Basic hydrogeology in geothermal systems

Abstract

Hydrogeology is the part of hydrology that deals with the occurrence, movement and quality of water beneath the Earth's surface. Hydrogeology deals with water in a complex subsurface environment, but much of its basic terminology and principles can be understood readily by non-hydrogeologists. This paper presents basic terms and principles of hydrogeology in geothermal systems. The first section introduces many key terms and concepts in definition form. The following section introduces principles of ground water movement, using these terms. The last section gives an overview of the hydrogeology of the Kenyan rift, with special reference to geothermal system.