Hydraulic gradient and direction of flow of aquifers can now be found on site with the help of your phones GPS capabilities. Automating the hand-drawn hydraulic gradient approach described by the USGS in Basic Groundwater Hydrology, the Groundwater Flow Calculator quickly calculates the hydraulic gradient and direction of flow of an area where at least three groundwater monitoring wells are set-up in a triangular pattern.
Once you begin the program, three input screens will appear one-by-one. Each screen represents one of three groundwater monitoring wells and will require five inputs. The five inputs are the latitude and longitude of the monitoring well, the elevation of the land surface where the monitoring well is located, the length of the monitoring well casing from the land surface to the top of the well casing, and the depth from the top of the well casing to the groundwater. The latitude and longitude for each of the monitoring wells can either be input manually or can be automatically input using your phones GPS coordinates.
Results from the calculations are automatically shown after completing the inputs for the third monitoring well. Hydraulic gradient information will be given in units of m/m and the direction of flow will be given in degrees clockwise from True North. The corresponding map shows the location of the three monitoring wells.
For more information please visit our website: http://agrilife.org/gfc/