Which term describes a water-bearing rock that stores and transmits groundwater?

Which term describes a water-bearing rock that stores and transmits groundwater?

• A. River channel
• B. A layer of rock that stores and transmits groundwater
• C. A permeable surface layer that filters rainwater
• D. A type of freshwater reservoir at the surface

Answer: (B)

The concept here is that an aquifer is a body of rock or sediment that can store and transmit groundwater. It must have porosity to hold water and permeability to allow water to move through it. When a rock or sediment is saturated and water can flow through its interconnected pore spaces or fractures, it acts as a groundwater reservoir that can supply wells. The other descriptions refer to surface features or materials that don’t function as subsurface, water-bearing units: a river channel is a surface water pathway; a layer that filters rainwater describes soil or an infiltration layer rather than a groundwater reservoir; and a surface freshwater reservoir is a lake or dammed body, not groundwater. So the term that fits is aquifer.

The concept here is that an aquifer is a body of rock or sediment that can store and transmit groundwater. It must have porosity to hold water and permeability to allow water to move through it. When a rock or sediment is saturated and water can flow through its interconnected pore spaces or fractures, it acts as a groundwater reservoir that can supply wells. The other descriptions refer to surface features or materials that don’t function as subsurface, water-bearing units: a river channel is a surface water pathway; a layer that filters rainwater describes soil or an infiltration layer rather than a groundwater reservoir; and a surface freshwater reservoir is a lake or dammed body, not groundwater. So the term that fits is aquifer.