Groundwater Hydrology
MIT's Groundwater Hydrology, offered through the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, covers the physics of subsurface flow and contaminant transport. Lectures work through Darcy's law, aquifer properties, and the relationship between groundwater movement and geologic structure, then move into modeling how pollutants spread through soil and rock. The course pairs lecture notes with laboratory exercises and computer demonstrations that let students simulate flow through different subsurface materials, and problem sets apply the governing equations to realistic aquifer and contamination scenarios. Management of contaminated groundwater gets dedicated treatment, tying the physical models to real remediation decisions. Materials are published through MIT OpenCourseWare and are free to access, including readings, assignments, and in some cases exam material, though there is no certificate attached. The course assumes some background in fluid mechanics or differential equations, making it best suited to advanced undergraduates or graduate students in civil, environmental, or geological engineering.