Hydrologic Cycle
Fetter 1.5
Water is our only renewable MINERAL resource. Unlike coal, oil, gas, gold or silver,
or other metallic ores, water is quickly and easily renewed. Other mineral resources
take millions of years to form!
Water is continuously renewed through PRECIPITATION after the processes of
EVAPORATION and TRANSPIRATION. Water is part of a continually renewing
cycle referred to as the HYDROLOGIC CYCLE.
Although the hydrologic cycle has no beginning and no end, the ocean is a convenient
place to think of the cycle beginning.
| Evaporation | ||||||
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| Transpiration | ||||||
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| Precipitation | ||||||
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| Precipitation on land | ||||||
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| Temporary storage | ||||||
| Once this storage is full, get the following | ||||||
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| Flow across earth’s surface | ||||||
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| Seepage into permeable/porous geologic material | ||||||
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| Water stored in the vadose zone | ||||||
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| Water flow laterally through soil | ||||||
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| Water stored below water table (of zone saturation) | ||||||
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| Contribution to stream flow from ground-water | ||||||
| Law of Mass conservation | |
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Inflow = Outflow |
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Estimated Water Budget |
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Upper Verde River Regional Aquifier |
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| Data Used | ||||||||
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| Outflow | ||||||||
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| 1) Streams - station records, seepage investigations | ||||||||
| 2) Springs | ||||||||
| 3) ET loss - estimated (Anderson, 1976) by stream reach | ||||||||
| 4) Well withdrawal | ||||||||
| 5) Underflow - negligible out of area | ||||||||
| 6) Diversion to irrigation | ||||||||
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| Inflow | ||||||||
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| Greatest on Plateau Uplands | ||||||||
| ~ 20 in precipitation / yr | ||||||||
| Lowest in valleys | ||||||||
| ~ 12 in / yr | ||||||||
| Average 16.6 in/yr. or 2.1 mil ac ft or 6.8 x 1011 gal over entire basin | ||||||||
| Only 8% of total precipitation infiltrates ~ 1.3 in / yr. | ||||||||
| ~ 169,000 ac-ft/yr | ||||||||
Estimated Water Budget
ac - ft/yr |
% total |
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| Inflow | ||
| Infiltration of precipitation and stream flow | 169,000 |
91% |
| Base flow of Verde River near Paulden | 16,000 |
9% |
_______ |
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| Total | 185,000 |
100% |
| Outflow | ||
| Baseflow of Verde River near Camp Verde | 80,000 |
43% |
| Fossil Springs | 31,150 |
17% |
| ET | 35,000 |
19% |
| Irrigation, consumption use | 31,000 |
17% |
| Ground-water withdrawal | 8,000 |
4% |
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Total |
185,000 |
100% |
*Assumes no changes in storage!
SOURCE: Owen-Joyce, S.J. and Bell, C.K., 1983, Appraisal of Water Resources in the
Upper Verde River Area, Yavapai and Coconino Counties, AZ, AZ Department of
Water Resources Bulletin #2, 219 p.
Hydrologic Equation |
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| The hydrologic cycle is Conceptual. | |||
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| Quantify with hydrologic equation. | |||
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| A statement of Law of Mass Conservation | |||
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| This equation is simple, but it is the underlying equation for ground-water and surface-water flow | |||
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Inflow =
Outflow  Changes in storage |
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| Fetter gives a good example for Mono Lake | |||
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| Ask class what are the inflows and outflows we just saw in Hydrologic Cycle? | |||
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| Can apply equation at different sizes of systems | |||
| Surface water | |||
| Drainage Basins | |||
| Use the topographic divides | |||
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| Ground water | |||
| Ground water Basins | |||
| ground-water divides may not coincide with s-w divides | |||
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ENV 302 - Lectures
