What is the relationship between groundwater and the hydrologic cycle?
Water is always on the move. From the time the earth was formed, it has been endlessly circulating through the hydrologic cycle. Groundwater is an important part of this continuous cycle as water evaporates, forms clouds, and returns to earth as precipitation. Surface water evaporates from by energy of the sun.
What is groundwater in the water cycle?
Groundwater is the water beneath the surface of the ground in the zone of saturation where every pore space between rock and soil particles is saturated with water. Water percolates (moves downward) through this zone until it reaches the zone of saturation. The water table is the top of the saturated zone.
Is water below ground surface part of the hydrologic cycle?
The hydrologic cycle describes the continuous movement of water above, on, and below the surface of the Earth. The water below the surface of the Earth primarily is ground water, but it also includes soil water.
How does groundwater rejoin the water cycle?
It can be absorbed by plants; stored on the surface in a lake, river, stream, or ocean; evaporated due to the sun; absorbed into the soil temporarily; or pulled by gravity through the soil to be stored for years as groundwater. Water on the ground surface can rejoin the atmosphere through evaporation.
What is the role of groundwater in the hydrological cycle?
Groundwater plays a key role in the hydrologic cycle. As surface water deposits such as snow melt and precipitation recharge the groundwater, it slowly drains gradually towards a discharge point. When precipitation falls on a land surface, part of the water runs off into the lakes and rivers.
What are the three main components of the water cycle?
The water cycle consists of three major processes: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Evaporation is the process of a liquid’s surface changing to a gas.
How important is the groundwater?
Groundwater, which is in aquifers below the surface of the Earth, is one of the Nation’s most important natural resources. It often takes more work and costs more to access groundwater as opposed to surface water, but where there is little water on the land surface, groundwater can supply the water needs of people.
Can one person’s actions affect groundwater?
T One person’s actions can have an effect on groundwater.
How are surface water and groundwater related in the hydrologic cycle?
The diagram shows how the various components of the Hydrologic Cycle manifest themselves temporally and in relation to each other. Although surface water and groundwater in the hydrologic cycle are both part of the same system, the temporal dimensions are very different.
Where does the hydrologic cycle take place on the Earth?
The hydrologic cycle describes the continuous movement of water above, on, and below the surface of the Earth. The water on the Earth’s surface–surface water–occurs as streams, lakes, and wetlands, as well as bays and oceans. Surface water also includes the solid forms of water– snow and ice.
How is the hydrologic cycle a dynamic system?
The Hydrologic (or Water) Cycle is a dynamic system. It is a closed system, meaning that nothing can be lost, it can only be relocated to another part of the system.
Where does the ground store water for the water cycle?
Downloadable Water Cycle Products (coming soon!) The ground stores huge amounts of water and it exists to some degree no matter where on Earth you are. Lucky for people, in many places the water exists in quantities and at depths that wells can be drilled into the water-bearing aquifers and withdrawn to server the many needs people have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFgnymK7pJA