Groundwater flow refers to the movement of water through the pore spaces and fractures of unsaturated and saturated geologic media, governed primarily by hydraulic gradients and the hydraulic properties of the aquifer. It is quantitatively described by Darcy’s law, which relates specific discharge to hydraulic conductivity and the gradient of hydraulic head, and by the groundwater flow equation, a partial differential equation combining Darcy’s law with conservation of mass. Groundwater flow processes control recharge, discharge, solute transport, and aquifer response to stresses such as pumping, and are analyzed using analytical solutions, numerical models, and field measurements of head, permeability, and storage parameters.
A solution to a tricky groundwater riddle from Australia: Researchers at TU Wien have developed numerical models to simulate the movement of fluids in porous materials.
Soft Matter
Nov 4, 2025
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25
Groundwater replenishing beneath temperate farmland fields may come from very recent rainfall, merely one to two weeks old, whereas the water actually taken up by crops is drawn from much older sources.
The global climate crisis could significantly impact the natural replenishment of Brazilian aquifers, reducing the groundwater supply across the country. This is the conclusion of a study by scientists from the University ...
Environment
Sep 16, 2025
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30
As the Colorado River's giant reservoirs have declined during the last two decades, even larger amounts of water have been pumped and drained from underground, according to new research based on data from NASA satellites.
Earth Sciences
May 28, 2025
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137
Growing communities and extensive agriculture throughout the Western United States rely on meltwater that spills out of snow-capped mountains every spring. The models for predicting the amount of this streamflow available ...
Earth Sciences
May 5, 2025
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119
Depleted groundwater threatens communities, agriculture, and ecosystems in California's Central Valley, which produces much of the nation's fruit, vegetables, and nuts. But the same acres where farmers have long cultivated ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 17, 2025
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Scientists know that streams and rivers can contribute significant quantities of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. One way these bodies of water come to contain greenhouse gases is via groundwater, which picks up carbon ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 31, 2025
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A pair of researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada, working with a colleague from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the U.S., have created a model to visualize how water flows in Antarctica's Aurora Subglacial ...
Where California's towering Sierra Nevada surrenders to the sprawling San Joaquin Valley, a high-stakes detective story is unfolding. The culprit isn't a person but a process: the mysterious journey of snowmelt as it travels ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 20, 2025
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