Lesson 1: Introduction Flashcards by flying ace

a colorless, transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms

water (H2O)

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Earth is sometimes called the ____ because its most prominent feature blankets it.

blue planet

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most prominent feature of the hydrosphere

global ocean

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what percent of the earth’s surface is the ocean

71%

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average depth of the ocean

3500 meters

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name of the photo/view taken by Apollo 8 astronauts as their spacecraft emerged from behind the moon in December 1968

Earthrise

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name of the photo/view taken by Apollo 17 in December 1972, showing the dark blue ocean and swirling cloud pattern that remind us of the importance of the oceans and atmosphere

The Blue Marble

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percentage of freshwater to total supply of the planet

2.56%

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percentage of glacial ice, groundwater, and surface water + soil moisture + atmosphere of the total fresh water supply

68.75%, 30.07%, 1.18%

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Earth’s freshwater supply is not evenly distributed across the landmasses because of what 2 factors?

variations in precipitation and subsurface geology

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conditions for groundwater systems in areas of abundant precipitation to provide large volumes of fresh water?

there are layers of permeable materials within subsurface

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the best lithology as aquifer

unconsolidated sand and gravel

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is groundwater considered nonrenewable? why or why not?

yes, because currently with increasing demand for freshwater, the replenish rate cannot keep up.

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percentage of groundwater, glaciers and surface+soil moisture+atmosphere of total water supply

0.77%, 1.76%, 0.03%

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dude who wrote that anecdote about water from 1952

John Steinbeck

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T or F: Water was never assumed to be available and people constantly worried about its longevity

F: Water was ALWAYS assumed to be available and NO ONE WORRIED about its longevity until it seemed threatened

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what happened in the gasoline issue during 1992?

required to be reformulated so it contained at least 2% oxygen, to help with air pollution
at that time, only needed chemicals for gasoline: ethanol and methyl tertiary butyl ether

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after the gasoline issue in 1992, what happened then in 1996?

100 million barrels of MTBE were used to formulate gasoline. 10% MTBE,
did improve air quality, but ended up contaminating groundwater (bc it has high solubility in water)

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how much of the evaporated water from the oceans return as precipitation?

only 75% of the water from oceans go back to oceans because the other 25% remain as either surface or groundwater

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Water is considered as the “___________” ; without it life is not possible

elixir of life

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why did early civilizations always start near bodies of fresh water even though it’s considered flood prone?

good food source
source of potable water

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on average how much potable water does a person need in a day

3 liters

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T or F: There is an decreasing usage/demand of water through time.

F. There is an INCREASING usage/demand of water through time.

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study of water

hydrology

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concerned with the study of the occurrence, distribution, movement, and chemistry of all waters of the earth.

hydrology

interrelationship of geologic materials and processes with water.

hydrogeology

main focus of hydrogeology

groundwater, also surface water but mainly its interaction with groundwater

sometimes used as a synonym for hydrogeology, although it more properly describes an engineering field dealing with subsurface fluid hydrology

geohydrology

is the continual and cyclic transfer of water between the ocean, atmosphere, and land

hydrologic cycle

what primarily drives the hydrologic cycle?

solar radiation: causes evaporation, where it starts the cycle

Water varies in terms of its what?

salinity

the amount of electrically charged atoms called dissolved ions within water

salinity

dissolved ions in water

salts

Low-salinity water with very few dissolved ions is referred to as

freshwater

highly saline water is called

salt water

does pure water conduct electricity?

nope. it does only when there are dissolved ions

Humans’ primary sources of freshwater

streams, lakes, groundwater systems

where does groundwater occur?

in fractured igneous and metamorphic rocks, but the vast majority is contained in porous sedimentary material.

Precipitation that falls on the land surface may be temporarily stored as ice and snow or water in puddles aka?

depression storage

describe the rate of the hydrologic cycle in different areas of the globe

in equatorial or subequatorial regions, it's usually faster (bc more heat) than compared to the poles

defined as water that flows over the land surface in rills and gullies

Overland flow

2 types of flow for overland flow

either diffuse sheet flow or concentrated flow

describes the tendency of water to flow horizontally across land surfaces when rainfall has exceeded infiltration capacity and depression storage capacity

Horton overland flow, named after Robert E. Horton

the process of water entering/seeping into the subsurface

Infiltration

also known as the zone of aeration

vadose zone

also known as the vadose zone

zone of aeration

the region below the land surface where soil pores contain both air and water.

Vadose zone/zone of aeration

Water stored in zone of aeration

vadose water

The top of the zone of aeration where the roots of plants can reach

belt of soil water

a term that refers to the lateral flow of water in the vadose zone (to streams, lakes, rivers)

interflow

Excess vadose water is pulled downward to the zone of saturation by the gravity in a process known as

gravity drainage

how does groundwater move to the vadose zone?

capillary rise

Is evaporation restricted to open water bodies, such as the ocean, lakes, streams, and reservoirs?

nope, sometimes if the water table is near the surface, groundwater can evaporate, also in plants, there's transpiration, and also soil moisture

groundwater manifests on the surface as ?

springs

the lowest portion of the vadose zone where the pores of the soil are filled with capillary water so that the saturation approaches 100%

Capillary fringe

what do u call the water in the capillary fringe

capillary water

another term for zone of saturation

phreatic zone

the water in the capillary fringe is held in place by ?

capillary forces.

The top of the zone of saturation

water table

Water stored in the zone of saturation

groundwater

T or F: surface water contributes to ground water, but not the other way around

F. They both contribute to each other

The groundwater contribution to a stream

baseflow

movement of groundwater to oceans

subsea outflow

the total flow in a stream

runoff

how does water in oceans move to and from the lithosphere as magmatic water? how about lithosphere to the atmosphere?

oceans to litho -subduction litho to oceans -sea floor vent litho to atmo -rising magma in volcanoes

water contained within magmas deep in the crust

magmatic water (as water vapor)

the middle layer of the vadose zone, what do you call the water here?

intermediate belt; intermediate vadose water

what is soil water

soil moisture

types of lithologies that can be confining layers

fresh igneous rocks: granite, diorite; metamorphic rocks clay lithified: claystone, shale

The hydrologic cycle operates in what type of system? what is the source of energy?

open; sun is constant source of energy

When water changes from one phase to another (solid, liquid, or gas) what change also occurs?

an accompanying change occurs in the heat energy of the water

The evaporation of water requires an input of energy, which is called ?

latent heat of vaporization.

At environmental temperatures (0oC to 40oC), the latent heat of vaporization (Hv) in calories per gram of water, can be calculated by using what equation ?

Hv= 597.3 – 0.564T T- temp in C

When water condenses to a liquid form, an equivalent heat amount called ?

latent heat of condensation

term for the heat required to melt 1g of ice at 0 C

latent heat of fusion

value for latent heat of fusion

79.7 cal of heat

does ice have more energy than water?

nope

the process of turning solid into a vapor

sublimation

what do we need to calculate to get the energy required for sublimation

sum of the latent heat of vaporization and the latent heat of fusion

at 0 C what is energy required for sublimation to occur?

677 cal/g

Freezing of water releases how much heat?

79.7 cal/g

formation of frost at 0 C releases how much energy?

677 cal/g

The transportation of water through the hydrologic cycle and the accompanying heat transfers are vital to what?

heat balance of the earth

provides a quantitative means of evaluating the hydrologic cycle

hydrologic equation

the hydrologic equation is a simple statement of what law?

the law of mass conservation, e = mc^2

state the hydrologic equation

inflow = outflow +/- changes in storage

T or F: The hydrologic equation can be applied to hydrologic systems of any size, be it for a small reservoir or for an entire continent.

T or F: the hydrologic equation is area dependent and the elements of inflow must be measured over different time periods as outflow

- TIME dependent - elements of inflow must be measured over the SAME time periods as outflow

The basic unit of surface-water hydrology

drainage basin

another term for drainage basin

catchment

consists of all the land area sloping toward a particular discharge point

drainage basin/catchment

catchments are outlined by surface-water boundaries aka ?

topographic divides (mountain ridges)

how many times larger are groundwater basin than watershed?

1.5x, but not applicable to phils, since the geology is complicated and constantly changing

the subsurface volume through which groundwater flows toward a specific discharge zone

groundwater basin

what surrounds the groundwater basin

groundwater divides (boundaries?)

T or F: The boundaries of surface water basin and the underlying groundwater basin do not necessarily coincide

The water budget of the area must account for both what?

ground water and surface water

The hydrologic inputs to an area may include

1. Precipitation 2. Surface water inflow into the area, including runoff and overland flow 3. Groundwater inflow from outside the area 4. Artificial import of water into the area through pipes and canals 5. Artificial export of water through pipes and canals

The changes in storage necessary to balance the hydrologic equation include changes in the volume of:

1. Surface water in streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds 2. Soil moisture in the vadose zone 3. Ice and snow at the surface 4. Temporary depression storage 5. Intercepted water on plant surfaces 6. Groundwater below the water table

a person who studies the ways that groundwater moves through soil and rocks of the earth

hydrogeologist

Lesson 1: Introduction Flashcards

(100 cards)