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Floridan Aquifer

 
Floridan Aquifer

 
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The Floridan Aquifer is a portion of the principal artesian aquifer
Artesian aquifer

An artesian aquifer is a Aquifer#Confined versus unconfined containing groundwater that will flow upward through a water well without the need for pumping....
 that extends into Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
 and is composed of carbonate
Carbonate

In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt or ester of carbonic acid....
 rock and located beneath the coastal regions of the Southeastern United States
Southeastern United States

The US Southeast is the eastern portion of the Southern United States, but the Census Bureau does not provide a standard definition of a "Southeast" region of the United States, and organizations that need to subdivide the US are free to define a "Southeast" region to fit their needs....
 and is one of the world's most productive aquifers. It is under all of Florida as well as large parts of coastal Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a U.S. state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against United Kingdom rule in the American Revolution....
 and areas of coastal Alabama
Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
 and South Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
 .






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Floridan Aquifer Usgs
The Floridan Aquifer is a portion of the principal artesian aquifer
Artesian aquifer

An artesian aquifer is a Aquifer#Confined versus unconfined containing groundwater that will flow upward through a water well without the need for pumping....
 that extends into Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
 and is composed of carbonate
Carbonate

In chemistry, a carbonate is a salt or ester of carbonic acid....
 rock and located beneath the coastal regions of the Southeastern United States
Southeastern United States

The US Southeast is the eastern portion of the Southern United States, but the Census Bureau does not provide a standard definition of a "Southeast" region of the United States, and organizations that need to subdivide the US are free to define a "Southeast" region to fit their needs....
 and is one of the world's most productive aquifers. It is under all of Florida as well as large parts of coastal Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a U.S. state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against United Kingdom rule in the American Revolution....
 and areas of coastal Alabama
Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
 and South Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
 . (See figure)

History

In 1936, geologist
Geologist

For other uses, see Geologist .A geologist is a contributor to the science of geology, studying the physical structure and processes of the Earth and planets of the solar system ....
 Victor Timothy Stringfield first identified the existence of Floridan Aquifer in peninsular Florida and referred to the carbonate units as the "principal artesian formations." In 1944, M. A. Warren of the Georgia Geological Survey described an extension of this system in south Georgia and applied the term "principal artesian aquifer" to the carbonate units involved. In 1953 and 1966 Stringfield also applied the term "principal artesian aquifer" to these rocks. In 1955, Garald G. Parker
Garald G. Parker

Garald G. "Jerry" Parker, Sr. was a hydrologist and is known as the "Father of Florida groundwater hydrology." Parker also named the principal artesian aquifer the Floridan Aquifer....
 noted the hydrologic and lithologic similarities of the Tertiary
Tertiary

The Tertiary is a a term for a Geologic time scale#Terminology 65 million to 1.8 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and an out-of-date definition of the Neogene#Controversy....
 carbonate formations in southeast Florida, concluded that they represented a single hydrologic unit, and named that unit the "Floridan aquifer."

Location

The Floridan aquifer, as opposed to surficial aquifer
Surficial aquifer

Surficial aquifers are shallow aquifers typically less than 50 feet , but thicknesses of about have been mapped....
s, is the portion of the principal artesian aquifer that extends into Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
, parts of southern Alabama
Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
, southeastern Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a U.S. state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against United Kingdom rule in the American Revolution....
, and southern South Carolina
South Carolina

South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
. In Florida it supplies the cities of Daytona, Flagler Beach
Flagler Beach, Florida

Flagler Beach is a city in Flagler County, Florida and Volusia County, Florida counties in the U.S. state of Florida. The population was 4,954 at the United States Census 2000, with an estimated population of 5,228 in 2004....
, Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville is the largest city in ? and county seat of ? Alachua County, Florida, Florida, United States. Gainesville is also home to the University of Florida, which is the largest university in the State University System of Florida and the List of largest United States universities by enrollment in the United States....
, Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Duval County, Florida. Since 1968, as a result of the Consolidated city-county of the city and county government , Jacksonville has been the List of United States cities by area city in land area in the continental United States....
, Ocala
Ocala, Florida

Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida, Florida, United States. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491....
, St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The city is known as a vacation destination for North American and European vacationers, as well as a politically important swing state in U.S....
, and Tallahassee
Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee is the Capital of the Florida, USA, and the county seat of Leon County, Florida. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida in 1824....
 and numerous rural communities.

Hydrology

The principal artesian aquifer is the largest, oldest, and deepest aquifer in the southeastern U.S. Ranging over 100,000 square miles, it underlies all of Florida and The Floridan portion developed millions of years ago during the late Paleocene
Paleocene

The Paleocene or Palaeocene, "early dawn of the recent" is a geologic epoch that lasted from 65.5 ? 0.3 Mega-annum to 55.8 ? 0.2 Ma . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic era ....
 to early Miocene
Miocene

The Miocene is a Geologic time scale of the Neogene period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.33 million years before the present. As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the start and end are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are uncertain....
 periods, when Florida was underwater. Wakulla Springs
Wakulla Springs

Wakulla Springs is located 14 miles south of Tallahassee, Florida, Florida and 5 miles east of Crawfordville, Florida in Wakulla County, Florida, Florida at the crossroads of State Road 61 and State Road 267 ....
 in Wakulla County
Wakulla County, Florida

Wakulla County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 22,863. The United States Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county was 28,212 people....
, Florida is one of a number of major outflows of the Floridan with a flow rate of 200-300 million gallons of water a day. A record peak flow from the spring on April 11, 1973 was measured at 14,324 gallons (54,226 liters) per second - equal to 1.2 billion gallons (4.542,494) cubic meters) per day.

Groundwater in the Floridan aquifer is contained under pressure by a confining bed of impermeable sediments. When the water pressure is great enough, the groundwater breaks to the surface and a spring flows. Water temperature and flow from a Floridan spring is relatively constant.

In general, as the water flows through the Florida aquifer systems it matures. The water quality becomes more alkaline and the sulfate
Sulfate

In inorganic chemistry, a sulfate is a salt of sulfuric acid....
 content increases as does the amount of dissolved solids.

See also

  • Hydrogeology
    Hydrogeology

    Hydrogeology is the area of geology that deals with the distribution and movement of groundwater in the soil and rock of the Earth's crust , ....
  • Aquifer
    Aquifer

    An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well....
     and Water table
    Water table

    The water table is the level at which the ground water pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the Groundwater in a given vicinity....
  • Groundwater
    Groundwater

    Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil porosity spaces and in the fractures of lithologic formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water....


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