Hydrogeology
Water is a vital natural resource for people all around the world to sustain life and socio-economic development - whether piped to homes or drawn from boreholes or shallow wells. Hydrogeology (hydro - water and geology - the study of rocks) as an earth science deals with the distribution and movement of groundwater in the soil and rocks of the earth's crust. A hydrogeologist (or hydro-geologist) is one who applies specific principles and natural laws to locate, evaluate, develop and manage a groundwater resource to ensure the sustainable utilisation of the resource.
Hydrogeologists can help by locating suitable groundwater reserves and by assessing how much water can be abstracted without permanently damaging these aquifers (the formations hosting the groundwater) or surrounding ecosystems. By studying groundwater flows, hydrogeologists can also identify when it is at risk from pollution and what measures should realistically be taken to protect it.
Hydrogeology looks at how water interacts within geological systems. It is an interdisciplinary subject, and since it deals with water in complex subsurface environments, the study of the interaction can be quite complex. On the other hand, much of its basic terminology and principles can be understood easily by non-hydrogeologists (such as: water flows "downhill"). Considering the interplay and complexity of the different aspects of such a multi-component system, knowledge in several diverse fields at both the experimental and theoretical levels is required, e.g. geology, physics and chemistry.
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