Groundwater
- Groundwater is water that is found beneath the Earth’s surface and fills the pores in sediment or the cracks in underground rocks. It is present almost everywhere beneath the land surface. It is essentially a subsurface reservoir of water that represents 99% of the Earth’s unfrozen freshwater.
- The term “ground water” is sometimes used instead of “groundwater”, but they have the same meaning.
- Groundwater is recharged by surface water from rain, rivers, snow, or melting ice.
- Groundwater is regularly pumped from drilled boreholes (wells) for use in farming, industry, and homes. The depth of wells needed to access groundwater varies greatly depending on the location. Sometimes groundwater can be found just below the surface. In other places, such as deserts, boreholes need to be hundreds of meters deep.
See Groundwater
- Groundwater is an essential resource that sustains humans, animals, and ecosystems..
- Groundwater is the world’s most extracted raw material.
- Billions of people rely on groundwater for drinking water and irrigation.
- Groundwater is used for almost 50% of drinking water worldwide and is a primary source of water used for irrigation. For context, consider that in the U.S. alone, 57 billion gallons of groundwater are pumped from nearly 500,000 wells and used daily for agricultural irrigation.
- Groundwater sustains water in rivers and lakes during periods of drought.
Despite its importance described above, groundwater receives little attention, and to much of the population it is an unknown entity. - Groundwater contamination is ubiquitous and threatens sustainable groundwater management and protection, which already is challenging and will become even more so with climate change. Increased awareness and education about groundwater is therefore critical. GroundwaterU helps to address this need. Your intellectual contributions will make a difference!
Multimedia
- A very effective way to learn is by way of videos that consist of various kinds of media, such as narration, images (graphics, maps, illustrations, still pictures), recorded demonstrations, animations, and embedded text. This is referred to as a “multimedia” approach to learning.
- Research has shown that the use of multimedia helps to optimize the learning process wherein verbal and visual information is integrated with existing knowledge to create a “mental model”, which is a kind of internal representation of the external reality, that includes the relationships between its various parts. The mental model is a culmination of the integration and synthesis of learned information and experiences that constitute “knowledge”.
- High quality multimedia leads to a deeper understanding of the interdisciplinary elements that constitute groundwater science, engineering, and policy.
Fortunately, there are many experienced groundwater practitioners, teachers, and organizations that have created high-quality videos containing multimedia and that are available to the public via YouTube, Vimeo, or on organization-specific websites. These videos range in length from just a few minutes to an hour or longer. Collectively, these videos provide high-quality educational content applicable to all levels of interest, from introductory cartoons to college-level science and engineering curricula.
Search the GroundwaterU Video Library (Video Catalogue).
Making a Difference
Groundwater practitioners, hydrogeologists, geologists, civil/geotechnical/environmental engineers, environmental sustainability professionals, regulatory and policy professionals, environmental attorneys, environmental newscasters and documentarians, and students: your knowledge and experience is very valuable. You can help educate the world about the groundwater resource so that it can be successfully managed.
You can add a video (your own or someone else’s) to the GroundwaterU Public Video Library. By doing this, the video will be included in this important global video repository. Plus, you will Broaden Your Internet Exposure »
Yes! For one, we are looking for subject-area experts to help curate video submittals and web-designers/enthusiasts (for database/search optimization – for example).
Of course, collaboration with other organizations is always welcome.
Contact info@groundwateru.org and we can discuss your ideas and how to build GroundwaterU capabilities.
GroundwaterU
There are lot’s of videos out there that are good/accurate/engaging, but there are also many that are low-quality, suffer from technical inaccuracies, and do not present the information effectively. Both good and bad will show up when you do a typical internet search.
Conversely, GroundwaterU has a vetted selection of high-quality videos. In addition, and very importantly, the videos on GroundwaterU are accompanied by a summary of the video content, including keywords and references to specific content included in the video. In contrast, the titles and descriptive text associated with videos posted on YouTube and other video platforms do not contain sufficient or pertinent keywords needed to find specific video content (many have no information). For example, videos that include footage of groundwater conditions or sustainability strategies at a particular location and that present the information with the aid of animation and maps, cannot be found with a typical internet search. As a result, a video with high educational value on a particular topic and using effective teaching aids (e.g., animation, illustrations, video footage of laboratory and field demonstrations/implementation), and that are taught in a particular format, are currently invisible to internet search engines. Once it is added to GroundwaterU, it becomes part of a more searchable catalogue.
GroundwaterU is a not-for-profit educational platform, and adding a video is free if the video does not contain promotional content for business entities, such as engineering and consulting firms. If your company video is educational in nature but will benefit your company by getting a unique URL and the other unique features associated with inclusion in the GroundwaterU Library, contact us before filling out the “Add Video” form to discuss how you can support the GroundwaterU.org initiative. Also, contact us if you are unsure whether your video is in this category.
Yes. GroundwaterU does not host video files — only links to videos hosted elsewhere on the internet. If a video is played from the GroundwaterU website, it gets recorded as a “view” of the video wherever it resides (e.g., a YouTube channel or website). Therefore, more views on GroundwaterU equals more views of your YouTube channel or visits to your website. In addition, the video is viewable on GroundwaterU.org only if the video creator has provided the ability for others to ’embed’ their videos onto other websites. So, all videos viewed on GroundwaterU are in compliance with the sharing rights defined by the video creator/host.
Yes, but each submittal requires its own form. Please contact us if a video is one of several videos by the same creator and that covers similar content. If so, it may be more appropriate to submit one video (or a limited number of videos) and to include a link to the website where the other videos reside. Please contact us at info@groundwateru.org before submitting multiple videos.
The videos on GroundwaterU are embedded videos that are hosted elsewhere on the internet, and they “play” from those platforms (e.g., YouTube). As such, GroundwaterU does not control whether advertisements show in the video when watched on your computer. Depending on the types of video platform subscriptions you have and your use of third-party ad-blockers, you may see advertisements, although they are not associated with GroundwaterU. Search the internet to explore how to block ads from videos.
Launched in January 2022, GroundwaterU.org is a nonprofit, non-governmental project located in Westfield, New Jersey, USA. It is currently privately funded. Following this proof of concept stage, it may become a formal charitable organization.