This book introduces the reader to the Great Lakes and considers their soil-forming factors and processes, taxonomic structure of the soils, soil geography and pedodiversity, while also addressing the importance and protection of soils in the Great Lakes Coastal Zone. The Great Lakes are an important part of the USA and Canada. Home to 33 million people, including 90% of all Canadians, the Great Lakes account for 20% of the world’s surface freshwater and 90% of the USA’s freshwater. Key industries include shipping, steel and automobile production, energy generation, fishing, pulp and papermaking, agriculture, and recreation. To date, there has been no comprehensive inventory of the region’s soils, which are now subject to dramatic climate change and environmental degradation. This book was prepared using the US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service databases, including the Web Soil Survey, Soil Series Extent Explorer, soil classification and characterization databases, and county soil surveys, supplemented by shoreline viewer software, the author’s independent research, consultation with colleagues, and survey trips around the Great Lakes.

Understanding groundwater recharge is essential for successful management of water resources and modeling fluid and contaminant transport within the subsurface. This book provides a critical evaluation of the theory and assumptions that underlie methods for estimating rates of groundwater recharge. Detailed explanations of the methods are provided - allowing readers to apply many of the techniques themselves without needing to consult additional references. Numerous practical examples highlight benefits and limitations of each method. Approximately 900 references allow advanced practitioners to pursue additional information on any method. For the first time, theoretical and practical considerations for selecting and applying methods for estimating groundwater recharge are covered in a single volume with uniform presentation. Hydrogeologists, water-resource specialists, civil and agricultural engineers, earth and environmental scientists and agronomists will benefit from this informative and practical book. It can serve as the primary text for a graduate-level course on groundwater recharge or as an adjunct text for courses on groundwater hydrology or hydrogeology. For the benefit of students and instructors, problem sets of varying difficulty are available at http://wwwbrr.cr.usgs.gov/projects/GW_Unsat/Recharge_Book/.