Distribution of water on

Earth. The amounts of water

present in various natural
reservoirs are represented by
spheres of comparative volumes.
The content of each reservoir is
given in cubic kilometers and as a
percentage of the whole (from
Press & Siever 2000).

Geología, S. Rosas

The hydrologic cycle. The movement of water into the atmosphere by

evaporation from the oceans and continents is matched by precipitation as rain and
snow. Evaporation from the oceans is balanced by surface runoff from the continents
and rainfall over the oceans. The water-flow budgets of the oceans, the land, and the
atmosphere are calculated at the bottom of the diagram. All figures are given in
thousands of cubic kilometers per year (from Press & Siever 2000 and Grotzinger et al.
2007). Geología, S. Rosas

1
Rain shadows are areas of low rainfall on the leeward (downwind) slope of a
mountain range. They form as prevalling winds carry moist, warm air to higher
elevations, where temperatures are cooler. As the rising air cools, precipitation falls on
the windward slope, leaving thee leeward slope dry (from Press & Siever 2000 and
Grotzinger et al. 2007). Geología, S. Rosas

Flujo de agua de algunos rí

ríos grandes
Flujo de agua
Río
(m3/s)

Amazonas 175000
La Plata 79300
Congo 39600
Yangtze 21800
Brahmaputra 19800
Ganges 18700
Mississippi 17500

Geología, S. Rosas

2
A swamp or marshland, like a natural lake or an artificial reservoir behind a dam,
stores water during times and slowly releases it during periods of little runoff (from Press &
Siever 2000 and Grotzinger et al. 2007). Geología, S. Rosas

La Represa Hoover
del Río Colorado, USA

Geología, S. Rosas

3
 Fuente Natural
de agua (puquial)

Geología, S. Rosas

Pores in rocks are nor-

mally filled partially or entirely
by water. (Pores in oil- or gas-
bearing sandstones and lime-
stones are filled with oil or
gas.) (a) A highly porous, well-
sorted sandstone has large
(a) (b) amounts of pore space
between grains. (b) A ce-
mented sandstone has lower
porosity because a cementing
mineral has been precipitated
in some of the pore space by
fluids moving through the
pores. (c) Porosity is reduced
(c) (d) in fine-grained and poorly
sorted sandstone. (d) Porosity
is reduced in sandstone with
irregularly shaped grains. (e)
Unfractured shale has very low
porosity (less than 10 percent).
(f) Fractured shale has higher
(e) (f) porosity, because some water
can be stored in the fissures
and cracks (from Press &
Siever 2000 and Grotzinger et
al. 2007).
Geología, S. Rosas

4
 Porosidad y permeabilidad de acuí
acuíferos
en distintos tipos de rocas
Porosidad Permeabilidad
(capacidad de permitir
Tipo de roca (espacio poral que que se movilicen
puede contener fluidos) dentro de la roca)

Grava Muy alta Muy alta

Arena de grano
Alta Alta
grueso a medio
Arena de grano fino
Moderada Moderada a baja
a limo
Arenisca
moderadamente Moderada a baja Baja
cementada

Geología, S. Rosas
Lutita fracturada o
Baja Muy baja
rocas metamórficas
Lutita no fracturada Muy baja Muy baja

Thegroundwater
table is the boundary
between the unsaturated
zone and the saturated
zone. The saturated and
unsaturated zones can
be either unconsolidated
material or bedrock (from
Press & Siever 2000 and
Grotzinger et al. 2007).

Geología, S. Rosas

5
Dynamics of the groundwater table in permeable shallow formations in
a temperate climate. Water enters the ground by infiltration of rain and melted snow and
discharges at springs and rivers. The unsaturated zone varies in thickness as the water
table rises in wet seasons and falls in dry seasons (from Press & Siever 2000).
Geología, S. Rosas

The depth of water table

fluctuates in response to the
balance between water added from
precipitation (recharge) and water
lost by evaporation plus discharge
from wells, springs, and streams.
Streams become influent mainly in
arid climates but also may do so
after prolonged dry periods in
temperate climates (from Press &
Siever 2000).

Geología, S. Rosas

6
 Geología, S. Rosas
A confined aquifer is created when an aquifer is situated between two aquicludes
(beds of low permeability). The artesian well flows in response to the difference in natural
pressure (before the well was drilled) between the height of the water table in the recharge
area and the bottom of the well. The actual pressure difference that governs the flow from
the top of the well is the difference between the elevation of the water table and that of the
top of the well. If the wellhead were as high as the water table in the recharge area, there
would be no pressure difference (from Press & Siever 2000 and Grtzinger et al. 2007).

Los sistemas de abastecimiento de agua de las ciudades pueden considerarse

sistemas artesianos artificiales (de Tarbuck & Lutgens 2000).

Geología, S. Rosas

7
A perched water table is
formed in geologically complex
situations – in this case, by a shale
aquiclude located above the main
water table in a sandstone aquifer.
The dynamics of the perched
water table’s recharge may be
different from those of the main
water table. The main water table
in this example can be recharged
only from its lower outcrop slopes
(from Press & Siever 2000
and Grotzinger et al. 2007).

Geología, S. Rosas

Excessive pumping in
relation to recharge
draws down
the water table
into a cone-shaped
depression around a
well. The water level
in the well is lowered
to the depressed level
of the water table
(from Press & Siever
2000 and Grotzinger
et al. 2007).

Geología, S. Rosas

8
The boundary between fresh and salty groundwater along
shorelines is determined by the balance between recharge and discharge in the freshwater
aquifers. (a) Normaly, the pressure of fresh water keeps the saltwater margin slightly
offshore. (b) Extensive pumping lowers the pressure of the fresh water, allowing the
saltwater margin to move inland. This movement creates not only a cone of depression but
also an inverted cone of depression that brings salty water into the well. A well that formerly
pumped fresh water now pumps salty water (from Press & Siever 2000 and Grotzinger et al.
2007). Geología, S. Rosas

Darcy’s law
describes the rate of
groundwater flow
down a slope between
two points. The rate of
flow is proportional to
the difference in height
between the high and
low points of the slope
(here shown as the
drop in the elevation of
the water table
between the two
points) divided by the
flow distance between
them (the hydraulic
gradient) and
K, a constant
proportional
to the
permeability of the
aquifer (from Press &
Siever 2000 and
Grotzinger et al. 2007).

Geología, S. Rosas

9
 Geología, S. Rosas

Some major features of karst topography: caves, sinkholes, and disappearing

streams. Some caves may be wholly in the saturated zone and filled with water, depending
on the depth of the groundwater table. Others may be partly filled with water, and shallow
caves above the groundwater table may be empty (from Press & Siever 2000 and Grotzinger
et al. 2007). Geología, S. Rosas

10
Una dolina en la zona urbana de Florida (USA) que creció rápidamente durante tres
días, tragándose parte de una piscina comunitaria, así como varios comercios, casas y
automóviles (de Tarbuck & Lutgens 2000 y Grotzinger et al. 2007). Geología, S. Rosas

Groundwater picks up natural dissolved materials as it passes through rock and

unconsolidated soils and sediments. Groundwaters passing through limestone
dissolve carbonate minerals and carry away calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate
ions, making the water “hard”. Pure quartz sandstones resist weathering and
contribute almost no dissolved materials. Water coming through waterlogged forest or
swampy soils may contain dissolved organic compounds and hydrogen sulfide (from
Press & Siever 2000).

Geología, S. Rosas

11
Human activities can contaminate groundwater. Contaminates from surface
sources such as dumps and subsurface sources such as septic tanks enter aquifers
through normal groundwater flow. Contaminants may be introduced into water supplies
through pumping wells. Waste-disposal wells are designed to pump contaminants into deep
saline aquifers, but thet may accidentally leak into freshwater aquifers above (from Press &
Siever 2000 and Grotzinger et al. 2007). Geología, S. Rosas

A. agua
Aunque el
subterránea
contaminada
ha viajado más de
100 metros antes de
alcanzar el pozo 1,
se mueve
demasiado de prisa
a través de la caliza
carstificada para ser
purificada

B. Conforme la
descarga desde el
pozo séptico percola
a través de la
arenisca permeable,
es purificada en una
distancia
relativamente corta
(de Tarbuck &
Lutgens 2000).

Geología, S. Rosas

12
 A. Originalmente el flujo de
salida de la fosa séptica se
alejaba del pozo pequeño.

B. El intenso bombeo del

pozo cambió la pendiente
del nivel freático, haciendo
que el agua subterránea
contaminada fluyera hacia
el pozo pequeño (de
Tarbuck & Lutgens 2000).

Geología, S. Rosas

The distribution of water in a typical section of continental crust.

Most water is at the surface or in sedimentary rocks buried at shallow depths. Porosity and
water content generally decrease with increasing depth and greater structural deformation
(from Press & Siever 2000 and Grotzinger et al. 2007). Geología, S. Rosas

13
Circulation of water over a magma body
produces geysers or hot
springs. Cold rainwater soaks into
the soil and
filters down
through
permeable
rocks.
As it approachs
the magma, it
heats up and
become less
dense, thus
setting up a circulation system that
returns it to the surface. Hot springs rise
more or less directly, whereas a geyser
follows a much more irregular network of
pores and cracks, which complicates the
flow of water and leads to boiling and the
production of steam and eruptions at
intervals (from Press & Siever 2000 and
Grotzinger et al. 2007).

Geología, S. Rosas

Geyser

Geología, S. Rosas

14
 Oasis “Merga”, desierto del Sahara, Noroeste de Sudán.
Geología, S. Rosas

Terrazas de Travertino, Parque Nacional Huanglong, Sichuan, China.

Geología, S. Rosas

15
Terrazas de Travertino, Pamukkale , Turquía. Geología, S. Rosas

Travertine deposits at Mammoth Hot Springs,

Yellowstone National Park (from Grotzinger et al. 2007) Geología, S. Rosas

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