1. Scope

1.1 This guide covers a series of options but does not specify a course of action. It should not be used as the sole criterion or basis of comparison and does not replace or relieve professional judgement.

1.2 This guide contains instructions and suggestions for authors of ground-water (hydrogeologic) reports in assigning appropriately derived and formatted aquifer nomenclature. Discussed are the water-bearing units that may require name identification, which are, ranked from largest to smallest, aquifer system, aquifer, and zone. Guidance is given on choosing the source of aquifer names, those are from lithologic terms, rock-stratigraphic units, and geographic names.

1.3 Included are examples of comparison charts and tables that can be used to define the hydrogeologic framework. Illustrations of eleven different hypothetical aquifer settings are presented to demonstrate the naming process.

1.4 Categories of items not suggested as a source of aquifer names are reviewed because, although they should be avoided, they occur in published documents. These categories are the following: time-stratigraphic names, relative position, alphanumeric designations, depositional environment, depth of occurrence, acronyms, and hydrologic conditions.

1.5 Confining units are discussed with the suggestion that these units should not be named unless doing so clearly promotes an understanding of a particular aquifer system. Suggested sources of names for confining units correspond to those for aquifer names, which are lithologic terms, rock-stratigraphic units, and geographic names.

1.6 It is suggested that in reports that involve hydrogeology, the author should consider first not naming aquifers (see 6.2).

1.7 Format and expression styles are assessed along with the general cautions related to name selection of aquifers and confining units.

1.8 This guide is a modification of a previously published report (1) .

1.9 This guide offers an organized collection of information or a series of options and does not recommend a specific course of action. This guide cannot replace education or experience and should be used in conjunction with professional judgment. Not all aspects of this guide may be applicable in all circumstances. This guide is not intended to represent or replace the standard of care by which the adequacy of a given professional service must be judged, nor should this guide be applied without consideration of a project's many unique aspects. The word 'Standard' in the title of this document means only that the document has been approved through the ASTM consensus process.

2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.

ASTM Standards

D653 Terminology Relating to Soil, Rock, and Contained Fluids

D1129 Terminology Relating to Water

D5409 Guide for Set of Data Elements to Describe a Ground-Water Site; Part Two--Physical Descriptors

D5434 Guide for Field Logging of Subsurface Explorations of Soil and Rock

D5474 Guide for Selection of Data Elements for Groundwater Investigations

Keywords

aquifer nomenclature; aquifer systems; confining units; geological names; groundwater; hydrogeology; rock-stratigraphic units: Aquifers; Ground water; Nomenclature; Terminology--ground water applications;

ICS Code

ICS Number Code 01.040.93 (Civil engineering (Vocabularies)); 93.160 (Hydraulic construction)

DOI: 10.1520/D6106-97R04

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