Artesian aquifer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- See Great Artesian Basin for the water source in Australia.
An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater that will flow upwards out of a well without the need for pumping.
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[edit] Why is a well artesian?
In recharging aquifers, this happens because the water table at its recharge zone is at a higher elevation than the head of the well.
Pascal's law predicts the theoretical hydrostatic pressure P:
where ρ (rho) is the density of the fluid, g the acceleration due to gravity, and z is the elevation. In practical terms the pressure is expressed as metres water column (zr − zw).
"Fossil water" aquifers can also be artesian if they are under sufficient pressure from the surrounding rocks. This is similar to how many newly tapped oil wells are pressurized.
[edit] Origin
Artesian wells were named after the former province of Artois in France, where many artesian wells were drilled by Carthusian monks since 1126.[1] The technique was also known much earlier in Syria and Egypt[2], although whether the monks of Artois learned of it from outside sources, or discovered it independently, is unknown.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Frances and Joseph Gies, Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel subtitled "Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages". Harper Perennial, 1995 ISBN 0-06-016590-1, page 112.
- ^ For references on ancient uses, see: Michel Wuttmann, "The Qanats of 'Ayn-Manâwîr, Kharga Oasis, Egypt", in Jasr 2001, p. 1.
and Discoveries in the Western Desert of Egypt
