The Hydrological Cycle

History
The idea of the hydrological cycle, which today seems so intuitive, for centuries it
was not understood by philosophers and "scientists", believing that the cycle is
performed upside down: the water gets into the crust from the bottom of the oceans,
was stored in the depth, probably in large caves, and then stood by the heat of the
Earth up to the upper parts of the mountains, emerging in the areas of birth of the
rivers. Not thought possible that the flow of a great river

Outside produced solely by the rains and marveling at the existence of springs in places
with topographically high flow rates and relatively constant. Such, Plato, Aristotle,... until
Kepler
(1571 -1630) and discards ( "Principles of Philosophy", 1644) were not limited to outline
the idea of the cycle upside down, but that they spent long texts to particularize the
various stages of the process. The most complicated thing was the loss of sea salt, but
this invoking processes similar to the distillation.
Also there were exceptions, such as the Roman architect - vitruvius or Leonardo da
Vinci who spoke of the cycle as it is.
The Hydrology was born with modern experiences of Perrault, Mariotte and Halley's
Comet. They were the first empirical hydrologists that based their ideas into action
and not on speculation.
In 1674 Pierre Perrault publishes "De l 'origine des Fontaines". He had measured the
rainfall in the upper basin of the Seine and the capacities of the river, concluding that the
volume of rainfall was six times higher than to the contributions of the river. Mariotte, who
was a contemporary of Perrault, repeated these experiments at a different point in the
basin of the Seine, studying in addition deep water infiltration, and verifying that the flow of
certain springs varied according to the oscillation of the rainfall.
Missing by quantifying the other half of the cycle: how it was possible that the sky would
fall too much water. The astronomer Halley (1656 - 1742) became interested in the
phenomenon of the evaporation because is misted the lenses of their telescopes.
Measurements and calculations to conclude that the volume of water evaporated a
summer's day of the Mediterranean was superior to the volume of water it receives from
all the rivers that reach el1.
The top of the ground water hydrology as science is much more modern. The first
equation that explains the flow through a porous medium (Law of Darcy ) dates back to
1857, and the fundamental equation that quantifies the behavior of groundwater to the
pumps is 1935 (Theis). The relationship between the geological formations and
groundwater not acquired certain maturity until the beginning of the twentieth century (it
must be stressed to Meizner2, the American Geological Service).
Hydrological Cycle is called the general movement of the water, ascending and
descending by evaporation by the first rainfall and then in the form of surface runoff
and groundwater.

On this definition so we can make some simple observations:

1) It is not simple as the water
evaporates from the oceans and
precipitates on the continents.
2) The underground runoff is much slower than the superficial. The slow (sometimes
immobility) of runoff underground gives the cycle some fundamental characteristics, such
as the rivers flow will continue with long after the last rainfall.
3) Groundwater are not more than one of the phases or stages of the water cycle, do
not have any mysterious or deep magmatic origin. Sometimes you forget this truism and
exploit the waters of a region as if it had nothing to do with the rainfall or runoff, with
undesirable results.
One exception: there are in fact -driven upwelling waters that come from the inside of the
Earth and have never been to the surface or formed part of the hydrological cycle. Youth
can be called waters and it is truly exceptional cases. The thermal waters, sulfur, etc. , of
the spas is demonstrated by isotopic studies that are underground water in most cases.
Fossil water or defects are those that were trapped in the formation of a sediment.
Other groundwater that appeared to be outside the cycle are those that are displayed in
desert regions. Are waters that infiltrated makes tens of thousands of years ago when
these same desert areas were not such. Both these waters as fossils belong to the
hydrological cycle, but have been away from the over a very long period of time.
As it is a cycle we could consider all its phases starting from any point, but the most
intuitive can be begin in precipitation and consider ways that you can follow the water that
falls on the continents in precipitation:

Rainfall

Coun-
Representati
on Arrive Sweating
To the
Evap. ground

Evap. Evap.
Runoff Superficia
l
Infiltration
Runoff
Sup groundwater. Hypodermic
Riv
er

Runoff
Underground
a) Evaporation. A part evaporates from the surface of the ground (
"puddles") or if you have been retained on the leaves of the trees. In
this latter phenomenon is called "interception", and in short rainy
seasons on areas of forest can be returned to the atmosphere a great
part of the precipitate water without having touched the ground. 3
b) Infiltration. The infiltrated water can, in turn, to follow these paths:
B1) Evaporation. Evaporates from the wet soil, without regard to the
possible vegetation.
B2) transpiration. The roots of the plants absorb water infiltrated
into the ground, a small party is held for its growth and the greater
part is transpired.
The sum of b1) and b2) is being studied jointly: is
the evapotranspiration
B3) subsurface runoff or hypodermic, ( "interflow" ), that after a
short lateral distance before arriving at the water surface just coming
to the surface
B4) If it is not evaporated or trapped by the roots, the gravity will
continue bringing it down to the water table surface; there can still be
caught in the roots of the plants "freatofitas" (cottonwoods, poplars,
etc. ), of deep roots, and that unlike other plants, looking for the water
from the saturated medium.
B5) Finally, the remaining water gives rise to the underground runoff.
c) Surface runoff. The water from precipitation that is not evaporated or
infiltrated, drained superficially. You can even happen several things:
Part is evaporated from the surface of rivers, lakes and reservoirs also
evaporates a small part4
C2) Another party may be retained as snow or ice or in lakes or
reservoirs. ( "Surface runoff deferred")
C3) Finally an important part is the rapid surface runoff that you continue
your journey toward the sea.
In summary, we have seen that the water can precipitate:

- Suffer evaporation and evapotranspiration (a, b1, b2, b4, c1)

- Drain superficially
- Underground runoff constitute

Other fundamental concepts are:

 Direct Runoff, which reaches the surface waterways in a short period of
time after rainfall, and that usually encompasses the surface runoff (c3) and
subsurface ( b3). Are impossible to distinguish: a large part of what seems to
surface runoff (by the increase in the flow continues to precipitation) has been
infiltrated subsuperficialmente
Basic Runoff, which supplies the surface waterways in the onwards, during
the periods without rainfall, a concept that encompasses the runoff
Underground (b5) and superficial deferred (c2)
Outputs of the groundwater
We've already seen how continue their journey the evaporated water and
wrung out superficially. To continue with the vision of the cycle, we are only
left outlining as it does, the groundwater runoff underground.
The water that has come to the saturated zone will circulate through the
aquifer hydraulic gradients in the regional. Until that comes out to the outside
or is removed from his journey can be a few meters or quite a few kilometers,
during a period of a few months or for thousands of years. This output to the
exterior can be by the following ways:
- Artificially be removed via wells or polls. In areas of flat topography and
surface deep groundwater, the removal of deposits is almost the only
way out of the groundwater.
- Exit to the outside as the source . The hydrogeological contexts that give
rise to a spring are varied, in attached figure outlines only one of them.

Evapotranspiration
 By plants freatofitas or if the surface water table is close to the surface.
On slopes that cut through the water table surface is generated a
abundant vegetation.

- A surreptitiously fertilser channel. It is normal that a river gradually increase

its flow of water down even though you do not receive tributaries surface.
- In coastal areas:

Flowing underground to the sea.

This loss is necessary to maintain a stable interface
- Freshwater
- Salt water.

Of all of them, except for the coastal areas, the most important is the output to
the causes.
In a region with alternation between layers and other little permeable permeable
in the flow would be as well.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SURFACE WATER AND GROUNDWATER

This influx of water to underground rivers do not always occurs, sometimes

the flow is the river to the aquifer. Effluents are called rivers and that
played a crucial role respectively (or winners and losers.

When long time ago that there are no rainfall over its basin, a river can
continue to carry water for the following reasons:
 - Snow or ice that are melting

- Surface Storage: lakes, reservoirs

Underground Storage: aquifers ara simplify, think of a basin without the first
two causes, represented in the attached figure. Prior to the rainfall, the flow was
depleted gradually until, at the beginning of the rainfall, the flow begins to
increase. At the instant t1 the entire flow is due to basic runoff (in this case,
runoff underground). At the instant t2, part of the flow (solid lines) will be due to
the basic runoff, and another part (area of strokes) will be due to direct runoff.

We see, therefore, that the whole of aquifers from a basin behave as a real
"underground reservoir", because they are the water when there is excess and
release it slowly when there is no rainfall.

Water Balance in a basin

River Basin is defined by the topography, easily distinguishable product on a

topographic map. Basin hydrogeological5 is a concept that encompasses also
the groundwater. A river basin will also serve as a water catchment when there
are no significant transfers of ground water in a basin to another, that is to say,
that we can consider that the topographic dividing that divide the surface runoff
are also dividing underground runoff between adjacent basins.

It is not necessary the presence of faults or strata sloping that cause the
passage of underground water in a basin to the adjacent. In the figure (next
page) we note that this may occur with a subsoil homogeneous.

In small watersheds will have to consider carefully if the basin is also the surface
of the groundwater. For basins large (more than 1000 or 2000 km2) this is not
taken into account, and is considered the watershed basin also as underground
runoff.

The minimum period to establish the water balance is the hydrological

year (Aug 31 Sep 1 6); the balance sheet in a general case would be:

Input = Output storage +

Precip (+ water from other basins) = ET + Esc. Sup Subtitle + Esc + Water
to other basins) + storage.

If we can consider a closed basin:

Precip = ET + Esc. Sup. + Esc subt. + Storage.

The term storage refers to the fact that the volume stored (aquifers, snow,
reservoirs) at the time of the initial period may be different to the volume
stored in the final moment. This will always be the case if the period under
consideration is a hydrological year. But if we consider a period of many
years (in general require more than 20 years) the equation of the balance
sheet is simplified as well:

Precip = ET + Runoff sup. + Runoff subt.

 Precip = ET + Total Runoff

That is to say, that for a period of several years, the total volume of
precipitation not evapotranspiradas has to be equal to the input (volume
provided) of the river at the mouth during the same period. Note that for a long
period we are covering the surface runoff and groundwater, as this is the food
that the riverbed in the periods of drought and therefore also is measured at
the mouth of the river.

To become familiar with the operation of a basin as hydrogeological unit is

necessary to quantify your water balance. On average, for all the spanish
river basins, the summary of the water balance presents approximately these
valores7:
Precip = ET al. + Runoff sup. + Runoff subt.
= 686
mm. 466 MM + 163 mm. + 57 MM.
100 % = 68% + 24% + 8%

You can also be studied the water balance of an aquifer or a

specific "aquifer system" ( =set of aquifers that are considered together). The
general equation (Input = Output + storage) is the same as for the basin as a
unit, but in a aquifer there is to consider inputs and outputs to and from other
aquifers, infiltration or artificial recharge, pumping, exit to the channels or the
sea, etc.

RESERVES AND RESOURCES ON ESPLOTACION

If we exploit the water that can be renewed (considered a period of a few years
ago) it is said that we exploit the resources. If we use more water than can be
renewed, it is said that we exploit the reservations, and we are producing on
exploitation. Water levels in the wells each year is more low.

Keep unchanged the water balance in a region maintains ecosystems in their

natural state, but does not allow us to assess the maximum exploitation of
water resources without arriving to overexploitation.
Assessment of water resources in an area on the basis of the water balance
"natural" (prior to the exploitation) has been called the myth of the water balance
(Water Budget Myth, Alley et al. , 1999, p. 15).
A certain initial exploitation can cause a different balance, but that gives rise to
a better use of water resources, decreasing the ET, increasing infiltration, and
causing the recharge of aquifers from the surface waterways.
Let us look at this with an example schematic (figures on the next page):
In the first figure shows a hypothetical water balance (in percentages, rainfall
= 100) without exploitation .
In the second figure, the beginning of the exploitation of groundwater
evapotranspiration has slowed down, but have declined the vegetation and
the flow of the river.

Finally, the third figure, with a further exploitation of underground resources,

the river has gone from effluent to influent, with an increase in the effects
mentioned in the previous phase:
 BEGIN THE PUMPS
The surface water table drops .These causes:
a) The infiltration increases from 10 to 12, since the soil
lahumedad declined .
b) The ET decreases: the trees long roots no longer tomanagua
underneaththe surface water table, and a strip of the bank no longer
receives power from below.
c) The underground runoff that feeds the river drops from 6 to 3, since the
slope of the surface water is lower.

ETR = 84 P=100

1 1
0 0

4
6 16 ( = 10 +6)

PUMPS MORE INTENSE, THE RIVER MAKES influent

We assume that the ET has not diminished, but the river is fed with ahorano
part ofthe underground runoff , but that the same lost aquifers feeding
= ETR (84) Escorr Sup (10)
Rainfall (100) + + Escorr subt (6)
Rainfall (100) = ETR (84) + Escorr Total (16)

ETR = 78 P = 100
 Pumping= 9 1
0

1
2

9
3

13 ( = 10 +3)

Escorr Sup (10) + Escorr subt (3) +

Rainfall (100) = ETR (78)+ pumps (9)
+ Escorr Total
Rainfall (100) = ETR (78) (13) + Pumps (9)