GL 2101 Geologi Fisik

Hydrologic Cycle and

Groundwater

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Hydrologic Cycle
the movement and interchange of water between the sea, air, and land

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Hydrologic Cycle
Distribution of water: ocean 96.5%

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Running Water Stream - a body of running water, confined
to a channel, that runs downhill under the
influence of gravity
• Headwaters - upper part of stream near its
source in the mountains
• Channel - a long, narrow depression eroded
by a stream into rock or sediment
• Floodplain - flat valley floor composed of
sediment deposited by the stream
• Mouth - place where a stream enters sea,
lake or larger stream

Before flooding After flooding

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Drainage Patterns
• The arrangement, in map view, of a stream and its tributaries
• Most tributaries join the main stream at an acute angle, forming a V or Y
pointing downstream

1. Dendritic - drainage pattern 2. Radial - streams diverge outward like

resembling the branches of a tree the spokes of a wheel, such as on conical
mountains

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Drainage Patterns
3. Rectangular - tributaries have frequent 90° bends and join other
streams at right angles

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Drainage Patterns
4. Trellis - parallel streams with short tributaries meeting at right angles

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 Factors Affecting Stream Erosion
and Deposition
1. Velocity
• maximum velocity near center of channel
• Higher stream velocities promote erosion
and transport of coarser sediments
• Floods involve increased velocity and
erosion

2. Gradient (slope)

3. Channel Shape and Roughness

4. Discharge (volume of water

passing a particular point in a
stream over time)

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Stream Deposition

1. Braided streams
• Contain sediment deposited as numerous bars around which water flows in highly
interconnected rivulets
• Bars - sediments temporarily deposited along stream course
• Placer Deposits – concentrated heavy sediment
Stream Deposition
2. Meandering streams
• Sinuous curves
• more slowly along the inside, depositing point bars on the insides of the meanders
• Meander cutoffs may form when a new, shorter channel is cut through the narrow
neck of a meander (as during a flood)
The development of point bars in a meandering stream

The development of a sinusoidal stream and an oxbow lake

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 Stream Deposition
3. Floodplains
• broad strips of land built up by sedimentation on either
side of a stream channel
• floodplain sediments are left behind as flood waters
slow and recede at the end of flood events
• main channel has slightly raised banks with respect to
the floodplain known as natural levees

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 Stream Deposition
3. Delta
• body of sediment deposited at the
mouth of a river when flow velocity
decreases
• surface marked by shifting
distributary channels
• shape of a delta:
 wave-dominated
 tide-dominated
 stream-dominated

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 Stream Deposition
4. Alluvial fan
large, fan- or cone-shaped pile of sediment that forms where stream
velocity decreases as it emerges from a narrow mountain canyon onto a
flat plain

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 Stream Valley Development

Downcutting and Base

Level
Downcutting – process of
deepening a valley by
erosion of the streambed
• V-shaped valleys typically
form from downcutting
combined with mass
wasting and sheet erosion
• Streams cannot erode
below their base level

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 Groundwater
• Define and sketch the saturated and unsaturated zones, the
water table, and a perched water table
• Define: Porosity, permeability, aquifer, aquiclude/aquitard

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 The Storage of Groundwater
• Saturated zone – subsurface zone in which all rock openings are filled with water
• Water table – top of the saturated zone
 water level at surface of most lakes and rivers corresponds to local water table
• Unsaturated zone – unsaturated region above the water table
• Perched water table – above and separated from main water table by an unsaturated
zone; commonly produced by thin lenses of impermeable rock (e.g., shale or clays) within
permeable ones

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 Porosity & Permeability
Porosity - the percentage of rock or sediment that consists of voids or
openings
• measurement of a rock’s ability to hold water
• loose sand has ~30-50% porosity
• compacted sandstone may have only 10-20% porosity

Permeability - the capacity of a rock to transmit fluid through pores

and fractures
• interconnectedness of pore spaces
• most sandstones and conglomerates are porous and permeable
• granites, schists, unfractured limestones are impermeable

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 Porosity & Permeability

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Aquifers & Aquitards
Aquifer - body of saturated rock or sediment through which water can
move easily
• Unconfined – has a water table and is only partly filled
• Confined – completely filled with water under pressure

Aquitard - rock/sediment that retards ground water flow due to low

porosity and/or permeability
• shale, clay, unfractured crystalline rocks
Wells
a deep hole dug or drilled into the
ground to obtain water from an
aquifer
• water table can be lowered by
pumping, a process known as
drawdown
• water may rise to a level above the top
of a confined aquifer, producing an
artesian well

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Springs & Streams
Spring - a place where water flows
naturally from rock or sediment onto the
ground surface

Gaining streams
• receive water from the saturated zone
• gaining stream surface is local water table

Losing streams - lose water to the

saturated zone
• stream beds lie above the water table
• maximum infiltration occurs through
streambed, producing permanent “mound”
in the water table beneath dry channel

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 Contamination
Infiltrating water may bring contaminants
down to the water table, including:
• pesticides/herbicides
• fertilizers
• landfill pollutants
• heavy metals
• bacteria, viruses and parasites from
sewage
• industrial chemicals (PCBs, TCE)
• acid mine drainage
• radioactive waste
• oil and gasoline

Contaminated ground water

can be extremely difficult and
expensive to clean up
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Balancing Withdrawal & Recharge

If ground water is withdrawn

more rapidly than it is
recharged, the water table
will drop
• dropping water table can lead
to ground subsidence
• subsidence can crack
foundations, roads and
pipelines
• areas of extremely high
ground water pumping
(such as for crop irrigation in
dry regions) have subsided 7-
9 meters

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Geologic Effects of Groundwater
Caves - naturally-formed underground
chambers
• Acidic ground water dissolves
limestone along joints and bedding
planes
• Stalagmites – dripstone that forms on
cave floors
• Stalactites – dripstone formations that
hang from cave ceilings

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Geologic Effects of Groundwater
Sinkholes – caves near the surface that have collapsed
Karst topography – area with rolling hills, disappearing streams,
and sinkholes

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Geologic Effects of Groundwater
Other Effects of Groundwater

• Preservation of Fossils
• Petrified Wood
• Concretions

• Geodes

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 Thank you

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