Hydrologic cycle

The hydrologic cycle can be thought of as a series of reservoirs, or storage areas, and a set of
processes that cause water to move between those reservoirs (see Figure 1). The largest reservoir
by far is the oceans, which hold about 97% of Earth’s water. The remaining 3% is the freshwater
so important to our survival, but about 78% of that is stored in ice in Antarctica and Greenland.
About 21% of freshwater on Earth is groundwater, stored in sediments and rocks below
the surface of Earth. The freshwater that we see in rivers, streams, lakes, and rain is less than 1%
of the freshwater on Earth and less than 0.1% of all the water on Earth.

Figure 1: The hydrologic cycle.

Arrows indicate volume of water that moves from reservoir to reservoir.
Comprehension Checkpoint

More freshwater is stored in ice than is found in all other freshwater sources combined.
 true
 false
The ocean and the atmosphere

Water moves constantly between these reservoirs through the processes of

evaporation, condensationand precipitation, surface and underground flow, and others. The
driving force for the hydrologic cycle is the sun, which provides the energy needed for
evaporation just as the flame of a gas stove provides the energy necessary to boil water and
create steam. Water changes from a liquid state to a gaseous state as it evaporates from the
oceans, lakes, streams, and soil (see our Water: Properties and Behaviormodule for a further
explanation). Because the oceans are the largest reservoir of liquid water, that is where most
evaporation occurs. The amount of water vapor in the air varies widely over time and from place
to place; we feel these variations as humidity.
 The presence of water vapor in the atmosphere is one of the things that makes Earth livable for
us. In 1859, Irish naturalist John Tyndall began studying the thermal properties of the gases in
Earth's atmosphere. He found that some gases, like carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor,
trap heat in the atmosphere (a property commonly called the greenhouse effect), while other
gases like nitrogen (N2) and argon (Ar) allow heat to escape to space. The presence of water
vapor in the atmosphere helps keep surface air temperatures on Earth in a range from about -40°
C to 55° C. Temperatures on planets without water vapor in the atmosphere, like Mars, stay as
low as -100° C.
Once water vapor is in the air, it circulates within the atmosphere. When an air package rises and
cools, the water vapor condenses back to liquid water around particulates like dust,
called condensation nuclei. Initially these condensation droplets are much smaller than raindrops
and are not heavy enough to fall as precipitation. These tiny water droplets create clouds. As the
droplets continue to circulate within the clouds, they collide and form larger droplets, which
eventually become heavy enough to fall as rain, snow, or hail. Though the amount of
precipitation varies widely over Earth's surface, evaporation and precipitation are globally
balanced. In other words, if evaporation increases, precipitation also increases; rising global
temperature is one factor that can cause a worldwide increase in evaporation from the world’s
oceans, leading to higher overall precipitation.
Since oceans cover around 70% of Earth’s surface, most precipitation falls right back into the
ocean and the cycle begins again. A portion of precipitation falls on land, however, and it takes
one of several paths through the hydrologic cycle. Some water is taken up by soil and plants,
some runs off into streams and lakes, some percolates into the groundwater reservoir, and some
falls on glaciers and accumulates as glacial ice.
Comprehension Checkpoint

What drives the hydrologic cycle?

 rain
 sun
The hydrologic cycle on land

The amount of precipitation that soaks into the soil depends on several factors: the amount and
intensity of the precipitation, the prior condition of the soil, the slope of the landscape, and the
presence of vegetation. These factors can interact in sometimes surprising ways – a very intense
rainfall onto very dry soil, typical of the desert southwest, often will not soak into the ground at
all, creating flash-flood conditions. Water that does soak in becomes available to plants through
 soil moisture and groundwater(see Figure 2). Plants tZ

ake up water through their root systems,

which mostly draw water from soil moisture; the water is then pulled up through all parts of the
plant and evaporates from the surface of the leaves, a process called transpiration. Water that
soaks into the soil can also continue to percolate down through the soil profile below the water
table into groundwater reservoirs, called aquifers. Aquifersare often mistakenly visualized as
great underground lakes; in reality, groundwater saturates the pore spaces within sediments or
rocks (see Figure 2).
Figure 2: Groundwater exists below the water table, which divides unsaturated soil, rock, and
sediments from saturated.
Water that doesn’t soak into the soil collects and moves across the surface as runoff, eventually
flowing into streams and rivers to get back to the ocean. Precipitation that falls as snow in glacial
regions takes a somewhat different journey through the water cycle, accumulating at the head of
glaciers and causing them to flow slowly down valleys.
Comprehension Checkpoint

Flash-flooding can result from intense rainfall

 into lakes that already have a high water level.
 onto soil that is very dry.
Humans and the hydrologic cycle

The properties of water and the hydrologic cycle are largely responsible for
the circulation patterns we see in the atmosphere and the oceans on Earth. Atmospheric and
oceanic circulation are two of the major factors that determine the distribution of climatic zones
over the Earth. Changes in the cycle or circulation can result in major climatic shifts. For
example, if average global temperatures continue to increase as they have in recent decades,
water that is currently trapped as ice in the polar ice sheets will melt, causing a rise in sea level.
Water also expands as it gets warmer, further exacerbating sea level rise. Many heavily
populated coastal areas like New Orleans, Miami, and Bangladesh will be inundated by a mere
1.5 meter increase in sea level (see Figure 3). Additionally, the acceleration of the hydrologic
cycle (higher temperatures mean more evaporation and thus more precipitation) may result in
more severe weather and extreme conditions. Some scientists believe that the increased
frequency and severity of El Niño events in recent decades is due to the acceleration of the
hydrologic cycle induced by global warming.

Figure 3: Areas in red would be

flooded with a 1.5 m rise in sea level; areas in blue would be flooded by a 3.5 m rise in sea level.
Image has been modified from the original from the US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA).
Even more immediately, the finitude of Earth’s freshwater resources is becoming more and more
apparent. Groundwater can take thousands or millions of years to recharge naturally, and we are
using these resources far faster than they are being replenished. The water table in the
Ogallala Aquifer, which underlies 175,000 square miles of the US from Texas to South Dakota,
is dropping at a rate of 10-60 cm per year due to extraction for irrigation. Surface waters around
the world are largely contaminated by human and animal waste, most noticeably in countries like
India and China, where untreated rivers provide the drinking and washing water for nearly 2
billion people. Although legislation like the Clean Water Act in the United States and
water conservation practices such as the use of low-flow toilets and showerheads in parts of the
world has begun to address these issues, the problems will only grow as world population
increases. Every spring and well, every river and sea does indeed flow from the same source, and
changes affect not just one river or lake, but the whole hydrologic cycle.
Summary

Powered by the sun, water constantly cycles through the Earth and its atmosphere. This module
discusses the hydrologic cycle, including the various water reservoirs in the oceans, in the air,
and on the land. The module addresses connections between the hydrologic cycle, climate, and
the impacts humans have had on the cycle.

HISTORY OF HYDROLOGY
Hydrology has been a subject of investigation and engineering for millennia. For example, about
4000 BC the Nile was dammed to improve agricultural productivity of previously barren
lands. Mesopotamian towns were protected from flooding with high earthen
walls. Aqueducts were built by the Greeks and Ancient Romans, while the history of
China shows they built irrigation and flood control works. The ancient Sinhalese used hydrology
to build complex irrigation works in Sri Lanka, also known for invention of the Valve Pit which
allowed construction of large reservoirs, anicuts and canals which still function.
Marcus Vitruvius, in the first century BC, described a philosophical theory of the hydrologic
cycle, in which precipitation falling in the mountains infiltrated the Earth's surface and led to
streams and springs in the lowlands.[citation needed] With adoption of a more scientific
approach, Leonardo da Vinci and Bernard Palissy independently reached an accurate
representation of the hydrologic cycle. It was not until the 17th century that hydrologic variables
began to be quantified.
Pioneers of the modern science of hydrology include Pierre Perrault, Edme
Mariotte and Edmund Halley. By measuring rainfall, runoff, and drainage area, Perrault showed
that rainfall was sufficient to account for flow of the Seine. Marriotte combined velocity and
river cross-section measurements to obtain discharge, again in the Seine. Halley showed that the
evaporation from the Mediterranean Sea was sufficient to account for the outflow of rivers
flowing into the sea.[citation needed]
Advances in the 18th century included the Bernoulli piezometer and Bernoulli's equation,
by Daniel Bernoulli, and the Pitot tube, by Henri Pitot. The 19th century saw development in
groundwater hydrology, including Darcy's law, the Dupuit-Thiem well formula, and Hagen-
Poiseuille's capillary flow equation.
Rational analyses began to replace empiricism in the 20th century, while governmental agencies
began their own hydrological research programs. Of particular importance were Leroy
Sherman's unit hydrograph, the infiltration theory of Robert E. Horton, and C.V. Theis's aquifer
test/equation describing well hydraulics.
Since the 1950s, hydrology has been approached with a more theoretical basis than in the past,
facilitated by advances in the physical understanding of hydrological processes and by the advent
of computers and especially geographic information systems (GIS). (See also GIS and
hydrology)

Definition and Scope of Hydrology:

Hydrology is the science that deals with all aspects of the water available on the earth. It includes

study of occurrence of water, its properties, its distribution and circulation and also its effects on

the living beings and their surroundings. It is not entirely a pure science because it has many

practical applications and it utilizes knowledge of other sciences greatly.

Broadly, the whole subject matter can be expressed in the form of a mathematical equation.

History of Development:

The modern science of hydrology may be considered to have begun with measurements of
rainfall, evaporation, river discharge by area-velocity method etc. From these measurements

which started in 17th century scientists were able to draw correct conclusions on the observed

hydrological phenomenon. The advent of hydrology cannot, however, be said to be only since

17th century. In fact concept of hydrological cycle was professed by many philosophers from

time immemorial.

History of Development:

The modern science of hydrology may be considered to have begun with measurements of

rainfall, evaporation, river discharge by area-velocity method etc. From these measurements

which started in 17th century scientists were able to draw correct conclusions on the observed

hydrological phenomenon. The advent of hydrology cannot, however, be said to be only since

17th century. In fact concept of hydrological cycle was professed by many philosophers from

time immemorial.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

The chronology of various phases of development of the science of hydrology can be

broadly visualized as follows:

i. Speculation of concepts — up to 14th century

ii. Observations — 15th to 16th century

iii. Measurements — 17th century

iv. Experimentations — 18th century

v. Modernisation — 19th century

vi. Quantification of empirical formulae — 1900 to 1930

vii. Rationalisation of hydrologic theory — 1930 to 1950

viii. Theorization by mathematical analysis — 1950 to date

Although up to the end of 14th century hydrological concepts were only speculated many

hydraulic structures were constructed. The great works known in the history are the Abassinian

wells, the Persian kanats, the Egyptian and Chinese irrigation systems, the water supply and

drainage systems of Indus valley, the Roman aqueducts, Chinese flood control works etc. These

were naturally constructed on the basis of the practical knowledge of hydrology though it was

not widely enunciated.

In the subsequent two centuries the trends of mere speculation changed to close observation.

During this period Leonardo da Vinci recognized the hydrological cycle as is accepted today.

The seventeenth century saw development of techniques for measurements of rainfall,

evaporation, river discharge etc., which provided documented proof of the principle of

hydrological cycle. Names of Pierre Perrault and Edme Mariotte are noteworthy in this context.

In the eighteenth century numbers of hydraulic experimental studies in the field of hydrology

were performed. As a result various hydraulic principles were discovered. Notable among them
are Bernoullis piezometer, the Borda tube, the Pitot tube, Bernoulli’s theorem, Chezy’s formula

etc. These developments vastly contributed towards taking up of quantitative hydrologic studies.

In the nineteenth century the experimental studies were greatly modernised. All these activities

laid a firm base of modern science of hydrology. Majority of the contributions were related to

groundwater hydrology and surface water measurement. Darcy’s law of groundwater flow,

Dupit’s well formula, Hagen-Poiseuille’s equation of capillary flow, Francis weir discharge

formula. Ganguillet and Kutter’s determination of Chezy’s coefficient. Manning’s flow formula,

development of price current-meter, Dalton’s law are some of the notable developments of this

century.

Upto the end of the nineteenth century the science of hydrology was largely empirical. It was so

because the physical basis for many quantitative hydrologic determination was not well known.

The selection of coefficients and parameters to be used in empirical formulae had to depend

upon experience and judgement. Thus, ad-hocism in hydrology became more evident. In the first

three decades of the twentieth century increasing hydrological investigations were taken up for

advancement of the science of hydrology.

During the period from 1930 to 1950 many great hydrologists emerged who gave rational basis

to solve hydrological problems in place of empirical solutions. To name a few, Sherman gave

unit hydrograph theory, Horton gave method of determining rainfall excess on the basis of

infiltration theory, Gumbel proposed the use of extreme value distribution for frequency analysis,

Einstein developed the bed-load function for use in the theoretical analysis of sedimentation

problems.

Since 1950, increasingly theoretical approaches have been adopted in hydrologic problems. Now

such problems are readily subjected to mathematical analysis. With the development of

computers solution of complicated mathematical hydrologic theories has become a reality.

Application in Engineering:

Success of any water resources development project depends on timely and sufficient availability

of water. Naturally proper assessment of this natural resource assumes great importance. By

assessment we try to know in detail from where the resource comes, where it goes, at what time

or when it comes and how much of it is really available.

Therefore, hydrological investigations form the first step in any water resources development

scheme involving design, construction and operation of hydraulic structures. The history of

hydraulic structures which have failed shows that majority of failures is due to insufficient

hydrological analysis done while the structures were designed and constructed rather than due to

structural weakness.

The cost of collecting sufficient hydrological data and its analysis constitutes an insignificant

part of the total cost of the water resources development project but it ensures successful

operation and life of the project and therefore becomes indispensible activity.

Although water is one of the most vital natural resources sometimes it brings destruction by way

of storms and floods. An engineer is expected to forecast floods, to assure adequate storage

capacity for irrigation, hydropower generation, industrial and domestic water supply, flood

control etc.

The practical applications of the knowledge of hydrology are the following:

i. Peak flow and future conditions of flow, at any point in the drainage valley can be correctly

estimated for any basin or area.

ii. Spillway capacity can be accurately designed by estimating design flood.

iii. Design of river training work is facilitated.

iv. Dependable yields from the stream for generation of hydroelectric power can be calculated.
v. Water supply to township and sewerage schemes can be properly designed.

vi. Water resources account of a river basin can be prepared.

vii. Reservoir capacity can be determined accurately.

viii. Operation of reservoirs can be done in an efficient manner.