DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY
Course Name : HYDROGEOLOGY II
Course Number : GEOL 411
Credit Hours : 3Hrs
Prerequisite : GEOL 315
Section : Undergraduate
Instructor : NIMCAN ABDI (Msc)
Academic Year : 2021/2022
COURSE CONTENT
Hydrogeologists Hydrogeologists apply this knowledge to many practical uses. They
might:
Design and construct water wells for drinking water supply, irrigation schemes
and other purposes;
Try to discover how much water is available to sustain water supplies so that
these do not adversely affect the environment – for example, by depleting natural
baseflows to rivers and important wetland ecosystems;
Investigate the quality of the water to ensure that it is fit for its intended use;
Where the groundwater is polluted, they design schemes to try and clean up this
pollution;
Design construction dewatering schemes and deal with groundwater problems
associated with mining;
Help to harness geothermal energy through groundwater-based heat pumps
Course Content
1. Chemical hydrogeology
1.1 Introduction,
1.2 Properties of water,- How molecules of water formed
1.3 Chemical composition of groundwater,
1.4 Sequence of hydrochemical evolution of groundwater,
1.5 Groundwater sampling and graphical presentation of hydrochemical data,
1.6 Concept of chemical equilibrium,
1.7 Carbonate chemistry of groundwater,
1.8 Adsorption and ion exchange,
1.9 Redox chemistry,
Set by Nimcan Abdi (Msc)
1.10 Groundwater in crystalline rocks,
2. Investigation techniques,
2.1 Introduction,
2.2 Measurement and interpretation of groundwater level data,
2.3 Water level measurement,
2.4 Well and borehole design and construction methods,
2.5 Borehole hydrographs and barometric efficiency,
2.6 Construction of groundwater level contour maps,
2.7 Field estimation of aquifer properties,
2.8 Remote sensing methods,
2.9 Groundwater modelling,
3. Groundwater quality and contaminant hydrogeology,
3.1 Introduction,
3.2 Water quality standards,
3.3 Water hardness,
3.4 Irrigation water quality,
3.5 Transport of contaminants in groundwater,
3.6 Sources of groundwater contamination,
3.7 Urban and industrial contaminants,
3.8 Municipal landfill, domestic and cemetery wastes,
3.9 Agricultural contaminants,
3.10 Saline water intrusion in coastal aquifers,
4. Groundwater pollution remediation and protection
4.1 Introduction,
4.2 Groundwater pollution remediation techniques,
4.3 Pump-and-treat,
4.4 Permeable reactive barriers,
4.5 Monitored natural attenuation,
4.6 Groundwater pollution protection strategies in industrialized countries,
Set by Nimcan Abdi (Msc)
4.7 Groundwater protection strategies in developing countries,
.REFERENCES
In Fetter CW. 2001. Applied hydrogeology. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River (NJ): Prentice
Hall. 598 p.
Evaluations of Assessment
quiz, assignment & attendance
40%
final exam 60%
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is an introduction to theoretical aspects of a water chemistry, including
chemical thermodynamics and kinetics, acid-base chemistry, mineral dissolution and
precipitation, redox reactions in natural waters, coordination chemistry, and surface
chemistry. Case examples of natural and contaminated ground waters from the literature
will be reviewed, and the data will be examined in class using computer mass-balance
and equilibrium modeling techniques.
EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES OF THE COURSE
After the course students will have learned the following:
Be intimately familiar with acids and bases in water, and reactions involving both
weak and strong acids and bases. Be able to use the presented basic equations
to solve for pH in a variety of aqueous systems, and to use these equations to
estimate the contribution of acid-base reactions to water composition.
Understand the carbonate system in natural waters, and the reactions between
carbonate minerals and acids/bases. Use mass balance and equilibrium equations
to determine how carbonate minerals react in different systems, and how
perturbations in pH will influence carbonate reactions.
Set by Nimcan Abdi (Msc)
Be familiar with the chemistry of silicate weathering, particularly feldspars, and
the concepts of incongruent dissolution, rate limiting reactions, and the use of
log activity diagrams to express stability fields. Be familiar with the structure of
clay minerals, and basis of ion exchange reactions, and the impact of ion
exchange reactions on water composition.
Set by Nimcan Abdi (Msc)
