Hydrology

and the
Hydrologic
Cycle
What is Hydrology?
Hydrology
from the Greek word Yoo
Yo (hudr) o (logos)
Hudor having to do with water
logos study or knowledge of

The study or knowledge of water

The scientific study of the properties, distribution, and effects of

water on the earth's surface, in the soil and underlying rocks, and in
the atmosphere.
The scientific discipline in the field of physical geography that deals
with the water cycle.
Hydrologic Cycle
is often called the water cycle. It is the vertical and horizontal
movement of water as either vapor, liquid, or solid between the
earths surface, subsurface, atmosphere, and oceans.
is a simplified accounting of the complex interactions of
meteorological, biological, chemical and geological phenomena.
It is the movement of water from surface water, groundwater,
and vegetation to the atmosphere and back to the earth in the
form of precipitation. (Hydrology: Water Quantity and Quality Control)

Subsurface Flow = interflow + baseflow

Hydrologic
Cycle
 Hydrologic cycle
COMPONENTS OF HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

A. STORAGE C. WATER ON THE EARTHS SURFACE

Water storage in oceans Snowmelt
Water storage in ice and snow Surface Runoff
Water storage as Surface water Springs
Water storage as Groundwater

B. WATER IN THE ATMOSPHERE D. WATER BELOW THE EARTHS SURFACE

Evaporation Infiltration
Evapo/transpiration Soil Moisture
Condensation Groundwater Recharge
Precipitation
Sublimation
STORAGE

A. Water Storage in Ocean

The oceans store over 97

percent of the earth's water
as seawater.
the storehouse where the
vast majority of all water
(97%) on Earth is located;
supply about 90% of the
evaporated water in the
hydrologic cycle.

Seawater is different from freshwater and typically contains about 35 grams per liter of
dissolved solids, most of which is sodium chloride. Freshwater typically has 1 gram per liter or
less of dissolved solids, and makes up the earth's rivers and most of its lakes.
 STORAGE
B. Water Storage in Snow
and Ice
The polar icecaps and
glaciers account for a
little more than 2 percent
of the earths water.
Mountain snowpacks are
an important source of
water, especially in arid
and semi-arid regions.
In some areas, snow
makes up a significant
part of the annual
precipitation.
Almost 90% of Earths ice mass is in Antarctica, the 10% in Greenland.
 STORAGE
C. Water Storage as Surface water
Surface water storage and
distribution occurs in lakes, ponds,
rivers, and streams.
Accounts for less than 0.01
percent for the earth's water.
the volume of water within a lake
depends on the amount of water
coming into and leaving the lake.

Water leaves a lake by either an outlet to let water flow downstream, or by

evaporation, plant transpiration, seepage into the ground, artificial removal, or
any combination of these processes.
Water Fact: What is the largest body of
freshwater in the world?
By itself, Lake Baikal in Russia
is estimated to hold about 20
percent of the available
freshwater on the earth's
surface. Lake Baikal's deepest
point is 1,637 meters. The
oldest lake in the world (2530
million years old), it measures
636 km long by 80 km wide
and has 2,100 km of coastline.
Its basin is made up of three
underwater depressions,
which together hold a volume
of 23,600 cubic km of water.
 STORAGE
D. Water Storage as
Groundwater
Groundwater typically occurs
in the aquifer, a region
beneath the earth's surface
composed of unconsolidated
rock and soil particles.
This region is able to transmit
and store water for extraction.
Less than 1 percent of the earth's
total water supply is stored as
groundwater or soil moisture.
Water in the Atmosphere

Atmospheric water is the result of the distribution

and transportation of water vapor by
transpiration, evaporation and sublimation.
Clouds are the most visible manifestation of
atmospheric water, but even clear air contains
water water in particles that are too small to be
seen.
 Water in the Atmosphere
A. Evaporation
is the movement of water from a liquid to a vapor state, the
opposite of condensation.
As water is heated by the sun, surface molecules become
sufficiently energized to break free of the attractive force
binding them together, and then evaporate and rise as invisible
vapor in the atmosphere.
Studies have shown that the oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers
provide nearly 90 percent of the moisture in the
atmosphere via evaporation, with the remaining 10 percent
being contributed by plant transpiration.
https://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycleevaporation.html
 Water in the Atmosphere
A. Evaporation

One of the simplest

method to measure
evaporation is by using
Evaporation pan.
 Water in the Atmosphere
B. Evapo / transpiration
Transpiration
is the process by which the soil
moisture is taken up by a plant root
system and eventually evaporates.
The combined effect of evaporation
and transpiration is often termed
evapotranspiration, or ET, and
generally constitutes the largest loss
component from the soil water
system.

Evapotranspiration is the process of evaporating water from leaves through plant

transpiration during photosynthesis.
Factors That Affect Evapotranspiration:
Temperature Transpiration rates go up as the temperature goes up,
especially during the growing season, when the air is warmer due to stronger
sunlight and warmer air masses. Higher temperatures cause the plant cells
which control the openings (stoma) where water is released to the atmosphere
to open, whereas colder temperatures cause the openings to close.

Relative Humidity As the relative humidity of the air surrounding the plant
rises the transpiration rate falls. It is easier for water to evaporate into dryer
air than into more saturated air.

Wind and air movement Increased movement of the air around a plant will
result in a higher transpiration rate. Wind will move the air around, with the
result that the more saturated air close to the leaf is replaced by drier air.

Soil-moisture availability When moisture is lacking, plants can begin to

senesce (premature ageing, which can result in leaf loss) and transpire less
water.
 Soil type Soil type determines how much water soil can hold and how easy it
is for the water to be drawn out of it, either by a plant or by evaporation. For
areas where the ground is covered by vegetation, the rate of transpiration is
considerably higher than the rate of evaporation from the soil.
Plant type Some plants, like cacti and other succulents, naturally hold onto their
water and dont transpire as much. Trees and crops are on the other end of the
spectrum and can release copious amounts of water vapor in a day. For example,
an acre of corn can release 4,000 gallons of water vapor a day and a single large
oak tree can transpire 40,000 gallons of water vapor in a year.
Plants transpire water at different rates. Some plants which grow in arid regions,
such as cacti and succulents, conserve precious water by transpiring less water
than other plants.
http://climate.ncsu.edu/edu/k12/.evapo
https://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycleevapotranspiration.html

The vegetation type, canopy density, and coverage of plants directly influence the
amount of soil water removed from the watershed through transpiration. Specific plant
characteristics such as the type and depth of roots, how much water moves into and
out of leaves, and the light reflected off the plant surface are all important factors.
Plants such as grasses, shrub vegetation, and some agricultural crops have shorter
growing seasons, and thus shorter periods of transpiration, than forest vegetation.
 Water in the Atmosphere
C. Condensation

is the phase change of water from a

vapor state to a liquid state. This
process releases energy as latent
heat and is needed to create
precipitation.
Clouds are formed as a result of vertical motions in the atmosphere.
 Water in the Atmosphere
D. Precipitation

is water released from clouds in

the form of rain, freezing rain,
sleet, snow, or hail.
It is the primary connection in the
water cycle that provides for the
delivery of atmospheric water to
the Earth. Most precipitation falls
as rain.
 Water in the Atmosphere
E. Sublimation

is the direct conversion of snow

and ice to atmospheric water vapor.
Through this process, the water
content within a snowpack may be
reduced without melting.
Sublimation is enhanced under low
humidity and windy conditions.
is the conversion between the solid
and the gaseous phases of matter,
with no intermediate liquid stage.