Groundwater levels, observed

The ‘Groundwater levels observed’ dataset presents measured groundwater levels as well as information on the locations where levels are measured by SGU or in the field of groundwater environmental monitoring. The purpose of the measurements is to study temporal variations in the amount and nature of groundwater, in relation to geology, topography and climate. Information such as soil type, topographical location and type of aquifer is of great importance for assessing groundwater level variability patterns. SGU has been measuring groundwater levels since the late 1960s. The results of the measurements are useful for reference purposes, forecasts, environmental monitoring and resource calculations. The number of measurement occasions, refresh rate and measurement method varies greatly between measurement stations, ranging from a dozen manual measurements to more than ten thousand measurements that are updated on a daily basis. Nowadays, pressure sensors are usually used that provide the possibility of measuring the groundwater level several times a day. Many pressure sensors automatically send measurement data directly to SGU for publication every 24 hours and further use. For other pressure sensors, it is necessary to manually retrieve and publish data, which is normally done once a year. The dataset contains all level data and it should be noted that the quality of the data varies. Before using data, quality should be checked, for example, by plotting measured groundwater levels.