Hydrological CycleSchematic

Hydrological Cyclein Figures

Hydrological Cyclethe Reservoirs
Sub- Sub-Reservoir Reservoir Sub-Reservoir Reservoir
Reservoir Reservoir Storage Storage Storage % Storage %
x 1015 Kg x 1015 Kg
Cont. Atm. 4.5 0.0003
Marit.Atm. 11 0.0008
Ice and Snow 43400 2.9745
Surface Water 360 0.0247
Groundwater 15300 1.0486
Biota 2 0.0001
Total Land 59062 4.0479
Mixed Layer 50000 3.4268
Thermocline 460000 31.5268
Abyssal 890000 60.9974
Total Ocean 1400000 95.9510
GRAND TOTAL 1459077.5 100.00

Hydrological Cyclethe Fluxes

1. MaritimeAtmospheretoOcean:MarinePrecipitation~398x10 15kg/year
2. ContinentalAtmospheretoLand:TerrestrialPrecipitation~107x10 15kg/year
3. LandtoOcean:Runoff~36x1015kg/year
4. MaritimeAtmospheretoContinentalAtmosphere:monsoonwinds~36x1015kg/year
5. OceantoMaritimeAtmosphere:Evaporation~434x1015kg/year
6. LandtoTerrestrialAtmosphere:Evapo-transpiration~71x10 15kg/year
Hydrological Cycle ProcessesEvaporation
Evaporation is the process by which water is transformed into water vapor. This can
happen at any temperature. Evaporation rates go up as the temperature goes up and
relative humidity decreases. Increased movement of the air will result in higher
evaporationrates.

Evaporationistheprimarypathwaythatwatermovesfromtheliquidstatebackintothe
watercycleasatmosphericwatervapor.Studieshaveshownthattheoceans,seas,lakes,
and rivers provide nearly 90 percent of the moisture in the atmosphere via evaporation,
withtheremaining10percentbeingcontributedbyplanttranspiration.

Evaporationisoftencoupledwithitsreverseprocess,i.e.,condensation.Thuswhenwe
generallytalkaboutNet Evaporation,i.e.,Evaporation-Condensation
Hydrological Cycle ProcessesTranspiration
Transpiration is essentially evaporation of water from plant
leaves. During a growing season, a leaf will transpire many
timesmorewaterthanitsownweight.Anacreofcorngivesoff
11,400-15,100litersofwatereachday,andalargeoaktreecan
transpire~151,000litersperyear.
Importance of Transpiration
Approximately 10 percent of the evapo-transpiration flux is through transpiration. Total
evapo-transpirationfluxis505x1015kg/yr.ThusTranspirationfluxis~50x1015 kg/year.
Thisisamajorpartoftheevapo-transpirationfluxfromland,whichis71x10 15kg/year.
Hydrological Cycle ProcessesCloud Formation and Nomenclature
Cloud Formation
Aircontainswatervapor,whichisinvisible.Whenwarmairrises,itexpandsandcools.
Onetheairtemperaturereachestheduepoint.watervaporcondensesontoaerosolparticles
in the air and forms a tiny droplet around each particle. At high altitudes such droplets
freezeintoicecrystals.Whenbillionsofthesedropletscometogethertheybecomevisible
andarecalledclouds.

CloudTypes and Nomenclature

LowAltitude(0-2kmaboveMSL):
1)Stratus; 2)Stratocumulus;
3)Cumulus; 3)Cumulonimbus;

MediumAltitude(24kmaboveMSL):
1)altocumulus; 2)altostratus;
3)Nimbostratus;

HighAltitude:
1)Cirrus; 2)Cirrostratus;
3)cirrocumulus;

TheNimbuscloudsgenerallybringprecipitation
Hydrological Cycle ProcessesPrecipitation
Precipitationiswaterreleasedfromcloudsintheformofrain,freezingrain,sleet,snow,
orhail.Itdeliversofatmosphericwatertothelandandocean.Mostprecipitationfallsas
rain.

Thetinywaterdroplets(oricecrystals)incloudsmaybecomebiggerasmoreandmore
water condenses on the droplets. Droplets can also combine together to become bigger
droplets. Also tiny ice crystals may coalesce to form larger ice crystals which may
precipitateassnoworhail,ormeltandfallasrain.
Hydrological Cycle ProcessesRainwater Quality
Just after formation, the rain drops are pure water at pH 7. As the raindrop falls down
throughtheatmosphere,gaseousCO2isdissolvedintheraindropuntilitissaturatedwith
CO2.
CO 2 (g )
CO 2 (aq ):MassTransferof CO 2 fromgastoAqueousPhase

CO 2 (aq) H 2 O
H 2 CO 3 :H 2 CO 3 isthepredominantspeciesatpH 6

H 2 CO 3 HCO 3 H :HCO 3- isthepredominantspeciesinpH7 - 10

HCO 3 CO 32 H :CO 32- isthepredominantspeciesatpH11

[CO 2 (aq)] [H 2 CO 3 ] [H 2 CO*3 ]:H 2 CO 3 isbyfarthepredominantspecies

C T [CO32- ] [HCO3- ] [H 2 CO*3 ]

The above problem may be solved to determine the equilibrium values,

pH = 5.61; CT = 1.43 x 10-5 moles/L

Oxidesofsulfurandnitrogenpresentintheatmosphere,mayinteractwithrainwaterto
form nitric and sulfuric acid, further lowering the rainwater pH. This phenomenon is
knownasAcid Rain.