The water cycle Essay Example for Free

The body of water round of drinks EssayDirectly relative to the hydrologic bike is the effect of urbanization in the impervious cover (IC). As menti adeptd earlier in this paper, the lower the rate of impervious ara, the higher(prenominal) result be the rate of water infiltration which path that water run-off is relatively low. Obviously, urbanization requires the construction of more sidewalks, driveways, parking lots and more houses which make the soil impervious. The next chapter of this paper discusses in full stop the specific effects of urbanization to the hydrologic round of golf. Powered by solar energy and gravity, the movement of water in our environment is a continuous cycle. The water cycle also referred to as the hydrological cycle is just one(a) of the vital natural cycles that typically involves the changing of the avers of water from liquid, vapor and internal-combustion engine as it moves on, above and under the surface of the footing (Gore, Pame la 2005). 1 water also transforms through the lickes of vaporization or evaporation (liquid to gas), condensation (gas to liquid), melting or fusion (solid to liquid), and sublimation (gas to solid, or the reverse).The cycle involves the soil, the plants, and the bodies of water, the air and the sun. Playing an important role in the climactic patterns, changes in the hydrologic cycle ar revealed in the changes in the worlds climate and the seal level. As what researchers and scientists capture been claiming decades ago, human intervention of which urbanization is the most evident, has played a great role in the substantial changes in the cycle. In order to clearly present the validity of such(prenominal) claim, it is helpful for us to wager back at the normal cycle of water. Figure 3.1 shows the normal hydrologic cycle as presented by the U. S. Geological passel. At first look, it seems that humans are non instantly involved in the cycle but if we are to examine each phase o f the cycle, we will be able to extract tuition that will link human activities to each phase of the cycle. Scientists consider the earth as a c hurtd-system which means that almost its entire elements contained therein just move in different cycles and that the earth neither lose nor gain significant amount of matter (Global Hydrology and Climate Center).In terms of the hydrologic cycle, water is distributed globally and recycled continuously, which is the aforementioned(prenominal) cycle way back millions of years ago. Figure 3. 1 The Water Cycle. Source U. S. Geological Survey The cycle of water involves six major processes (1) evaporation, (2) transpiration, (3) horizontal transport of water, (5) precipitation and (6) water flowing as run-off. In the process of evaporation, the liquid state of water from the surface of the bodies of water and from the soils transforms into gas or vapor.Water also transforms into gas state through the process of transpiration where a certain am ount of water from the plants are released in the air through the leaves of plants. In another phase of the cycle, water also travels in the cycle as atmospheric water in a horizontal direction in forms of water droplets, grouch crystals or vapor. The process of precipitation takes place in the air wherein the atmospheric vapor undergoes condensation and sublimation that will then fall to the earth as hail, snow, sleet and rain. In any of these states, 3precipitation that reaches the earth flows through one of four major routes.As suggested by the arrows in figure 1. 1, precipitation may fall reduce the earth and runs off to the bodies of water like ponds, wetlands and lakes. Precipitation may also follow the route of river and creeks afterwards running off over the land. Water that runs over the land may run through as surface water while few amount will serve as territorywater. Because this amount of water was not able to infiltrate into the ground, the same will return to th e atmosphere either through the process of transpiration or evaporation.Scientists define surface water as water that stands or flows on the surface of the earth and also referred to as run-off (White, Iain 2007). Current practice on considers run-off as dangerous to human health and these are usually driven out of the land surface as quickly as possible into sewers or man-made drainage systems. This practice however alters the normal hydrologic cycle as infiltration is lessened which directly affects the processes of transpiration and evaporation. Through the process of infiltration, water sips or absorbed by the ground surface of the earth and so these volume of water is called surface water.On the other hand, groundwater is that volume of run off that sips in the ground and flows through the cracks in the soil, sand and through the spaces between beds of rocks. Depending on the sizes of spaces between rocks and soil, groundwater will be stored in such spaces called aquifers. Aqui fers are water-bearing rocks because of their characteristics of high porosity and permeability of which sandstones and gravels are excellent examples (Gore, Pamela 1995). In contrast, rocks, which are not porous like shale, are called aquicludes and so they cannot store water.However, highly jointed aquicludes may also accommodate aquifers because water can also be contained in rock joints. The water that was not absorbed by the plants, or stored in aquifers will eventually into the bodies of water such as the ocean or creeks. The cycle then continues as such water then goes back to the atmosphere through evaporation or transpiration which scientists safely referred to as Evapotranspiration (ET). The amount of water is not well distributed globally as there are areas there are arid lands like Phoenix and Saudi Arabia compared to more permeable areas like some countries of Asia.This is primarily because the types and number of water reservoir of countries varies. Figure 4. 1 will g ive us the opinion that since much of the worlds water is stored in the ocean reservoir, it follows that countries which do have much of such bodies of water have the highest volume of water distribution. If we are to express figures in percentage, we will come up with 97% accounting for water in the ocean and the three percent is distributed among the reservoirs in the soils and the cryosphere in forms of ice caps and glaciers particularly in the areas of Antarctica and Greenland.It is important to note that the total amount of water in the different reservoirs remains nearly constant with the natural landscape and impervious groundcover held in its close original state (NEMO California Partnership, 1997). In the research made by NEMO National Network (California Partnership) in cooperation with the California local government units and the local Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), shallow and deep infiltration of water is 50% while 40% of the water is processed during evapot ranspiration.Illustration of the relationship of water run-off and infiltration (NEMO) In this scenario, sole(prenominal) 10% of water turns out to be run-off. As the rate of imperviousness increases due to alteration or removal of the natural groundcover, the rate of infiltration consequently decreases. This then results to a higher percentage of run-off water and a lower percentage of water processed during evapotranspiration. The question therefore is in what ways does infiltration rate increases or decreases and how are human activities relate to this process?