Syllabus, Geol 410, Spring, 2013.

GEOL 410: Hydrogeology 

Syllabus, Spring 2013 

Instructor: 

Dr. Hongbin Zhan, Professor and Holder of Endowed Ray C. Fish Professorship in Geology, 

Halbouty Building 259 (office), phone: 979-862-7961 (office), 979-574-4819 (cell) 

email: zhan@geos.tamu.edu 

website: http://geoweb1.tamu.edu/Faculty/Zhan/course/410s13/410s13all.html 

Class Notes: 

Text: 

Class notes are the primary study materials and will be published in the instructor’s website. 

Fetter, C. W., Applied Hydrogeology, Merril Publishing Co., Columbus, OH, 592 pp., 4nd ed., 2001. 

Lecture Time and Location: 

MWF 9:10-10:00AM, Halbouty 104. 

Teaching Assistant: 

To be announced 

Office Hours: 

3:00-5:00 pm, Wednesday, in Halbouty Room 259 (my office). 

Course Grading: 

There are two exams (Midterm and Final, see the schedules below) and a series of assignments. The 

final exam is not comprehensive. It will only cover material since the midterm exam. 

• homework: 40% ; 

• midterm exam (March 8, Friday, 9:10-10:10a.m.): 30% ; 

• final exam (May 6, Monday, 8-10a.m.): 30% . 

Assignments can be accepted late occasionally within one week of the due day, but the grade will be 

reduced 25% for that assignment. Assignments CANNOT be accepted one week after the due day. 

Course Schedule and Outline: 

1. Introduction 

• Hydrologic cycle, water budget (1/16) 

• Base flow and base flow (1/18, 1/21) 

2. Physical Hydrogeology 

• Porosity (1/23, 1/25) 

• Darcy’s law and hydraulic conductivity (1/28, 1/30) 

• Isotropy and homogeneity (2/1) 

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• Aquifers, aquitards, and aquicludes (2/4) 

• Hydraulic properties of fractured rocks (2/6) 

• Karst aquifers (2/8) 

• Groundwater potential and hydraulic head (2/11, 2/13) 

• Interpretation of hydraulic head and groundwater conditions (2/15) 

3. Groundwater Flow Theory and Its Applications 

• Transmissivity and storativity of confined aquifers (2/25) 

• Release of water from confined aquifers (2/27) 

• Transmissivity and specific yield of unconfined aquifers (3/1) 

• Equations of groundwater flow (3/4) 

• Analytical solutions of one-dimensional groundwater flow problems (3/6) 

• Groundwater flow patterns (3/18) 

• Groundwater and geology (effective stress, groundwater flow and faulting) (3/20) 

• Measurement and interpretation of groundwater level data (3/22) 

4. Groundwater Resources and Environmental Management 

• Surface water-ground water interaction (3/25) 

• Land subsidence (3/27) 

• Sea water intrusion (4/1) 

• Flood control (4/3) 

• Groundwater and geotechnical engineering (4/5) 

5. Groundwater Flow to Wells and Hydraulic Testing 

• Field determination of hydraulic properties (4/8) 

• Steady-state flow to a well (the Thiem solution) (4/10, 4/12) 

• Methods of images: boundary effects (4/15) 

• Transient flow to a well: the Theis method (confined, unconfined, and 

semi-confined aquifers) (4/17, 4/19, 4/22) 

• Slug test (4/24) 

• Horizontal well hydraulics (4/26) 

6. Groundwater Quality and Contaminant Hydrogeology 

• Transport of contaminants in groundwater (non-reactive and reactive dissolved contaminants, 

non-aqueous phase liquids) (4/29) 

Midterm and Final Exam Schedules: 

Midterm: March 8 (Friday), 2013. Class time+10 min extra (1 hour from 9:10-10:10a.m.). 

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Final: 8-10a.m., May 6 (Monday), 2013. 

References: 


Freeze, A. R. and Cherry, J. A., Groundwater, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1979. 

Hiscock, Kevin, Hydrogeology, Principles and Practice, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2005. 

All students should pay attention to the following: 

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA): is a federal anti-discrimination statute that 

provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this 

legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides 

for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an 

accommodation, please contact the Department of Student Life, Services for Students with Disabilities in 

Room B118 of Cain Hall. The phone number is 845-1637. 

AGGIE HONOR CODE: based on the long-standing affirmation that An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or 

steal or tolerate those who do, is fundamental to the value of the A&M experience. Know the 

Code. Aggie Code of Honor: "An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do. 

 

COPYRIGHT AND PLAGIARISM POLICY: 

All materials used in this class are copyrighted. These materials include but are not limited to syllabi, 

quizzes, exams, lab problems, in-class materials, review sheets, and additional problem sets. Because 

these materials are copyrighted, you do not have the right to copy the handouts, unless permission is 

expressly granted. 

As commonly defined, plagiarism consists of passing off as one's own the ideas, words, writings, etc., 

which belong to another. In accordance with this definition, you are committing plagiarism if you copy 

the work of another person and turn it in as your own, even if you should have the permission of that 

person. Plagiarism is one of the worst academic sins, for the plagiarist destroys the trust among colleagues 

without which research cannot be safely communicated. (Please see http://library.tamu.edu/aggiehonor.) 

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Syllabus, Geol 410, Spring, 2013.

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