Across
- 3. an inverted, cone-shaped lowering of the water table or piezometric surface in an aquifer, formed when water is withdrawn faster than it can be replenished
- 4. the zone of soil or rock directly above the water table where water is pulled upward by capillary action, remaining saturated or nearly saturated under sub-atmospheric pressure, forming a transition between the dry unsaturated zone and the fully saturated zone below
- 7. the upper surface of the zone of saturation, marking the boundary where underground soil and rock become completely filled with water
- 9. a unique landscape formed by the dissolution of soluble bedrock, primarily limestone, by slightly acidic water, creating distinctive features like sinkholes, caves, underground drainage, and springs
- 10. type of hot spring that periodically erupts jets of hot water and steam, driven by underground pressure from superheated water meeting cooler rock in volcanically active areas
- 11. the unsaturated subsurface layer above the water table where pores contain both air and water
- 12. a natural depression or hole in the ground, common in karst terrain, that forms when underlying soluble rock is dissolved by circulating groundwater, creating underground voids or caverns, which eventually cause the surface layer to collapse or subside
- 14. water beneath the Earth's surface that fills the pores and fractures in soil, sand, and rock
- 17. a natural emergence point where groundwater flows from an aquifer onto the Earth's surface, often forming a pool or stream
- 18. a shallow groundwater layer directly connected to the land surface, lacking an impermeable layer above it
- 19. the measure of void spaces (pores) in a rock or sediment, expressed as a percentage or fraction of the total volume, indicating how much fluid the material can hold
- 20. a localized body of groundwater that sits above the main regional water table, separated from it by a layer of less permeable material that impedes downward water flow, causing water to accumulate and form a saturated zone higher up in the soil profile.
Down
- 1. the gradual or sudden sinking of the Earth's surface due to the removal or rearrangement of subsurface materials
- 2. The underground area below the water table where all pores, fractures, and spaces in soil, sediment, and rock are completely filled with water, making it the source of groundwater and aquifers.
- 5. the solid, continuous layer of rock beneath the Earth's surface, covered by looser materials like soil, sand, or gravel, but sometimes exposed as outcrops.
- 6. the movement of saline ocean water into freshwater aquifers, contaminating drinking water and agricultural supplies, driven naturally by seawater's higher density but accelerated by factors like sea-level rise and excessive groundwater pumping that lowers freshwater pressure, allowing denser saltwater to push inland
- 8. the measure of a rock's or soil's ability to transmit fluids through its interconnected pores, cracks, and fissures, indicating how easily flow occurs
- 13. a natural discharge of geothermally heated groundwater that emerges at the Earth's surface with a temperature significantly higher than the surrounding air
- 15. a surface stream that loses water by infiltrating into the ground, often disappearing into sinkholes or fissures in soluble bedrock like limestone, recharging the local aquifer in a karst landscape
- 16. the slope of the water table or potentiometric surface, representing the change in hydraulic head per unit of distance, dictating groundwater flow direction and speed from higher to lower head, much like water flows downhill