Definition and introduction
Pleistocene glaciations had a profound influence on the dynamics of groundwater flow systems. Their impact has not been limited to glaciated regions; they also affected parts of the world that were not glaciated because of the related global perturbations in climatic conditions such as changes in precipitation and eustatic sea levels. As a consequence, groundwater recharge patterns were globally modified and affected groundwater flow dynamics at basinal to continental scales in a wide range of geological environments such as coastal aquifers, intercratonic sedimentary basins and crystalline rocks.
The study of the impact of glaciations on groundwater flow is important for several reasons. First, it can assist in explaining the origins of modern groundwater flow patterns, as well as the geochemistry of waters because it is now recognized that many large-scale groundwater flow systems are not in equilibrium with modern climatic conditions since they are...
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Lemieux, JM., Sudicky, E.A. (2011). Glaciations and Groundwater Flow Systems. In: Singh, V.P., Singh, P., Haritashya, U.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2642-2_654
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