Hydrogeological spatial classification of Germany
Country / Region: Germany
Begin of project: January 1, 2002
End of project: December 31, 2015
Status of project: December 31, 2015
Background:
The European Union's Water Framework Directive (EU WFD), which came into force in December 2000, provides a regulatory framework for Community action in the field of water policy. It sets out objectives to ensure coordinated, sustainable water management and protection in the countries of the European Union. Among other things, the EU WFD requires an inventory and status analysis of all groundwater bodies. For this purpose, a geological-hydrogeological description of the aquifers has been prepared.
Major hydrogeological districts and hydrogeological regions of Germany
Methodology:
This description follows the system of hydrogeological spatial classification developed by the State Geological Services (SGD) of the German Länder in cooperation with the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) as coordinater. The hydrogeological spatial classification provides a delimitation of areas with the same or very similar hydrogeological characteristics, whereby these areas comprise hydrogeological units, hydrogeological sub-regions, hydrogeological regions and major hydrogeological districts with a decreasing level of detail. In each case, the higher level consists entirely of one or more units of the lower level.
For the nationwide presentation of the major hydrogeological districts, hydrogeological regions and sub-regions, the drafts of the federal states, which were mostly prepared at a scale of 1:500,000, were transferred to a uniform nomenclature and combined into a digital map.
In total, the territory of Germany is divided into 10 major hydrogeological districts, 36 hydrogeological regions and 247 hydrogeological sub-regions. The latter generally consist of the smallest components, the hydrogeological units. The more than 1000 hydrogeological units are shown with their characteristic properties in the Hydrogeological Map of Germany 1:250,000 (HÜK250).
Definitions:
The terms underlying the hydrogeological spatial classification system have been developed by the EU-WFD sub-working group of the Working Group Hydrogeology:
- Major hydrogeological districts are large areas of the Earth's crust with similar hydrogeological properties and groundwater conditions, based on the same geological history and a uniform tectonic pattern.
- Hydrogeological regions are areas of the Earth's crust whose hydrogeological properties are uniform within a defined area due to similar stratigraphy, similar geological structure, similar morphology and similar groundwater conditions. Where hydrogeologically meaningful, the delineation takes into account the natural subdivisions of physical geography.
- Hydrogeological sub-regions are one or more hydrogeological units that have a regionally uniform structure. Where hydrogeologically appropriate, they are delineated according to the natural division of the physical geography.
- Hydrogeological units are rock bodies which, due to their petrography, texture or structure, exhibit uniform hydrogeological properties within a defined bandwidth and are bounded by stratigraphic boundaries, facies boundaries, erosional boundaries or faults. The bandwidth within which a rock body is considered homogeneous is highly dependent on the scale of processing and visualisation. A hydrogeological unit may consist of a single sedimentary body or a complex of sedimentary bodies in the case of unconsolidated rocks, or a single layer or a sequence of layers of similar rock formation and degree of separation in the case of hard rocks.
Regional Hydrogeology of Germany:
The work on the implementation of the EU WFD was used by the Hydrogeology Working Group as an opportunity to produce a nationwide publication. For this purpose, the descriptions of the federal states were supplemented, revised and combined into the complete work "Regional Hydrogeology of Germany". This joint publication of the SGD and the BGR, to which more than 50 experts from both institutions contributed, is the first comprehensive regional description of hydrogeology for the whole of Germany. The texts are written in such a way that they provide an overview for experts, but are also understandable for the interested layman.
Book cover "Regional hydrogeology of Germany"
The rock type, cavity type, consolidation, hydraulic permeability and geochemical rock type are given for the main aquifers in each sub-region. This is followed by a characterisation of the bedrock structure with the lithology and sequence of hydrogeological units and their thickness. The groundwater dynamics are also presented, including depth to water table, drainage capability conditions, and groundwater potential and yield. Finally, the protection potential of the groundwater cover and the water supply significance of each sub-region are assessed.
An overview map of the hydrogeological regions, detailed maps showing the location of the sub-regions, numerous hydrogeological and geological sections and photos complete the descriptions and give an impression of the great diversity of Germany's hydrogeology. The publication includes a glossary with explanations of technical terms.
Geoviewer:
Maps:
- Hydrogeological districts and hydrogeological regions of Germany (A3-Format) (PDF, 2 MB)
- Hydrogeological districts and hydrogeological regions of Germany (A3-Format) (png, 2 MB)
Data:
- Hydrogeological spatial classification of Germany as a shapefile
- Hydrogeological spatial classification of Germany as a web map service
Literature:
- AD-HOC-AG HYDROGEOLOGIE (2016): Regionale Hydrogeologie von Deutschland - Die Grundwasserleiter: Verbreitung, Gesteine, Lagerungsverhältnisse, Schutz und Bedeutung. - Geol. Jb., A 163: 456 S., 264 Abb.; Hannover.
- BUNDESANSTALT FÜR GEOWISSENSCHAFTEN UND ROHSTOFFE (2002): Hydrogeologische Raumgliederung von Deutschland. - Entwurf der UAG EU-Wasserrahmenrichtlinie der Ad-hoc-AG Hydrogeologie (unpublished).
- BÜTTNER, G., PAMER, R. & WAGNER, B. (2003): Hydrogeologische Raumgliederung von Bayern. - GLA-Fachberichte, 20: 88 S., 35 Abb., 23 Tab.; München (Geological Survey of Bavaria).
- ELBRACHT, J., MEYER, R. & REUTTER, E. (2007): Hydrogeologische Räume und Teilräume in Niedersachsen. - GeoBerichte, 3: 107 S., 25 Abb.; Hannover (Lower Saxony State Survey for Mining, Energy and Geology).
- LINDNER, B., ELFERS, H., SCHLIMM, W. & SCHUSTER, H. (2007): Hydrogeologische Raumgliederung von Nordrhein-Westfalen. - Scriptum, 16: 49 S., 53 Abb.; Krefeld (Geological Survey of North Rhine-Westphalia).
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