Hannah Vu-Bennett (UR) - Dear OCE students

I received a couple of great questions from a few oceanography students that I decided to answer via blog post! I appreciate every question, suggestion, and critiques I have received or will eventually receive. Thank you in the meantime! 

Dear Jason sec. 102,

This is really cool! What does it mean that they have high porosity and permeability? 

When you are referring to porosity, you are describing the number of pores shown in an assortment of sediment. For example, well-rounded and large sediment tend to leave gaps in between them because the grains do not fit well together. Sediment with high porosity tend to be less compact. Permeability is the ability to pass through an object. For example, coffee is able to pass through a coffee filter because the coffee filter is permeable. 

As you can see the larger sediment  has a higher porosity due to the amount of pore space it has. On the right the pore space in minimal, making water or liquids more difficult to pass through!

Dear Sarah sec. 102,

What is salt water intrusion? If it's what I think it is, hasn't this always been a problem in Florida since we live near the ocean?





Salt water intrusion is when salt water leaches into a confined aquifer. The salt water damages and contaminates the aquifer. Once saltwater is leached into an aquifer, the process to reverse the saltwater intrusion is nearly impossible and highly expensive. Once an aquifer is damages, unfortunately, it can no longer be used. 

In some parts of Florida, saltwater encroachment is very common. Saltwater intrusion is caused by coastal urbanization and over pumping. Residents living on the coast are more likely to face saltwater intrusion as a problem as oppose to someone living inland. 

This is an example of over pumping which leads to saltwater encroachment.
Saltwater encroachment is another term for saltwater intrusion.

Dear Katie sec 101,

Would the testing be different if you also tested well water instead of just the aquifers? Also, is there a major difference between well water and city water?

An average aquifer can reach up to 1000 feet from the surface land. Testing well water is the closest someone in my position will get to in order to test aquifers, since well water directly taps into an aquifer. Well water and city water are two completely different water sources. Well water owners source their water from aquifers which runs through their own private filtration. City water is typically managed by the city through water treatment facilities. Residents with city water don't have as much of a responsibility when it comes to water care because city water is managed by the city. As oppose to well water owners, where they are responsible to test and maintain the health of their own water. 

An example of how deep a well runs below the surface.

Dear Jessy section 101,

Can you describe how water is gotten from an aquifer well? What does it look like and how does it work?

An aquifer is a vast underground layer of water bearing rock. An aquifers geological composition is highly permeable. Due to its porosity, water seeps through rock, filling this underground vacancy. An aquifers water source is replenished and recharged by rainfall. Water can also reach an aquifer through runoff from lakes, rivers, streams, etc.