We can make a generalized model of the Hydrologic cycle o 97% of water in earth is in the oceans o 86% of all evaporation comes from the oceans o 14% is on land and includes the process of water moving through plants and leaves (transpiration) o 78% of the earths precipitation falls back on the ocean o 22% falls back on land The Hydrologic Cycle Residence Times in the Hydrologic Cycle o A molecule of water in the atmosphere will stay there for about 10 days o Deep ocean circulation, groundwater aquifers, and glacial ice stay in transit between 3000-10,000 years o Thus, water in the atmosphere will have a short term climatic effect o . Surface Water o Interception is when precipitation strikes vegetation o Stem flow is when the plant directs water down or close to its stem This can be a very important moisture route to the ground Soil-Water Budget Concept o The soil-water-budget concept is a useful way to assess water resources for any area on Earth o The basic idea is that precipitation is a supply and plant needs, soil moisture storage, and evaporation are demands o These can then be generalized into book-keeping or accounting procedures Soil-Water Balance Equation o Precipitation Input This is the variable which measures moisture supply to the Earths surface It arrives in several different forms depending on moisture supply and temperature For example: snow, rain, etc. Measured with a rain gauge which allows us to measure by depth. o Potential Evapotranspiration (POTET) Measures the amount of water that would evaporate and transpire under optimum conditions when adequate precipitation and soil moisture supply are present Think of this concept as if there were an unlimited supply of precipitation; what would be evapotranspiration rate be for this scenario? This is POTET Can measure by evaporimeter. o Deficit (DEFIC) POTET demand can be satisfied in 3 ways By precipitation, by moisture stored in the soil, or through artificial irrigation If these through sources cannot meet the moisture demands, the location experiences moisture deficit (DEFIC) o Surplus (SURPL) If POTET is satisfied and the soul is full of moisture, then additional water input becomes surplus (SURPL) This excess water could sit on the surface in puddles ponds or lakes or it could flow this is called overland flow Combined with groundwater flow o Soil-Moisture Storage )STRGE) The volume of water stored in the ould that is accessible to plant roots Because this accounts for both recharge and utilization we append delta to the variable name Solid moisture has 2 categories of water Hydroscopic Capillary Types of Groundwater o Hygroscopic o Capillary o Gravitational Hydroscopic o This type of water is inaccessible to plants because it is a molecule thin layer that is tightly bound around to each soil particle by the hydrogen bonding of water molecules o Soil is considered to be at the wilting point when the only moisture that remains is hydroscopic water It gets its name because plants will wilt and eventually dies when soil hits. Capillary Water Gravitational o When soil becomes saturated, any surplus water percolates down through the ground Soil-Water-Balance Equation Drought o Hydrological: relates to the effect of precipitation shortages (rain and snow) on water supply; stream flow decreases, reservoir levels drop, mountain snowpack declines, and groundwater mining increases o Socioeconomic: reduced water causes the demand for goods to exceed the supply Water Budget and Water Resources o How do you ensure a steady supply? Groundwater Resources o Groundwater is an important part of the hydrologic process Groundwater Profile and Movement o Ground water begins as surplus water that percolates downward o It moves through the zone of aeration Soil and rock are less than saturated; some pores contain air o Eventually water reaches zone of saturation Pores are completely filled with water Aquifers and Aquicludes o An aquifer o An aquiclude (also called an aquitard) Aquifers, Wells, and Springs o A confined aquifer o An unconfined aquifer o Aquifer Recharge Area What happens for each case? o Confined and unconfined aquifers also have different pressure characteristics What happens? What does this mean practically? Steam Flows o Groundwater can also impact stream flow Effluent conditions Influent conditions Overuse of Groundwater o When water is pumped through a well in an unconfined aquifer, it may experience drawdown What happens? Overpumping o Overpumping of water can lead to what is called groundwater mining Groundwater mining is when the net draw of all pumping exceeds the recharge rate of the aquifer In the US this is common in the West, Midwest, lower Mississippi Valley, and Florida and Eastern Washington State The most overdrawn aquifer in the US is the High Plains Aquifer Collapsing Aquifers o On the surface this can be visible as land subsidence, cracked foundations, and changed drainage patterns Collapsed Aquifers and Coastal Pumping o What happens when an aquifer collapses? o What happens if you are along the coast? Salt water intrusion Pollution of Groundwater o When surface water is polluted, groundwater will inevitably be contaminated because it is recharged from surface water supplies Practical implications? Where Does Pollution Come From? o It can come from many sources Industrial Septic tanks Seepage from hazardous waste disposal sites Industrial toxic waste Mechanized agriculture Urban solid waste Pollution o Pollution can be point source 35% of pollution occurs from point source sources o Or it can be nonpoint source 65% of pollution comes from nonpoint source sources An Interesting Question o Given the population on Earth is growing and we know that we are stressing our water resources, what do you think will happen? o Is there a way out? Fluvial Processes o Fluvial processes are those processes which are stream related Comes from the Latin fluvius which means river o Do you remember hydrology? Basic Fluvial Concepts o Discharge o Insolation and gravity o Fluvial erosion Fluvial Key Concepts o The eroded sediment in the stream can be transported or deposited Transported material is either rolled, carried, or dissolved by water in the steam Deposited material is what is deposited by the stream Base Level o The level below which a stream cannot erode its valley Ultimate base level Local base level Drainage Basins o Every stream has a drainage basin o Drainage basins are divided by drainage divides o Sheetflow, or overland flow, is the water that initially flows downslope Interfluve Rills Continental Divides o Continental divides are what divide a continents drainage flows Internal Drainage o Internal drainage refers to areas of drainage which do not flow to the ocean The Great Salt Lake in Utah and Mono Lake in California are examples of internal drainage basins Drainage Density and Patterns o Drainage density o Drainage frequency o Drainage pattern refers to how channels are arranged in a particular region These are often very distinctive but there are general patterns which emerge Special Features of Fluvial Systems o Capture o Elbows of Capture o Steam Piracy 7 most common drainage patterns o Dendritic o Trellis o Radial o Parallel o Rectangular o Annular o Deranged Dendritic and Trellis o Dendritic: this is the recognizable tree-like pattern most often associated with streams Most efficient o Trellis: this pattern forms in very folded topography Results from folded mountains Radial and Parallel o Radial patterns form when water flows off a central peak or dome o Parallel drainage patterns form from very steep slopes These will mostly be newly formed/forming mountain ranges Rectangular and Annular o Rectangular patterns form due to faulted and jointed landscapes Example would be fault line boundaries, etc. o Annular patterns are produced by structural domes with the rock strata guiding stream courses Example would be Richat Dome Deranged o Deranged drainage patterns tend to form on disrupted surface landforms They have no clear geometry and are often marked by lakes They usually form on extensively glaciated regions Superimposed Streams o Superimposed streams appear to defy land structures Form because steam keeps its path as land is uplifted Stream Discharge o A streams discharge, or flow per unit of time, is determined by how wide and deep the channel is as well as the velocity of the flow o Flow will generally increase as you move downstream as more water is added via various tributaries What happens when flow increases? Erosion occurs, change landscape much quicker Dam Controlled Discharge and Sediment Redistribution o When dams are built or natural lakes occur, sediment is deposited What happens? Upstream? Downstream? Exotic Streams o These are streams whose headwaters are in tropical or wet region and flows through an arid region Stream Erosion and Transportation o A streams turbulence and abrasion help to carve and erode the landscapes in which it flows o Hydraulic action is the work of flowing water alone o Abrasion o Hydraulic Action o Where would each process be strongest? Hydraulic action at the end of a river, more force from falling water Abrasion has strongest force towards ocean. Stream has more area to move Competence and Capacity o Competence The ability of a stream to move particles of a specific size. This is a function of velocity. o Capacity This happens in four transport processes: solution, suspension, saltation, and traction. Solution o Solution refers to the dissolved load in a stream This can be from minerals like limestone Can be salts as well; this is why the Great Salt Lake in Utah and Mono Lake and the Salton Sea are salty Suspended Load o These are fine grained bits of rock (clastic material) o They are held aloft in the stream due to velocity and are not deposited until the stream reaches a velocity of almost zero o Turbulence caused by fast moving water helps keep these particles suspended Traction and Saltation o Traction o Saltation Both of these together are referred to as bed loads because they are long the bed of a stream Aggradation o If the load in a stream exceeds its capacity it will result in aggradation or the building up of sediment along its course o This condition results in what is called a braided stream Flow and Channel Characteristics o The greatest velocities of a stream are near the surface and at the center of the channel o In areas where the slope is gradual streams derive a snakelike form This is called a meandering stream o Cutbank o Point bar Eventually a meander may fill in and form what is known as an oxbow lake Stream Gradient o Stream gradient refers to the degrees of inclination from headwater to mouth o We can create a profile of a stream Generally this profile will be concave shaped Often called the longitudinal profile o A stream which has just enough energy to move its sediment load is called a graded stream Graded Streams o Specifically a graded stream means that a stream has reached a balance among erosion, transportation, and deposition Usually only portions of a stream will be graded o Streams may also be affected by tectonic uplift of the landscape Rejuvenated Entrenched meanders Nickpoints o A nickpoint (also spelled knickpoint) o They form when there is a hard resistant layer of rock or when there is tectonic uplift o Eventually these will weather away or collapse and the nickpoint will move upstream This happens from increased hydraulic action and increased abrasion Stream Deposition and Landforms o Deposition is the process of that describes the depositing of alluvium This is what forms bars, floodplants, terraces, and deltas o As steams meander along they form a unique topography Former point bars leave low lying ridges Bar and swale The region formed is called a scroll topgography Stream Features o Natural Levees o Yazoo Tributary o Backswamp o Oxbow Lake An oxbow lake forms as a meander is cut off. It is a remnant of the old river channel o Meander scar o Floodplain Stream Terraces o Stream terraces can form from an uplifting event that causes the stream to again meander and cut into its original flood plain These result in unique step like bluffs called alluvial terraces River Deltas o A river delta simply refers to where the mouth of a river reaches base level Deposition and distributaries Deposition can be arcuate or estuarine Arcuate means the sediment plain spreads in an arc like fashion Estuarine means that the sediment is in the process of filling an estuary and has not yet spread Rivers without Deltas o Some rivers do not have deltas because of the conditions that occur at their mouths The Amazon Rivers volume combined with a sloping continental shelf causes a delta not to form Some rivers mat not carry a sufficient sediment load to create a delta Some rivers may discharge into strong ocean currents as in the case with the Colombia River Assessing Floodplain Risk o Floods are rated statistically for the expected time intervals between events based on historical data They often are separated by the severity and ranked accordingly This gives the terms 10 year flood, 50 year flood, 100 year flood and son on The 1993 and Hurricane Katrina events exceeded a 1000-year flood probability Steam Discharge Measurement o In order to help analyze what a stream will do during precipitation events we want to measure the rate of discharge (flow) o This is done by using measurements of surface height Staff Gauge Stilling Well Hydrograph o A hydrograph is just a plotting of steam discharge rates over time for a particular location o These help to determine the lag time from a precipitation event to the rising flow of a river as the water moves through the system