9 - Water Cycles

Lecture 9: The Water Cycle
Understand the global water cycle

principal storages and their inventories
Understand water movement through the

water cycle and driving forces
Calculate residence time in compartments
using stock and flow models
Learn about how humans are changing
water on earth
Burney Falls State Park, Shasta County, California (Go visit it! Go camping!)
Pre-Module 2
ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

Pre-Module 2: Reflection
Self-Identified Strategies to Suggestions for us:
Improve Learning: • More interactive: More
• Note-taking during lecture and iClickers and in-class activities
reviewing afterwards • More videos and diagrams
• Do the problem sets • Recorded lectures allow for
progressively with each lecture reviewing anything missed in-
(rather than wait until the end) class
• Read the assigned reading • Read the assigned reading
either right before or after either right before or after
lecture lecture
• Working with others • Slower pace
February 4, 2023
Picture of the Earth Where is Earth’s
water?
• 75% of the Earth’s
surface is covered by
water
• 50% of the globe at a
time is covered with
water vapor in the form
of clouds
• Water is a finite resource:
it’s a renewable resource,
but the volume is finite
from DSCOVR EPIC (NASA) https://epic.gsfc.nasa.gov/enhanced
No, really, how much
water is that?
All of the water on Earth in a sphere
860 miles (1384 km) in diameter
Fresh liquid water in the groundwater, lakes,

swamps, and rivers: 169.5 miles (272.7 km) in
diameter
Freshwater lakes and rivers:

34.9 miles (56.2km) in diameter)
https://web.archive.org/web/20131214091601/http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwh
erewater.html ESPM 15 – Fall 2022
What are the major reservoirs? [Percentages]
Freshwaters < 3%
• Ice-caps, glaciers and 1.74%
permanent snow
• Groundwater 0.76%
• Soil moisture 0.001%
• Rivers 0.0002%
• Lakes 0.007%
• Atmosphere 0.001%
Oceans 96.5%

Atmosphere (12.7)
Ice and Snow

(26,350)
Rivers and
Lakes (178)
KEY
Soil Moisture (122)
Reservoir
(Volume)
Ground Water
FLUX (15,300)
Oceans
Volume / yr
(1,335,040)
1 unit = x103 km3 Values from Trenberth et al. (2007), modified using Abbott (2019) ESPM 15 – Fall 2022
Precipitation (Spatial & temporal)
Oakland, CA

Atmosphere (12.7)
PRECIPITATION ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT (WIND) PRECIPITATION

Over land: 113 / yr Ocean to Land: 40 / yr Over oceans: 373 / yr
Ice and Snow

(26,350)
Rivers and
Lakes (178) EVAPORATION
Over oceans: 413 / yr
KEY
Soil Moisture (122)
Reservoir
(Volume)
Ground Water
FLUX (15,300)
Oceans
Volume / yr
(1,335,040)
Surface flows – Connect Land and Ocean

Water Quality and Flash Flooding
Atmosphere (12.7)

Ice and Snow

(26,350)
Rivers and
KEY
Soil Moisture (122)
Reservoir
(Volume)
Ground Water
FLUX (15,300)
Oceans
Volume / yr
(1,335,040)
Atmosphere (12.7)

Which flux do you think is greater?

Ice and Snow A. Evapotranspiration (from the land only)
(26,350)
B. Runoff
C. They’re approximately the same
Rivers and
KEY
Soil Moisture (122)
Reservoir
(Volume)
Ground Water
FLUX (15,300)
Oceans
Volume / yr
(1,335,040)
Atmosphere (12.7)

Ice and Snow

(26,350)
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
Over land: 73 / yr
Rivers and
KEY
Soil Moisture (122)
Reservoir
(Volume)
Ground Water
FLUX (15,300)
Oceans
Volume / yr
(1,335,040)
Atmosphere (12.7)

Ice and Snow

(26,350)
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
Over land: 73 / yr
Rivers and
KEY
Soil Moisture (122)
Reservoir
(Volume)
Ground Water
FLUX (15,300)
Oceans
Volume / yr
(1,335,040)
Evapotranspiration (ET)
Evaporation turns liquid water into water Transpiration. Plants take up liquid water
vapor (from lakes, rivers, oceans, soil from the soil and release water vapor by
moisture, wet vegetation). It depends on: Transpiration. (Plants “pump” water into
• Solar Irradiance the atmosphere). It depends on:
• Relative Humidity/ Vapor Pressure • Same as evaporation
Deficit • And plant physiology
• Wind speed
• Presence of water ESPM 15 – Fall 2022
Transpiration
• A large oak tree can transpire
40,000 gallons per year (over
100 gallons per day!)
Photo taken 1 hour after the bag was placed over the plant,
highlighting the amount of transpiration occurring.
Evapotranspiration and the Water Cycle | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov) ESPM 15 – Fall 2022
Evaporation/Sublimation
In subalpine forests of Colorado, 25-60% of snow
sublimates throughout the winter!
In the western U.S., forest thinning can increase water yield by

reducing transpiration rates and reducing evaporation/sublimation
due to canopy interception of moisture.

“Researchers found that over the period 1990 to
2008, fire-thinned forests saved 3.7 billion gallons of
water annually in California's Kings River Basin and a
whopping 17 billion gallons of water annually in the
American River Basin.”

“Researchers found that over the period 1990 to
2008, fire-thinned forests saved 3.7 billion gallons of
water annually in California's Kings River Basin and a
whopping 17 billion gallons of water annually in the
Forest thinning can substantially increase water yield (amount is
American River Basin.”
context dependent)
Note: reforestation post-fire is also really important for water quality,
reducing soil erosion, and increasing infiltration rates (leading to less
flash flooding)

Forests Role in the Water Cycle

Forests Role in the Water Cycle
From the National Geographic: Deforestation (e.g., post fires) increase in R, decrease in ET
“As moisture comes off the Atlantic Ocean it
falls on the forest as rain. This water gets
sucked up by deep roots, then moves through
plants and across the surface of leaves before
returning to the atmosphere. All this water
then moves like a giant flowing river in the
sky, falling as rain and then evaporating again
and again until it reaches the Andes.
Ultimately, the forest produces at least half of
its own rain.
"One water vapor molecule may be recycled

five to seven times before it leaves the
system, either through the atmosphere or the
Amazon River," says Carlos Nobre, a climate
scientist with the University of São Paulo's
Institute for Advanced Studies.
Luiz Aragão (2012). Environmental science: The rainforest’s water pump. Nature 05 September 2012
doi:10.1038/nature11485
Atmosphere (12.7)

Ice and Snow

(26,350)
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
Over land: 73 / yr
Rivers and
KEY
Soil Moisture (122)
Reservoir
(Volume)
Ground Water
FLUX (15,300)
Oceans
Volume / yr
(1,335,040)
Atmosphere (12.7)

Ice and Snow • Closed system (no exchange with space)

(26,350) • Transports energy and matter
• Required for all life
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
Over land: 73 / yr
Rivers and
KEY
Soil Moisture (122)
Reservoir
(Volume)
Ground Water
FLUX (15,300)
Oceans
Volume / yr
(1,335,040)
Stock and Flow Models
Framework for
understanding the
flow of energy and
materials through
compartments (e.g.,
organisms) and the
physical
environment
** Not the same as

the feedback loop
models
Atmosphere (12.7)
PRECIPITATION
(Over land)
113 PRECIPITATION
(Over oceans)
373
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
(Over land) EVAPORATION
73 (Over oceans)
413
KEY
RUNOFF
Reservoir Land Water 40
(Volume) (41,950)
FLUX
Oceans
Volume / yr
(1,335,040)
1 unit = x103 km3 Values from Trenberth et al. (2007) ESPM 15 – Fall 2022
Stock and Flow Terms
Term Synonym Definition Units
Reservoir Pool, Box, Stock Where the resource is stored N/A
Inventory Pool size Mass or volume of reservoir mass or volume (e.g.,
kg, m3)
Flux Flow Rate of gain or loss of a mass/unit time
reservoir (e.g., kg/year)
Residence Turnover time Inventory/Flux Out time (years)
Time
Steady State Flux In = Flux Out N/A

How does residence time vary by
compartment?
Long
residence
time
Short
residence
time
Changes to the water cycle
Natural changes: Due to processes such as precipitation and
evapotranspiration that would happen naturally in the
physical world
Anthropogenic changes: Due to water consumption,
irrigation, water pumping, dams, river diversion, etc.
Expansion of agriculture, damming, diversion, over-use, climate
change and pollution threaten irreplaceable freshwater
resources in many parts of the globe
Human Influences on the water cycle
• Dimensions of
human impacts
• Land Use
• Climate Change
• Water Use
Appropriation: the action of taking

something for one's own use
Abbott et al. (2019) Nature Geoscience ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

Trends in Terrestrial Water Storage
Rodell et al., 2018, Nature

Agriculture
• Agriculture is responsible for the majority of total water used globally
• Irrigation systems divert runoff, and return the excess to runoff
• Impact evapotranspiration rates
• Where surface water is not available:

Extract >10,000 yr old water from ground
aquifer
• Extraction rate faster than replacement rate
-> deplete aquifer

Summary
• Freshwater comprises ~3% of total water
• Most of freshwater is stored in ice caps glaciers and groundwater
• Atmospheric residence time is fast. Aquifers and glaciers are “Long-
lived reservoirs”
• Fluxes into and out of the atmosphere are precipitation, evaporation,
and transpiration.
• Runoff & wind transport water from/to ocean and land
• Forests strongly affect the water cycle
• Human use of groundwater perturbs the water cycle, moves “long-lived
water” into fast cycling. Replacement time is longer than residence
time, leading to depletion of resource
• Climate change affects the water cycle (e.g., ice melt, sea level rise)
Spatial: How is primary productivity distributed?

Temporal: Ecosystems can also change over time
Graph shows data from a northern temperate forest

See: Net Primary Productivity (nasa.gov) to see changes in NPP
Gough (2011) https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/terrestrial-primary-production- overtime across the globe
fuel-for-life-17567411/
Residence time in reservoirs
Reservoir Volume Flux IN Flux OUT Residence Steady

(in x103 km3) Time (yrs) State? (Y/N)
Atmosphere
Oceans
Land

Atmosphere (12.7)
PRECIPITATION
(Over land)
113 PRECIPITATION
(Over oceans)
373
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
(Over land) EVAPORATION
73 (Over oceans)
413
KEY
RUNOFF
Reservoir Land Water 40
(Volume) (41,950)
FLUX
Oceans
Volume / yr
(1,335,040)
1 unit = x103 km3 Values from Trenberth et al. (2007) ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

9 - Water Cycles

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Lecture 9: The Water Cycle

Understand the global water cycle

Understand water movement through the

ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

Fresh liquid water in the groundwater, lakes,

Freshwater lakes and rivers:

ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

Ice and Snow

ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

PRECIPITATION ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT (WIND) PRECIPITATION

Ice and Snow

ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

PRECIPITATION ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT (WIND) PRECIPITATION

Ice and Snow

PRECIPITATION ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT (WIND) PRECIPITATION

Which flux do you think is greater?

PRECIPITATION ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT (WIND) PRECIPITATION

Ice and Snow

PRECIPITATION ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT (WIND) PRECIPITATION

Ice and Snow

In the western U.S., forest thinning can increase water yield by

ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

"One water vapor molecule may be recycled

PRECIPITATION ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT (WIND) PRECIPITATION

Ice and Snow

PRECIPITATION ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT (WIND) PRECIPITATION

Ice and Snow • Closed system (no exchange with space)

** Not the same as

ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

Appropriation: the action of taking

Abbott et al. (2019) Nature Geoscience ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

Rodell et al., 2018, Nature

• Where surface water is not available:

ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

Graph shows data from a northern temperate forest

Reservoir Volume Flux IN Flux OUT Residence Steady

ESPM 15 – Fall 2022

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