THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

THE BLUE PLANET: CHAPTER 8

OUTLINE

• Water and the Hydrologic Cycle

• Water on the Ground
• Water Under the Ground
• Water and Society
WATER AND THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

• Water plays a central role in

moderating temperature and
controlling climate
• The erosional and depositional
effects of streams, waves, and
glaciers, coupled with tectonic
activity have produced the
diversity of Earth’s landscapes
• The unique chemical properties
of water make life possible
• The hydrologic cycle maintains a
mass balance on a global scale
WATER AND THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
• The largest reservoir in the hydrologic cycle is the ocean
• Contains more than 97.5% of Earth’s water
• Most of the water in the hydrologic cycle is saline, and not usable by humans
• The largest reservoir of fresh water is the polar ice sheets
• Contain 74% of the Earth’s fresh water
• The largest reservoir of unfrozen fresh water is groundwater
WATER AND THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

• Movement of water
through the
hydrologic cycle is
powered by the Sun
• Evaporation
• Condensation
• Precipitation
• Transpiration
• Surface runoff
• Infiltration
OUTLINE

• Water and the Hydrologic Cycle

• Water on the Ground
• Water Under the Ground
• Water and Society
 PROPERTIES OF WATER

1. In three states on
Earth’s surface
2. Dipolar
a. Surface tension
b. Capillary attraction
c. Solvent
3. High heat of
vaporization and high
heat capacity
4. Solid is less dense than
liquid
5. Transparent (allow sun
light to penetrate)
WATER ON THE GROUND

• During a heavy rainfall, water

moves downhill
• Initially as sheet flow (overland
flow)
• Gets concentrated into stream
flow
• Consists of storm flow and base
flow
• Streams with no base flow are
ephemeral
• Streams with base flow are
perennial
WATER ON THE GROUND

• Streams are part of a complex natural

system that includes
• A channel
• A drainage basin
• A divide
• The stream’s load is the total sediment and
dissolved matter it is transporting
WATER ON THE GROUND

• Streams are part of a

complex natural system that
includes
• A channel
• A drainage basin
• A divide
• The stream’s load is the
total sediment and
dissolved matter it is
transporting
WATER ON THE GROUND

• Streams and drainage systems

• Play a fundamental role in both the hydrologic cycle and the rock cycle
• Support complex ecosystems
• Are constantly evolving in response to changing relief, climate and vegetation
 WATER ON THE GROUND

• The size and shape of a stream

channel are controlled by
several factors
• Erodibility of rock
• Steepness of descent
• Volume of water
• The vertical distance that a
stream channel descends along
its course is its gradient, overall
this decreases downstream,
though not smoothly
WATER ON THE GROUND

• Stream behavior is controlled

by 5 basic factors
1. Average channel width and
depth
2. Channel gradient
3. Average water velocity
4. Discharge
5. Sediment load
• All streams experience a
continuous interplay among
these factors
 WATER ON THE GROUND

• Following a stream from its

source to its mouth, orderly
adjustments occur
• Width and depth increase
• Gradient decreases
• Flow velocity and discharge
increase
• Turbulence decreases
 WATER ON THE GROUND
• Meandering channels
• Straight channels are rare
• Low gradient streams typically assume a sinuous shape, each bend is a meander
• The shape reflects the way the stream minimizes resistance to flow
• Velocity is lowest along inside meanders
• Velocity is highest along outside meanders
 WATER ON THE GROUND

• Meandering channels
• Sediment accumulates
on the inner side of a
meander, forming a
point bar
• Collapse of the stream
bank occurs on the
outside of a meander,
forming a cut bank
• In this way meanders
tend to migrate
• Sometimes a stream
bypasses a channel
loop, cutting it off and
forming an oxbow lake
 WATER ON THE GROUND

• Braided channels
• A stream that is unable to transport
the entire available sediment load
tends to deposit the coarsest and
densest sediment to form a bar,
which locally divides and
concentrates the flow
• A stream with many interlacing
channels and bars is called braided
• Tends to have variable discharge and
easily erodible banks
WATER ON THE GROUND

• The size of clasts a stream can transport is mainly related to velocity

• However, the size of clasts decreases downstream from the rocky headwaters
• A stream’s load consists of three parts
• Bed load
• Suspended load
• Dissolved load
 WATER ON THE GROUND
• Bed load
• 5-50% of total sediment load
• Move by rolling, sliding, or saltation
• Suspended load
• Particles of silt and clay provide the
muddy character of many streams
• Dissolved load
• Comprised primarily of 7 ions
• Bicarbonate, calcium, sulfate,
chloride, sodium, magnesium, and
potassium
 WATER ON THE GROUND

• Streams form three major

depositional landforms
• Floodplain: deposition of fine
sediment beyond natural
levees during a flood
• Alluvial fan: a fan-shaped
body of alluvium at the base
of an upland area
• Delta: triangular shaped
deposit formed when a
stream enters the standing
water of a sea or lake
 WATER ON THE GROUND

• Streams form three major

depositional landforms
• Floodplain: deposition of fine
sediment beyond natural
levees during a flood
• Alluvial fan: a fan-shaped
body of alluvium at the base
of an upland area
• Delta: triangular shaped
deposit formed when a
stream enters the standing
water of a sea or lake
 WATER ON THE GROUND
• All continents are divided into large regions from which major rivers flow to one of the
world’s major oceans
• The line separating any two of these is called a continental divide
• Continental divides often coincide with crests of mountains, the result of uplift, we
know that there is a close relationship between plate tectonics and the locations of
stream basins
WATER ON THE GROUND
• Water can remain stored in any of several surface water reservoirs
• Ice caps are the greatest of these
• Lakes: mainly in high latitudes
• formed by glaciation, volcanism, tectonism, streamflow, natural dams, cave collapse, ice dam
collapse, permafrost thaw, and coastal processes
• Wetlands: permanently or intermittently moist
• Include swamps, marshes and bogs
• Highly biologically productive
WATER ON THE GROUND
• Flooding
• Occurs when a stream’s discharge becomes so great that it exceeds the capacity of
the channel
• Major floods occur infrequently, but can be devastating or catastrophic
• During a flood, the peak discharge comes well after the rains that produced it
• After rainfall, surface runoff moves into stream channels, quickly increasing discharge
 WATER ON THE GROUND
• Flooding
• Occurs when a stream’s
discharge becomes so great that
it exceeds the capacity of the
channel
• Major floods occur infrequently,
but can be devastating or
catastrophic
• During a flood, the peak
discharge comes well after the
rains that produced it
• After rainfall, surface runoff
moves into stream channels,
quickly increasing discharge
WATER ON THE GROUND
• Because floods can be so dangerous, prediction has become essential
• Frequency of past floods can be plotted, calculating the average time interval
between two floods of equal magnitude
• This is called the recurrence interval
• In addition, real-time monitoring during storms in combination with
information about the river basin’s geometry helps with forecasting
WATER ON THE GROUND

• Flood prevention and channelization

• River channels are often modified for the purpose of flood control
• This is called channelization
• Channelization protects our well-being, for a time, and at a price
• Interferes with ecosystems
• Can aggravate pollution
• Does not always protect against flooding, and in fact increases the chances
• Can lead to subsidence
• Renders historic hydrologic data invalid
OUTLINE

• Water and the Hydrologic Cycle

• Water on the Ground
• Water Under the Ground
• Water and Society
WATER UNDER THE GROUND

• Less than 1% of the liquid water in the hydrosphere lies beneath the ground
• Groundwater
• It comprises a volume 35 times larger than the volume of all the freshwater lakes
and streams, and is nearly a third as large as all the glaciers and sea ice
• More than 50% of it is within 750 m depth
WATER UNDER THE GROUND

• The elements dissolved in groundwater consist of chlorides, sulfates, and

bicarbonates of calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium
• Which dissolve from common rock-forming minerals
• Consequently the composition of ground-water varies from place to place
depending on the surrounding rocks
WATER UNDER THE GROUND
• From the ground surface to beneath the water table, the regolith
• Is filled with air: aerated zone
• Is filled with water: saturated zone
• The upper surface of this is the water table

• The water table represents the upper limit of all readily usable groundwater
• It follows the shape of the ground surface, higher under hills, and lower under valleys
WATER UNDER THE GROUND
• Groundwater flows between pore spaces by percolation
• This flow depends on the porosity and permeability of the rock it moves through
• Porosity: the percentage of the total volume of rock that consists of open pore
spaces
• Permeability: a measure of how easily a solid allows fluids to pass through it
WATER UNDER THE GROUND
• Groundwater flows from high water table areas to low water table areas in
response to gravity
• Replenishment occurs when rainfall and snowmelt enter the ground in areas of
recharge
• Water moves through the system to areas of discharge, where it meets the surface,
streams, lakes, ponds or wetlands
WATER UNDER THE GROUND
• An aquifer is a body of rock or regolith sufficiently porous and permeable to store and
conduct significant quantities of groundwater
• If it has a water table, it is unconfined
• If the rate of withdrawal exceeds the rate of local groundwater flow, a cone of
depression may form
• A confined aquifer is bounded above and below by impermeable rock (aquiclude)
• If it has high hydrostatic pressure, it is an artesian aquifer, freely flowing
WATER UNDER THE GROUND
• An aquifer is a body of rock or regolith sufficiently porous and permeable to store and
conduct significant quantities of groundwater
• If it has a water table, it is unconfined
• If the rate of withdrawal exceeds the rate of local groundwater flow, a cone of
depression may form
• A confined aquifer is bounded above and below by impermeable rock (aquiclude)
• If it has high hydrostatic pressure, it is an artesian aquifer, freely flowing
 WATER UNDER THE GROUND

• Slow moving groundwater has the

capacity to dissolve a lot of material
• Limestone and marble are very
susceptible
• A cave will form when circulating
groundwater dissolves an
underground void with only no
opening to the surface
• The passage is enlarged in the most
favorable flow route by the water that
fills the opening
Spectacular cave formations are deposited
by precipitation of materials from the
groundwater
 WATER UNDER THE GROUND
• In contrast to a cave, a sinkhole is a large dissolution cavity open to the sky
• In regions of exceptionally soluble rock, sinkholes and caves are so numerous that they
combine to form a distinct topography of smalls basins, ridges, and pinnacles called
karst
• This is best developed in moist, tropical regions underlain by limestone
OUTLINE

• Water and the Hydrologic Cycle

• Water on the Ground
• Water Under the Ground
• Water and Society
WATER AND SOCIETY

• A reliable water supply is critical

• For human survival and health
• For industry and agriculture
• For environmental services
• Water is under threat almost everywhere in the world in terms of quality and
quantity
• Laws and policies are confusing and complicated, and groundwater is difficult to
monitor
WATER AND SOCIETY

• Crop irrigation demands 75% of water

• Industry demands 20%
• Domestic use demands 5%
• However, proportions vary greatly from one region to another
• Population growth is partly responsible for increasing demand, as are
improvements in living standards
WATER AND SOCIETY
• 29 countries worldwide suffer from water shortages (450 million people)
• Inter-basin transfer of water from one drainage basin to another to meet high
water demands raises political issues, and can have environmental impacts
• Excessive groundwater withdrawal can lead to lowering of the water table, drying
of springs, compaction and subsidence
WATER AND SOCIETY

• About 1.2 billion people, mainly In developing countries, do not have access to clean
drinking water
• In North America, water is drawn from relatively clean sources, but is still monitored
and treated with chlorination to kill microorganisms
WATER AND SOCIETY

• The accessibility of surface water makes them useful resources, but highly
susceptible to contamination
• Contaminants come from
• Urban, suburban and agricultural runoff
• Industrial and landfill effluents
• Mining, logging and petroleum discharge
• Airborne contaminants
• Thermal pollution
WATER AND SOCIETY
• A common form of surface water contamination results from excess plant
nutrients from fertilizers and detergents
• Triggers algae growth, and aquatic weeds get out of control: algal bloom
• When they die, their breakdown causes oxygen depletion, killing other organisms
in the water: eutrophication
• If accelerated by the addition of anthropogenic pollutants, it is called cultural
eutrophication
WATER AND SOCIETY

• Groundwater contamination is caused by many of the same pollutants that affect

surface water
• However, it can be much more difficult to detect, control, and clean up
• Passive remediation involves relying on natural environmental processes to clean up the site
• Active remediation involves intervention by injecting oxygen or other chemicals to speed the
breakdown of contaminants
IRON MOUNTAIN MINE NEAR REDDING,
CALIFORNIA
• Excavation of drainage tunnels expose pyrite,
chalcopyrite, and sphalerite, to oxidation
• Large accumulations of secondary sulphate
solids, such as romerite, rhomboclase, Zn-Cu-
bearing melanterite, as efflorenscence of the
mine walls and as stalagmites and stalacites
• Water dripping from the mines walls and in
pools contained extremely high
concentrations of dissolved solids, and had a
pH as low as -3.6
• In dry seasons, evaporites forms, and in
raining seasons, flushing of accumulated
oxidation products cause high level of toxic
metals
THE CASE OF THE ARAL SEA
THE CASE OF THE ARAL SEA