sand and gravel or permeable rock.