WET Hydrology & Hydrogeology

More than fifty percent of the global population lives where fresh groundwater occurs in fractured rock, either near the surface or as aquifers beneath unconsolidated material. Structural Geology Applied to Fractured Aquifer Characterization presents a geological perspective on fractures and fracture networks in rock, with a focus on groundwater. Crystalline and other low primary permeability and porosity rocks occupy large areas of all continents, where groundwater plays an essential role in supplying populations and economic activities. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the relationship between groundwater and such geologic formations to determine groundwater sustainability. In addition, the numerous cases of fractured aquifers that are contaminated by human activities, especially in industrial and urban areas, need to be assessed to protect public health.

This Groundwater Project book focuses on fractures in siliciclastic rocks, primarily in sandstones and secondarily in sandstone-shale intercalations. This focus is justified by the presence of large aquifers in sandstones of western North America and other regions of the world. The premise of this book is that fractures in these rocks may impart extreme fluid flow behavior, and are therefore critical for groundwater and contaminant flow and their containment.