Water Resources

Hydrologic cycle
➢ Also known as water cycle
➢ The movement of water around
the earth’s surface and its
subsystems
➢ The cycle consist of
interconnected pathways and
reservoirs
Reservoirs
➢ are the places where water
resides for varying amount of
time
Pathways
➢ are the processes that allow the
water to move between each
reservoirs and systems
1. Evaporation
➢ the process in which liquid
water changes into vapor
2. Transpiration
➢ the evaporation of water from
the leaves and stems of plants
3. Sublimation
➢ is the phase transition of a
substance directly from the solid
state to gas phase without
passing through the intermediate
liquid phase.
4. Condensation
➢ is the change from vapor into
liquid or solid
5. Precipitation
➢ Is the process where water
from atmosphere is transfer to
earth’s surface in liquid or
solid form as rain, snow, or
hail
Hydrologic cycle
 Earth’s Waters
➢ the total amount of water in the
planet, also known as earth’s
water budget
➢ the largest reservoir is the ocean
that contains about 97.5% of the
earth’s total water
➢ Freshwater is only 2.5 % of
earth’s total water
Residence Time
➢ is the average length of time spent by
the water molecule in a reservoir

➢ In large reservoir the resident

time of water is longer
Salt water Reservoir
➢ Global world ocean covers 71% of
earth
➢ Divided into 4 distinct regions
into numerous seas, gulfs, bays,
and straits
➢ Historically there are 4recognized
oceans
❖ Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, & Arctic
Ocean (vids 2)
Salinity
➢ Refers to the saltiness of
saltwater
➢ Major chemical elements present
in salt water are sodium and
chlorine ions
➢ Principal source of the elements
dissolve in seawater are the
weathering and volcanic eruptions
Three major zones in the ocean
1. Surface layer
➢ Consists of relatively warm, low
density water
➢ Extends from the ocean surface
to a depth of 100m.
➢ This layer is only about 2% of the
water in the ocean but it is the
home of the most marine plants
and animals
2. Thermocline
➢ Where the temperature of water
decreases rapidly
➢ At high altitudes the thermocline
reaches the surface and extends
up to 1500 m.
3. Deep Zone
➢ below the thermocline is the
deep zone where temperature is
uniformly low
❖ The surface ocean currents flow
clockwise in the northern
hemisphere and counterclockwise
in the southern hemisphere
(play vidz 3)
❖ There is a thermocline circulation
driven by the density differences,
which is controlled by
temperature and salinity
❖ Circulation is propelled by the
sinking of cold, salty, and dense
water in the polar
Importance of ocean
1. Ocean is one of the most
valuable resources of the planet
2. Provide voluminous marine food
sources
3. It is used in transportation and
recreation
4. Regulate climate through its
interaction to atmosphere
Freshwater Reservoirs
➢ Mostly freshwater on earth are
stored in glaciers
Glaciers
➢ is a permanent body of ice, which
consists largely of recrystallized
snow (vidz 4)
Ice Sheets
➢ is a mass of glacial land ice
extending more than 50,000 km2

➢ the freshwater stored in glaciers

➢ and ice sheets are estimated to

exceed 24 million km3
➢ 90% is concentrated in
Antarctica while the rest is found
in Greenland and in mountain
glaciers
Permafrost
➢ Refers to a soil or sediments that
is frozen for more than two
consecutive years
Surface Water Reservoir
➢ Includes the following:
a. lakes and wetlands where water
from rainfall
b. melting snow and ice
c. groundwater flows

➢ they represent 0.3% of earth’s

total water resources
➢ this resources is harnessed for
irrigation, recreation, transport,
fishing, drinking and hydropower
Stream
➢ Is a moving body of surface water
that flows downslope towards sea
level because of gravity
➢ It has clearly-defined passage-
way or channels
➢ a river is a stream with a
considerable volume and well-
defined channel.

➢ Streams are interconnected and

form a tree- shaped network of
small streams, making up the
branches and joined to a large main
stream
➢ the smaller streams are also
called tributaries
➢ The land area in which the water
flow into a particular stream is
called a drainage basin or
watershed
➢ The line that separates individual
drainage basin is called the
drainage divide
➢ The narrow elongated landform
separating individual streams
within a basin is called
interfluve
➢ During heavy rain water moves
downhill in a process called
overland flow
➢ After a short distance, the water
enters the channels and becomes
streamflow
➢ provide fresh water for irrigation,
industrial, municipal, residential,
and recreational purposes
➢ Can also be used as
transportation routes
Lakes
➢ are large inland bodies of fresh
or saline water
➢ Its upper surface is exposed to
the atmosphere and is essentially
flat
Ponds
➢ Are small shallow lakes
Dams
➢ are barriers constructed along
streams to contain the flow of
water.
Wetlands
➢ Land areas where water covers
the surface for significant period
➢ They vary in size from relatively
large to small in steep areas
➢ Filled with diverse species both
in land and water
➢ Fragile and sensitive ecosystem
to the amount and quality of
water
➢ Constitute about 8.5% of the
total land surface and
atmospheric water
➢ The largest wetland in
Philippines is Ligawasan Marsh
found in the province of
Maguindanao, North Cotabato
and sultan Kudarat
Types of Wetlands
1. Marsh
➢ is a shallow wetland around the
lakes, streams, and oceans where
grasses and reeds are dominant
vegetation
2. Swamp
➢ is a wetland with lush trees and
vegetation found in low-lying
areas beside slow moving rivers
3. Estuary
➢ is a partly enclosed coastal
body of water where freshwater
from stream meets the saltwater
from the sea
➢ Home of many organisms that
can tolerate the sharp changes in
salinity due to the constant
change of salt content
Flood
➢ Is a natural event wherein an
area that is usually dry is
submerged under water
➢ Usually occurs when the rate of
precipitation is higher than the
rate in which it could be
absorbed by the ground or
carried by streams
➢ also occur even during dry
periods when natural or human-
made reservoirs collapse
(play vidz texas)
Fluvial or riverine flood
➢ Occurs when a stream’s
discharge is greater than the
capacity of the channel
Flashfloods
➢ are characterized by intense,
high velocity torrent of water that
occurs in an existing river
channel with little to no notice
Coastal Flooding
➢ Occurs when water overwhelms
in low lying areas along the
coast, usually due to severe
weather conditions
Surface water flood
➢ occurs when heavy rainfall creates a
flood event independent of an
overflowing stream
➢ This is common in urban areas when
drainage systems are clogged.
➢ Vegetation plays an important role
in reducing flood
➢ Plants can slow down an overland
flow, giving it enough time for water
to infiltrate the ground.
➢ When in saturated grounds, it still
lengthens the time of arrival of
water.
➢ It also decrease the amount of
sediments that could be eroded by
the surface runoff