Porosity and permeability are two of the primary factors that control the movement and storage of fluids in rocks and sediments. They are intrinsic characteristics of these geologic materials. The exploitation of natural resources, such as groundwater and petroleum, is partly dependent on the properties of porosity and permeability.

Porosity is the ratio of the volume of openings (voids) to the total volume of material. Porosity represents the storage capacity of the geologic material. The primary porosity of a sediment or rock consists of the spaces between the grains that make up that material. The more tightly packed the grains are, the lower the porosity. Using a box of marbles as an example, the internal dimensions of the box would represent the volume of the sample. The space surrounding each of the spherical marbles represents the void space. The porosity of the box of...