Assignment 2 – This assignment is due by Sunday, October 11th, at 11:59 PM.

Assignment 2 – This assignment is due by Sunday, October 11th, at 11:59 PM. Upload it to the d2l assignments tab in the Assignment 2 folder. (20 pts total) In this assignment you will be using the reading on the Basin and Range Aquifers to answer the questions below. The reading can be found on d2l under content/Week 7, at the bottom, right under this assignment. Question 1 is a general question that you should be able to answer from what you have learned in lecture videos. The rest will require you to do some digging within the text of the paper. There are figures referred to within the text, and these can be found at the end of the paper.

1. What is an aquifer? (1 pt)
2. For what parts of the U.S. are basin and range aquifers the principal source of groundwater? (1 pt)
3. In terms of ground water and aquifers, what is recharge? (1 pt)
4. What is the primary source of recharge to the basin and range aquifers (i.e. where does the water come from)? (1 pt)
5. How does the generally arid climate of the basin and range region affect the water cycle, primarily recharge of the aquifers? (1 pt)
6. How much of the precipitation that falls actually recharges these aquifers? (1 pt)
7. How does human intervention in the hydrologic cycle provide additional recharge to the aquifers, mainly in developed areas? (1 pt)
8. In terms of groundwater and aquifers, what is discharge? (1 pt)
9. What are three ways water is discharged from these aquifers, and what is the largest natural component of groundwater discharge from these aquifers? (2 pts)
10. What do you think is the largest component of discharge from the basin and range aquifers overall (natural or unnatural)? (hint: you can find the answer farther along in the reading, but make an educated prediction before you look it up) (1 pt)
11. About how much groundwater is in storage in the basins in Arizona and Utah? Is all of this water fit for human consumption? Why or why not? (2 pts)
12. Has Arizona or Utah had larger water level declines in general? Why? (2 pts)
13. What is most of the groundwater that is withdrawn from these aquifers used for? (1 pt)
14. Where are some of the largest rates of groundwater withdrawal from these aquifers occurring? Why? (2 pts)
15. What is one negative effect of high rates of groundwater withdrawal in Arizona? Explain what it is and why it is a negative effect. (2 pts)