Surficial aquifer
shallow, thin aquifer
Surficial aquifers are shallow aquifers typically less than 50 feet (15 m) thick, but larger surficial aquifers of about 60 feet (18 m) have been mapped. They mostly consist of unconsolidated sand enclosed by layers of limestone, sandstone or clay and the water is commonly extracted for urban use. The aquifers are replenished by streams and from precipitation and can vary in volume considerably as the water table fluctuates. Being shallow, they are susceptible to contamination by fuel spills, industrial discharge, landfills, and saltwater. Parts of southeastern United States are dependent on surficial aquifers for their water supplies.
Composition
Surficial aquifers system consists mostly of beds of unconsolidated sand, cavity-riddled limestone and shells, sandstone, sand, and clay sand with minor clay or silt from the Pliocene to Holocene periods.
In most cases the flow system is undivided, though in places, clay beds are sufficiently thick and continuous to divide the system into two or three aquifers. Complex interbedding of fine and coarse-textured rocks is typical of the system. These rocks range from late Miocene to Holocene periods.
In Georgia and South Carolina, unnamed, sandy, marine terrace deposits of Pleistocene age and sand of Holocene age comprise the system.
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This entry incorporates text from “Surficial aquifer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.