AICE Environmental Management Paper 2 Practice Exam

Groundwater movement is driven by the hydraulic gradient created by differences in water pressure as water infiltrates and moves through the soil and rock. Infiltration at recharge areas adds water to the aquifer, raising the hydraulic head there, and groundwater tends to flow from that higher head toward lower head at discharge areas. Along the way it moves through the pores and fractures of the rocks, slowly following the slope of the water table and the permeability of the material. Eventually it returns to the surface at discharge zones such as springs, rivers, lakes, or oceans. That pattern—flowing from recharge areas to discharge areas like oceans—is the typical behavior of groundwater. It can move in various directions (not just upward) and in both confined and unconfined aquifers, with the exact path set by the local gradient and geology.