Chapter 10: Hydrologic cycle
Water represents ecosystem capital that provides goods and services
Farming
Hydropower
Recreation
Hydration
Water properties
Water H2O
Fundamental to life
Universal solvent
Has polar charge
Allows for hydrogen bonding
Polarity gives water a number of unique properties
High BP, MP, FP
Adhesion vs Cohesion
Surface tension: Tension at water/air interface
Hydrology: the branch of environmental science that deals with water properties, its movement, and distribution on earth
Hydrologic cycle
Fueled by sun
Adiabatic cooling: leads to condensation and precipitation, relative humidity at 100% leads to precipitation
Evaporation: water molecules go up into atmosphere-the sun heats up the water and turns it into a water vapor
Condensation: water vapor form clouds
Precipitation: water in liquid form comes back down
Infiltration: water from precipitation absorbs into ground
Percolation: water moves through the soil
Transpiration: water is taken up from from plants-leaves
Water is either
Soaked into ground by infiltration
Percolates and recharges groundwater and aquifers
Surface runoff into surface water bodies
Surface water: ponds, lakes, streams, rivers
High ratio=water recharging aquifers and is purified
Low ratio=water movement toward ocean-not as usable
Confined: impermeable, sealed aquifers-usually by rocks or clays and are recharged upgradient, can bubble up.
Unconfined: permeable above with impermeable layer below, open to the atmosphere and recharged from above (top known as water table).
Convection cells: there are 12
Polar cells, feral cells, equator hadley cells=convection cells that carry moisture laden air masses.
Equator=0 degrees latitude, moisture laden air that evaporates and undergo convection currents which leads to tropical rain forests due to rain.
Cells move northward or southward and dry out-until they hit a certain point that causes sinking and then reabsorbs moisture-then moves to equator and picks up convection and continues.
Rain shadow-grabbing moisture and then releases on the windward side of the mountain thus causing deserts on other side of the mountain-Gobi desert, Sierra Nevada mountains.
Water managment
Consumptive
Nonconsumptive
Irrigation and agricultural use
70% of worldwide water used for agricultural purposes
Plant water needs vs livestock which consume a significantly higher amount of water
Electrical power use
Industrial use
Public supply
Pollution
Loss of water to surface water
Land subsidence
Saltwater intrusion near the coast
Karst(limestone)-adding water to limestone causes calcium carbonate to breakdown
Land subsidence due to water from aquifers