R.A.

9299 Republic of the Philippines June 25, 2004

NEGROS ORIENTAL STATE UNIVERSITY
NOHS (1907) | NOTS (1927) | EVSAT (1956) |CVPC (1983)
Kagawasan Ave., Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, Philippines 6200
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
Main Campus II, Bajumpandan, Dumaguete City 6200

CE- 528
WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING

CHAPTER IV:

The Hydrologic Cycle

Submitted by:
BANQUERIGO, ROLAND G.
BOHOL, AIVY G.

February, 2020
Most of the water on earth is either salty or inaccessible to humans. Water makes up
about 71% of the earth’s surface while the remaining 29% consists of continents and
islands. To break the number down, 97% of all the earth’s water is contained within the
oceans as saltwater. The remaining 3% is freshwater wherein 2% is frozen water locked
up in glaciers and polar ice caps.

THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

From the beginning of time when water first appeared, it has been constant in quantity
and continuously in motion. Little has been added or lost over the years. The same
water molecules have been transferred time and time again from the oceans and the
land surface into the atmosphere by evaporation, dropped on the land as precipitation,
and transferred back to the sea by rivers and groundwater. This endless circulation is
known as the "hydrologic cycle".

Infiltration

Figure 1. The Hydrologic Cycle

The illustration in Figure 1 shows the hydrologic cycle in which water leaves the
atmosphere and falls to earth as precipitation where it enters surface waters or
percolates into the water table and groundwater and eventually is taken back into the
atmosphere by transpiration and evaporation to begin the cycle again.
 Physical Processes of Hydrologic Cycle

1. EVAPORATION

Figure 2. Process of Evaporation

Evaporation occurs when the physical state of water is changed from a

liquid state to a gaseous state. As water is heated by the sun, surface
molecules become sufficiently energized to break free of the attractive
force binding them together, and then evaporate and rise as invisible
vapour in the atmosphere (see Figure 2). A considerable amount of heat,
about 600 calories of energy for each gram of water, is exchanged during
the change of state. Typically, solar radiation and other factors such as air
temperature, vapor pressure, wind, and atmospheric pressure affect the
amount of natural evaporation that takes place in any geographic area.
Evaporation can occur on raindrops, and on free water surfaces such as
seas and lakes. It can even occur from water settled on vegetation, soil,
rocks and snow. There is also evaporation caused by human activities.
Heated buildings experience evaporation of water settled on its surfaces.
Evaporated moisture is lifted into the atmosphere from the ocean, land
surfaces, and water bodies as water vapor. Some vapor always exists in
the atmosphere.
 Factors affecting evaporation:
 Temperature: The rate of evaporation increases with an increase in
temperature
 Humidity: The amount of water vapour present in the air is called
humidity. The rate of evaporation decreases with an increase in
humidity.
 Wind Speed: Evaporation increases with an increase in wind
speed.

2. CONDENSATION

Condensation is the process by which water vapor changes it's physical

state from a vapor, most commonly, to a liquid. Water vapor condenses
onto small airborne particles to form dew, fog, or clouds. When a pocket of
air becomes full of water vapor, clouds form. The point at which
condensation starts can be easily viewed in cumulus clouds, which have
flat bottoms(see Figure 3). Those flat bottoms are where vapor begins to
condense into water droplets. The most active particles that form clouds
are sea salts, atmospheric ions caused by lightning,and combustion
products containing sulfurous and nitrous acids. Condensation is brought
about by cooling of the air or by increasing the amount of vapor in the air
to its saturation point. When water vapor condenses back into a liquid
state, the same large amount of heat ( 600 calories of energy per gram)
that was needed to make it a vapor is released to the environment.
 Figure 3. Cumulus Clouds

3. PRECIPITATION
Precipitation is any liquid or frozen water that forms in the atmosphere and
fall back to the earth. It comes in many forms, like rain, sleet, snow, and
hail. Precipitation forms in the clouds when water vapor condenses into
bigger and bigger droplets of water. When the drops are heavy enough,
they fall to earth. If a cloud is colder, like it would be at higher altitudes, the
water droplets may freeze to form ice. These ice crystals then fall to the
earth as snow, hail, or rain, depending on the temperature within the cloud
and at the earth’s surface. Most rain begins as snow high in the clouds. As
the snowflakes fall through warmer air, they become raindrops. Particles
of dust or smoke in the atmosphere are essential for precipitation. These
particles call “condensation nuclei”, provide a surface for water vapor to
condense upon. This helps water droplets gather together and become
large enough to fall to the earth.
Precipitation is always fresh water, even when the water originated from
the ocean. This is because sea salts does not evaporate with water.
However, in some cases, pollutants in the atmosphere can contaminate
eater droplets before they fall to the earth. The precipitation that results
from this is called acid rain. Acid rain does not harm humans directly, but it
can make lakes and streams more acidic, this harms aquatic ecosystems
because plants and animals often cannot adapt to the acidity.
 Figure 4. Precipitation in the form of Rain

Factors affecting Precipitation

 Latitude: it rain more in the areas near the equator than in the
temperature zones and polar regions. The temperature is higher
near the Equator so there is more evaporation.
 Altitude: it rains more in high areas than in low areas.
 Level of humidity: it rains more on the coast than inland. Seas are a
source of humidity.

4. INFILTRATION

Infiltration is the physical process involving movement of water through the

boundary area where the atmosphere interfaces with the soil. The surface
phenomenon is governed by soil surface conditions. Water transfer is
related to the porosity of the soil and the permeability of the soil profile.
Typically, the infiltration rate depends on the puddling of the water at the
soil surface by the impact of raindrops, the texture and structure of the
soil, the initial soil moisture content, the decreasing water concentration as
the water moves deeper into the soil filling of the pores in the soil
matrices, changes in the soil composition, and to the swelling of the
wetted soils that in turn close cracks in the soil.

Water that is infiltrated and stored in the soil can also become the water
that later is evapotranspired or becomes subsurface runoff.
 Figure 5. Movement of Water in the Soil

Factors affecting infiltration:

 Precipitation
Precipitation can impact infiltration in many ways. The
amount, type and duration of precipitation all have an impact.
Rainfall leads to faster infiltration rates than any other
precipitation events, such as snow or sleet. In terms of
amount, the more precipitation that occurs, the more
infiltration will occur until the ground reaches saturation, at
which point the infiltration capacity is reached. Duration of
rainfall impacts the infiltration capacity as well. Initially when
the precipitation event first starts the infiltration is occurring
rapidly as the soil is unsaturated, but as time continues the
infiltration rate slows as the soil becomes more saturated.
This relationship between rainfall and infiltration capacity also
determines how much runoff will occur. If rainfall occurs at a
rate faster than the infiltration capacity runoff will occur.
 Soil characteristics
The porosity of soils is critical in determine the infiltration
capacity. Soils that have smaller pore sizes, such as clay,
have lower infiltration capacity and slower infiltration rates
than soils that have large pore size, such as sands. One
exception to this rule is when clay is present in dry
conditions. In this case, the soil can develop large cracks
which leads to higher infiltration capacity. Soil compaction is
also impacts infiltration capacity. Compaction of soils results
 in decreased porosity within the soils, which decreases
infiltration capacity.
 Soil moisture content
Soil that is already saturated has no more capacity to hold
more water, therefore infiltration capacity has been reached
and the rate cannot increase past this point. This leads to
much more surface runoff. When soil is partially saturated
then infiltration can occur at a moderate rate and fully
unsaturated soils have the highest infiltration capacity.
 Organic materials in soils
Organic materials in the soil (including plants and animals) all
increase the infiltration capacity. Vegetation contains roots
that extent into the soil which create cracks and fissures in
the soil, allowing for more rapid infiltration and increased
capacity. Vegetation can also reduce surface compaction of
the soil which again allows for increased infiltration. When no
vegetation is present infiltration rates can be very low, which
can lead to excessive runoff and increased erosion levels.
Similarly to vegetation, animals that burrow in the soil also
create cracks in the soil structure.
 Land cover
If land is covered by impermeable surfaces, such as
pavement, infiltration cannot occur as the water cannot
infiltrate through an impermeable surface This relationship
also leads to increased runoff. Areas that are impermeable
often have storm drains which drain directly into water
bodies, which means no infiltration occurs.
 Slope
When the slope of land is higher runoff occurs more readily
which leads to lower infiltration rates.

5. PERCOLATION

Percolation is the movement of water though the soil, and it's layers, by
gravity and capillary forces. The prime moving force of groundwater is
gravity. Water that is in the zone of aeration where air exists is called
vadose water. Water that is in the zone of saturation is called
groundwater. For all practical purposes, all groundwater originates as
surface water. Once underground, the water is moved by gravity. The
 boundary that separates the vadose and the saturation zones is called the
water table. Usually the direction of water movement is changed from
downward and a horizontal component to the movement is added that is
based on the geologic boundary conditions.

Geologic formations in the earth's crust serve as natural subterranean

reservoirs for storing water. Others can also serve as conduits for the
movement of water. Essentially, all groundwater is in motion. Some of it,
however, moves extremely slowly. A geologic formation which transmits
water from one location to another in sufficient quantity for economic
development is called an aquifer. The movement of water is possible
because of the voids or pores in the geologic formations. Some formations
conduct water back to the ground surface. A spring is a place where the
water table reaches the ground surface. Stream channels can be in
contact with an unconfined aquifer that approach the ground surface.
Water may move from the ground into the stream, or vice versa,
depending on the relative water level. Groundwater discharges into a
stream forms the base flow of the stream during dry periods, especially
during droughts. An influent stream supplies water to an aquifer while and
effluent stream receives water from the aquifer.

6. TRANSPIRATION

Transpiration is the biological process that occurs mostly in the day. Water
inside of plants is transferred from the plant to the atmosphere as water
vapor through numerous individual leave openings. Plants transpire to
move nutrients to the upper portion of the plants and to cool the leaves
exposed to the sun. Leaves undergoing rapid transpiration can be
significantly cooler than the surrounding air. Transpiration is greatly
affected by the species of plants that are in the soil and it is strongly
affected by the amount of light to which the plants are exposed. Water can
be transpired freely by plants until a water deficit develops in the plant and
it water-releasing cells (stomata, see Figure 5) begin to close.
Transpiration then continues at a must slower rate. Only a small portion of
the water that plants absorb are retained in the plants.
 Figure 5. Stomata

Vegetation generally retards evaporation from the soil. Vegetation that is

shading the soil, reduces the wind velocity. Also, releasing water vapor to
the atmosphere reduces the amount of direct evaporation from the soil or
from snow or ice cover. The absorption of water into plant roots, along
with interception that occurs on plant surfaces offsets the general effects
that vegetation has in retarding evaporation from the soil. The forest
vegetation tends to have more moisture than the soil beneath the trees.

Factors affecting Transpiration:

 Light: Plants transpire more rapidly in the light than in the dark. This
is largely because light stimulates the opening of the stomata
(mechanism). Light also speeds up transpiration by warming the
leaf.
 Temperature: Plants transpire more rapidly at higher temperatures
because water evaporates more rapidly as the temperature rises.
At 30°C, a leaf may transpire three times as fast as it does at 20°C.
 Humidity: The rate of diffusion of any substance increases as the
difference in concentration of the substances in the two regions
increases. When the surrounding air is dry, diffusion of water out of
the leaf goes on more rapidly.
 Wind: When there is no breeze, the air surrounding a leaf becomes
increasingly humid thus reducing the rate of transpiration. When a
breeze is present, the humid air is carried away and replaced by
drier air.
 Soil water: A plant cannot continue to transpire rapidly if its water
loss is not made up by replacement from the soil. When absorption
of water by the roots fails to keep up with the rate of transpiration,
loss of turgor occurs, and the stomata close. This immediately
reduces the rate of transpiration (as well as of photosynthesis). If
 the loss of turgor extends to the rest of the leaf and stem, the plant
wilts.

7. RUNOFF

Figure 6. Surface Runoff after heavy rain

Runoff is flow from a drainage basin or watershed that appears in surface

streams. It generally consists of the flow that is unaffected by artificial
diversions, storages or other works that society might have on or in a
stream channel. The flow is made up partly of precipitation that falls
directly on the stream , surface runoff that flows over the land surface and
through channels, subsurface runoff that infiltrates the surface soils and
moves laterally towards the stream, and groundwater runoff from deep
percolation through the soil horizons. Part of the subsurface flow enters
the stream quickly, while the remaining portion may take a longer period
before joining the water in the stream. When each of the component flows
enter the stream, they form the total runoff. The total runoff in the stream
channels is called streamflow and it is generally regarded as direct runoff
or base flow.

Physical Characteristics affecting runoff:

 Land use
 Vegetation
 Soil type
 Drainage area
 Basin shape
 Elevation
  Slope
 Topography
 Drainage network patters
 Ponds, lakes, reservoirs, sinks, etc. in the basin, which prevent or
alter runoff from continuing downstream

8. STORAGE

There are three basic locations of water storage that occur in the planetary
water cycle. Water is stored in the atmosphere; water is stored on the
surface of the earth, and water stored in the ground.

Water stored in the atmosphere can be moved relatively quickly from one
part of the planet to another part of the planet. The type of storage that
occurs on the land surface and under the ground largely depend on the
geologic features related to the types of soil and the types of rocks present
at the storage locations. Storage occurs as surface storage in oceans,
lakes, reservoirs, and glaciers; underground storage occurs in the soil, in
aquifers, and in the crevices of rock formations.

The movement of water through the eight other major physical processes
of the water cycle can be erratic. On average, water the atmosphere is
renewed every 16 days. Soil moisture is replaced about every year.
Globally, waters in wetlands are replaced about every 5 years while the
residence time of lake water is about 17 years. In areas of low
development by society, groundwater renewal can exceed 1,400 years.
The uneven distribution and movement of water over time, and the spatial
distribution of water in both geographic and geologic areas, can cause
extreme phenomena such as floods and droughts to occur.

The type of storage that occurs on the land surface and under the ground
largely depend on the geologic features related to the types of soil and the
types of rocks present at the storage locations.