![US Navy 091231-N-1572M-001 Seabees tap new water well](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/US_Navy_091231-N-1572M-001_Seabees_tap_new_water_well.jpg)
An artesian aquifer is a
confined aquifer
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...
containing
groundwater
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated ...
under positive pressure.
An artesian aquifer has trapped water, surrounded by layers of
impermeable rock or clay, which apply positive pressure to the water contained within the aquifer.
If a well were to be sunk into an artesian aquifer, water in the well-pipe would rise to a height corresponding to the point where
hydrostatic equilibrium
In fluid mechanics, hydrostatic equilibrium (hydrostatic balance, hydrostasy) is the condition of a fluid or plastic solid at rest, which occurs when external forces, such as gravity, are balanced by a pressure-gradient force. In the planetary ...
is reached.
A
well
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
drilled into such an aquifer is called an ''artesian well''.
If water reaches the ground surface under the natural pressure of the aquifer, the well is termed a ''flowing artesian well''.
Fossil water
Fossil water or paleowater is an ancient body of water that has been contained in some undisturbed space, typically groundwater in an aquifer, for millennia. Other types of fossil water can include subglacial lakes, such as Antarctica's Lake Vos ...
aquifers can also be artesian if they are under sufficient pressure from the surrounding rocks, similar to how many newly tapped
oil wells are pressurized.
![Artesian well Virttaa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Artesian_well_Virttaa.JPG)
From the previous statement, it can be inferred that not all aquifers are artesian (i.e., water table aquifers occur where the groundwater level at the top of the aquifer is at equilibrium with atmospheric pressure). The recharging of aquifers happens when the water table at its recharge zone is at a higher
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...
than the head of the well.
History
Artesian wells were named after the former province of
Artois
Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, where many artesian wells were drilled by
Carthusian
The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...
monks from 1126.
Frances Gies and Joseph Gies Frances Gies (June 10, 1915 – December 18, 2013) and Joseph Gies (October 8, 1916 – April 13, 2006) were historians and writers who collaborated on a number of books about the Middle Ages, and also wrote individual works. They were husb ...
, ''Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel'' subtitled "Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages". Harper Perennial, 1995 , page 112.
See also
*
Fluid mechanics
Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics of fluids ( liquids, gases, and plasmas) and the forces on them.
It has applications in a wide range of disciplines, including mechanical, aerospace, civil, chemical and ...
*
Great Artesian Basin
The Great Artesian Basin (GAB), located in Australia, is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, stretching over , with measured water temperatures ranging from . The basin provides the only source of fresh water through much ...
*
Hydrogeology
Hydrogeology (''hydro-'' meaning water, and ''-geology'' meaning the study of the Earth) is the area of geology that deals with the distribution and movement of groundwater in the soil and rocks of the Earth's crust (commonly in aqui ...
*
Qanat
A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...
*
List of artesian wells in the United States
This is a list of artesian wells in the United States.
* Artesian, South Dakota wells
* Artesian, Washington wells
*Artesian Commons, Olympia, Washington
* The Artesian Hotel, Sulphur, Oklahoma
* Artesian Water Co. Pumphouse and Wells, Boise, Ida ...
*
Drilled wells (for bore water mechanics)
References
External links
Video of an artesian aquifer releasing water under its own pressure
{{DEFAULTSORT:Artesian Aquifer
Aquifers
Hydrology
Water wells