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Hydrological Cycle

water management principles notes

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Vincent Joseph
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16 views

Hydrological Cycle

water management principles notes

Uploaded by

Vincent Joseph
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Water Cycle Diagram

The Hydrologic Cycle (also called the Water Cycle) is the continuous movement of water
in the air, on the surface of and below the Earth. This cycle is the exchange of energy
which influences climate. When water condenses, it releases energy and warms the
environment. When water evaporates it takes energy from the surrounding
environment, dropping temperatures.

Of the many processes involved in the water cycle, the most important
are evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, and runoff. Although the
total amount of water within the cycle remains essentially constant, its distribution
among the various processes is continually changing.
Process Definitions:
Condensation

It is tThe transformation of water vapor to liquid water droplets in the air, creating
clouds and fog.

The transition process from the vapour state to the liquid state is
called condensation. Condensation may take place as soon as the air contains more
water vapour than it can receive from a free water surface through evaporation at
the prevailing temperature. This condition occurs as the consequence of either
cooling or the mixing of air masses of different temperatures. By condensation,
water vapour in the atmosphere is released to form precipitation.

Deposition

Also known as de-sublimation, is a thermodynamic process, a phase transition in


which gas (vapor) transforms into solid (ice).

Evaporation

It is the transformation of water from liquid to gas phases as it moves from the
ground or bodies of water into the overlying atmosphere.

Evaporation, one of the major processes in the cycle, is the transfer of water from
the surface of the Earth to the atmosphere. By evaporation, water in the liquid state
is transferred to the gaseous, or vapour, state. This transfer occurs when some
molecules in a water mass have attained sufficient kinetic energy to eject
themselves from the water surface. The main factors affecting evaporation
are temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation. The direct
measurement of evaporation, though desirable, is difficult and possible only at
point locations. The principal source of water vapour is the oceans, but evaporation
also occurs in soils, snow, and ice. Evaporation from snow and ice, the direct
conversion from solid to vapour, is known as sublimation.
Percolation

Water flows horizontally through the soil and rocks under the influence of gravity.

Precipitation

It is the condensed water vapor that falls to the Earth’s surface. Most precipitation
occurs as rain, but also includes snow, hail, fog drip and sleet.

Precipitation that falls to the Earth is distributed in four main ways: some is
returned to the atmosphere by evaporation, some may be intercepted by vegetation
and then evaporated from the surface of leaves, some percolates into the soil by
infiltration, and the remainder flows directly as surface runoff into the sea. Some of
the infiltrated precipitation may later percolate into streams as groundwater runoff.
Direct measurement of runoff is made by stream gauges and plotted against time
on hydrographs.

Most groundwater is derived from precipitation that has percolated through the
soil. Groundwater flow rates, compared with those of surface water, are very slow
and variable, ranging from a few millimetres to a few metres a day. Groundwater
movement is studied by tracer techniques and remote sensing.

Sublimation

It is the state change directly from solid water (snow or ice) to water vapor.

Sublimation, in physics, conversion of a substance from the solid to the gaseous


state without its becoming liquid. An example is the vaporization of frozen carbon
dioxide (dry ice) at ordinary atmospheric pressure and temperature. The
phenomenon is the result of vapour pressure and temperature relationships. Freeze-
drying of food to preserve it involves sublimation of water from the food in a
frozen state under high vacuum.

Transpiration

It is the evaporation of water through minute pores, or stomata, in the leaves


of plants. For practical purposes, transpiration and the evaporation from all water,
soils, snow, ice, vegetation, and other surfaces are lumped together and
called evapotranspiration, or total evaporation.

Drought Impact

Hotter temperatures would cause more evaporation from both open water and the
soil. As a result, river and lake levels would drop, and soils would dry out. Plants
would transpire more in the heat, drawing even more water from the ground. There
would be less water on and in the ground just when hot weather was increasing
water demand.

Ice
It also plays a role in the water cycle. Ice and snow on the Earth’s surface occur in
various forms such as frost, sea ice, and glacier ice. When soil moisture freezes, ice
also occurs beneath the Earth’s surface, forming permafrost in tundra climates.
About 18,000 years ago glaciers and ice caps covered approximately one-third of
the Earth’s land surface. Today about 12 percent of the land surface remains
covered by ice masses.

Water vapour
It is the primary form of atmospheric moisture. Although its storage in the
atmosphere is comparatively small, water vapour is extremely important in
forming the moisture supply for dew, frost, fog, clouds, and precipitation.
Practically all water vapour in the atmosphere is confined to the troposphere (the
region below 6 to 8 miles [10 to 13 km] altitude).

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