Pressures on the underground

Duration

Part 1 : geological map : 8h Th, 12h Pr
Part 2 : groundwater : 18h Th, 12h Pr

Number of credits

Lecturer

Part 1 : geological map : Frédéric Boulvain
Part 2 : groundwater : Philippe Orban

Coordinator

Frédéric Boulvain

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

A. How to use the many data represented on a geological map? (1) Short presentation of the different rock types and their spatial organization; (2) the geological map: use and examples; (3) the geological map on the field.
B. An introduction of the fundamentals of hydrogeology and groundwater are proposed in this course: - Introduction - Definitions: groundwater resources advantages and drawbacks, relative importance in the world, in Belgium, in Walloon region. - Hydrological cycle and water balance of a basin, groundwater reserves. - Confined, water table and perched aquifers: definitions and examples, importance of a clear geological understanding when defining hydrogeological conditions. - Hydrogeological parameters and groundwater flow equations: hydrostatic, porosities, hydraulic conductivity and Darcy's law, intrinsic permeability, generalisation, application, limitations, measurements on field, piezometric maps, application examples, transmissivity, steady state groundwater flow in saturated conditions, specific storage coefficient, transient flow in confined and water table aquifers.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

To understand a geological map and to be able to extract the information useful for environment management.
At the end of the course, the student will have a good understanding and knowledge about groundwater aquifers. He will be able to:
- compute a hydrogeologic water budget; - understand and exploite theoretical and practical hydrogeological concepts; - interprete hydrogeological maps; - draw and interprete piezometric maps; - predict and detect local hydrogeological specificities of a study-site;
Exercices and practical courses are lead by a local (Arlon) assistant. It will help each student to develop his self-sufficient capacities on practical and real case studies. The not compulsory reading of reference books (in english) will allow additional documentation and understanding of scientific texts in this topic.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

The course requires basic knowledges of hydraulics and mathematical and vectorial analysis.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The course is composed of "ex-cathedra" lectures, fieldwork and directed exercises sessions. The exercises sessions are organised in direct relation with the topics covered by the theory lectures.
Face-to-face presentation with slides, practical work on geological maps and field work.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face course


Additional information:

Face to face.

Recommended or required readings

Geological maps: slides are available on MyUlg after lectures. Textbook: BOULVAIN, F. & VANDER AUWERA, J., 2011. Géologie de terrain. De l'affleurement au concept. Ellipses (Technosup), Paris, 159 pp. http://www.geolsed.ulg.ac.be/carto/carto.htm
A pdf copy of all transparents is made available on the WebCT site of the course.This is only a summary of what was said and shown during the lectures. The following reference book is adviced: - Fetter C.W., 2001, Applied Hydrogeology (4th Edition), Prentice Hall, 598 p. In this book, the student will find more details and examples than collected during the lectures.

Assessment methods and criteria

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

written exam ( open-ended questions )


Additional information:

A written exam intergrating the two parts of the course is organised in January and in September sessions. The allocation of points is as follows: 40% geological maps; 60% aquifers.
With open questions, the evaluation is based mainly on understanding the concepts and processes, but it requires also memorisation. Indeed, a good knowledge and perfect command of the fundamentals are needed for preparing accurate and adequate answers.

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

The lectures will be given on the Arlon Campus.

Contacts

Prof. F. Boulvain Pétrologie sédimentaire, B20 Université de Liège, Sart Tilman B-4000 Liège fboulvain@uliege.be tél: 04 366 22 52
Philippe Orban 04/3662359 P.Orban@uliege.be
Assistants: Vincent Debbaut v.debbaut@uliege.be Mohamed Bouezmarni mbouezmarni@uliege.be Anne-Christine Da Silva ac.dasilva@uliege.be

Association of one or more MOOCs