Syllabus of Combined Geo-Scientist (Main) Examination

Stage-II (Descriptive Type)

Hydrogeology

Section A. Occurrence and distribution of groundwater
Origin of water on Earth; global water cycle and budget; residence time concept,
geologic formations as aquifers; confined and unconfined aquifers; groundwater
table mapping and piezometric nests; porosity, void ratio, effective porosity and
representative porosity range; primary and secondary porosities; groundwater
zonation; specific retention, specific yield; groundwater basins; springs.
Section B. Groundwater movement and well hydraulics
Groundwater flow concepts; Darcy's Law in isotropic and anisotropic media and
validity; water flow rates, direction and water volume in aquifers; permeability
and hydraulic conductivity and ranges in representative rocks; Bernoulli
equation; determination of hydraulic conductivity in field and laboratory;
concept of groundwater flow through dispersion and diffusion; transmissivity
and aquifer thickness.
Section C. Water wells and groundwater levels
Unidirectional and radial flow to a well (steady and unsteady); well flow near
aquifer boundaries; methods for constructing shallow wells, drilling wells, well
completion; testing wells, pumping test, slug tests for confined and unconfined
aquifers; fluctuations in groundwater levels; stream flow and groundwater flows;
groundwater level fluctuations; land subsidence; impact of global climate
change on groundwater.
Section D. Groundwater exploration
Surface investigation of groundwater- geologic, remote sensing, electrical
resistivity, seismic, gravity and magnetic methods; sub-surface investigation of
groundwater- test drilling, resistivity logging, spontaneous potential logging,
radiation logging.
Section E. Groundwater quality and management
Groundwater composition, units of expression, mass-balance calculations; rockwater
interaction (chemical equilibrium, free energy, redox reactions and
cation/anion exchanges), graphic representation of chemical data; groundwater
hardness, microorganisms in groundwater; water quality standards; sea-water
intrusion; groundwater issues due to urbanization; solid and liquid waste
disposal and plume migration models; application of isotopes (H, C, O) in
groundwater; concepts of artificial recharge methods; managing groundwater
resources; groundwater basin investigations and management practices.