Transcript Ch 5-1 Water Cycle and Ground Water

Ch 5-1
Surface Processes & Landscapes
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The Water Cycle
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Water is continuously moving between the
atmo, the ground, and back into the atmo
again (Dynamic Equilibrium)
Be able to explain all the
parts & where the water
goes (see text book)
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Water Cycle
Vocab
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Evapotranspiration – all water vapor being
released into the atmo (from water & plants)
Runoff – water flowing along the surface
Infiltration – water sinking into the ground
Ground Water – water found in the ground
between the particles of soil & rocks (es)
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More Water Table Vocab
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Water Table – the
top of water in the
ground (es)
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Regolith – ground
able to hold on to
water
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Zone of Aeration –
area of regolith that
does not have water
(es)
Zone of Saturation –
region of the ground
that contains water
(es)
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Ground Water

Infiltration
 Can only occur if the surface is permeable &
unsaturated
 The less saturated the regolith, the more
infiltration can occur (relationship?)
 The steeper the slope, the less the infiltration
(relationship?)
 Also affected by the particles: their shape , how
tightly they are packed & by the way they are
sorted
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Permeability
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Pore spaces between the
loose material of the
regolith must be
interconnected
The larger the size of
particles, the more
permeable it is
(relationship?)
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Porosity
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Usually presented as a % comparing open
space to total volume
Depends on:
 Shape – rounder has more pore space
 Packing – tightly packed has lower
pore space
 Sorting – sorted means they are the
same size
 Well sorted particles has more pore
space
SIZE IS NOT A FACTOR (volleyballs)
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Retained Water
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Depends on particle size
Smaller pieces will add up to
more surface area
Capillarity
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Water moves upward through
small openings
Smaller particles = greater
capillarity

Normal straw vs. juice box straw
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Runoff
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Number of factors that determine runoff:
 If the ground is saturated (full)
 Rains faster than it can soak into the
ground
 Slope is too steep
 Surface is impermeable
 Surface is frozen regolith
Plants slow runoff
Water goes to streams & eventually the ocean
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Runoff
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Soil
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Major product of weathering
Composed of rocks, minerals & organic
matter
Has all 3 states of matter
Liquid water allows chemical action
Air & gasses provide nutrients & increase
weathering
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Soil Types
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Soil Types - depend on
their place of origin
 Residual Soil – formed
from the bedrock
beneath it (matches the
bedrock)
 Transported Soil –
formed somewhere else
& got moved to a new
location (does not
match the bedrock)
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Soil Profiles
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Soil Profile develops into layers
 Each layer has a
different texture,
color &
composition (see
text book)

COW STORY 
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Soil Conservation
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Takes a long time to
form topsoil able to
support plants/crops
Depletion is when
too many nutrients
are removed from the
soil
Crop rotation helps
prevent depletion
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Contour Plowing –
planting in rows
parallel to the
shape of the land
Strip Cropping –
planting strips of
low growing
plants between
higher plants
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