Groundwater discharge
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Groundwater discharge is the volumetric flow rate of groundwater through an aquifer.
[edit] Groundwater discharge, Q
Total groundwater discharge, as reported through a specified area, is similarly expressed as:
where
- Q is the total groundwater discharge ([L³T−1]; m³/s), and
- A is the area which the groundwater is flowing through ([L²]; m²)
For example, this can be used to determine the flow rate of water flowing along a plane with known geometry.
[edit] Conservation principle
The conservation principle shows that the mass or volume water flowing into a system is equal to that flowing out, with storage holding or releasing water in the system. Mathematically, this simple concept can be expressed as:
where
- Qin and Qout are the volumetric flow rates in and out the system (such as wells, rivers, etc.),
- ΔS is the change of water volume that enters/leaves the system, and
- Δt is the change of time
If the system is steady state, then the right-hand side of the equation is 0.
[edit] See also
- Discharge (hydrology) – for rivers
- volumetric flow rate
- flux (transport definition)
- Darcy's Law
