The main difference in how water moves around a well in a confined aquifer compared to an unconfined aquifer lies in the mechanism by which water is released from storage and the nature of the surface that drops due to pumping.
In an unconfined aquifer, the upper boundary is the *water table*, which is the actual surface where the pore water pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure. When a well in an unconfined aquifer is pumped, water is removed directly from the aquifer material. This causes the water table to physically lower, forming a *cone of depressiondirectly in the water table itself. Water flows into the well primarily by *gravity drainagefrom the pore spaces of the aquifer material that becomes *de-wateredabove the declining water table. De-watering means the removal of water from the pore spaces, causing ....
Log in to view the answer
