Introduction
This paper is a two-part essay involving the hydrologic cycle and a desert landscape. First, the paper will discuss the hydrologic cycle and apply it to where I live, east Tennessee. Next, the paper will focus on a desert landscape. The discussion will center on how a desert forms as well as the features found within the landscape.
Hydrologic Cycle
The hydrologic cycle is a process that moves water throughout the Earth’s environment. “In terms of water, the earth is a closed system, so water isn’t added or removed from earth; it’s simply transformed, transported, and recycled” (Spooner, 2013). This process, driven by energy provided by the sun, cycles water in a never-ending cycle between the oceans, sky and land. The process begins with the sun causing evaporation of surface waters of the oceans. The vaporized water droplets attach themselves to dust particles and form clouds. In a relative short amount of time, the water vapor transforms into precipitation and falls in to Earth as rain, snow or other form of precipitation.
As the precipitation hits Earth, the soil absorbs some of this water. This water is for use by the various trees and plants on Earth. Precipitation not absorbed by the soil becomes runoff. This runoff water eventually finds its way into various streams, lakes and rivers, which eventually return the water to the oceans to repeat the cycle again.
After plants and trees absorb water through its root system, water not used for delivering minerals to the plant or tree returns to the atmosphere. “Transpiration is the process by which moisture is carried through plants from roots to small pores on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor and is released to the atmosphere” (U...
... middle of paper ...
... Retrieved from http://animals.about.com/od/alpinemontaine/f/rainshadow.htm
Lallanilla, M. (2013). What is groundwater? Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/39579-groundwater.html
Main, D. (2012). Most rainfall in Smoky Mountains comes as mist. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/31379-smoky-mountains-rainfall-measured.html
Nelson, S. (2003). Wind action and deserts. Retrieved from http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/geol111/deserts.htm
Spooner, A. (2013). What is the hydrologic cycle? Retrieved from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-is-the-hydrologic-cycle.html
United States Geological Survey (USGS). (2004). Geologic glossary. Retrieved from http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/misc/glossarya.html
United States Geological Survey (USGS). (2013). The water cycle: transpiration. Retrieved from http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycletranspiration.html
The effect of water quality on Vegetative measurements and photosynthesis indices of the trees are presented in Table 1. No significant differences were found between parameters: gs, shoot number in both years, but others were higher in RW application. Height of trees and leaf area in first year was not significant but in second year it increased by 42 and 29% respectively in application RW. Photosynthesis rate appears significantly higher (23.4 µmol m−2 s−1) in plants receiving recycle water than clean water.
His expertise may attract an array of readers, both newcomers and old-timers. It seems that his intended audience might be those who share his love of the desert and also those who want to know more. The essay is quasi-organized like an educational brochure or an expert interview with an inveterate desert denizen. An unintended audience of course might include the fledgling environmental activists who were emerging in the 1960s to fight for the protection of wilderness. Because of its focus on natural history, the article and the anthology, Desert Solitaire, in which it was published, might...
Long ago, the middle of the North American continent was a treeless prairie covered by tall grasses and roaming buffalo. When European settlers came, they called this area the Great American Desert. Today, this "desert" is covered with fields of wheat, corn, and alfalfa made possible by center-pivot irrigation. My grandfather used to sell center-pivot systems and when my family drove to my grandparent's home in Nebraska, we would count how many "sprinklers" were watering each section of land. At the time, I didn't know that this water was being pumped from somethng called the Ogallala Aquifer, a huge underground water supply. Throughout the years, this aquifer has made the Great American Desert one of the best farming areas in the world. Unfortunately, the Ogallala Aquifer's future as a valuable resource is in jeopardy, unless citizens of the Plains states reduce their water consumption.
The hydrologic or water cycle is an important topic in geology that is tied to the weather and the formation of landforms. It is the stages of water on Earth as it transforms itself from liquid to gas to solid or liquid again (American Water Works Association, 2002). Discussed below are the hydrologic cycle and two different examples of it on Earth. One example is of Panama, which is a tropical climate. The other is of the Mojave Desert in California, which is a desert climate. These two very different climates demonstrate the hydrologic cycle in practical terms.
These leaves will also have no threat of excessive transpiration because the temperature in the shaded area will be lower and the humidity probably higher. Transpiration is the removal (evaporation) of water from a plant through the stomata in the leaves; this water is removed in a cycle due to the active uptake from the roots. Transpiration involves osmosis; which is the diffusion of water from a high concentration to a lower concentration through a partially permeable membrane, until both the concentrations are equally saturated. All these factors i.e. transpiration and photosynthesis, come together to confirm my hypothesis. To support my hypothesis further, I did a pilot study in a meadow in which I studied the population of certain plant species in areas of
Storm Water Drainage: This is simply the water from rain, melted snow, etc. draining into
There are numerous stages that take place simultaneously in the hydrologic cycle and this includes evaporation. This is when the water alters from a liquid state into a gas. The damp air from the water rises into the atmosphere and when it cools, the vapor condenses and shapes into clouds. But those billows are not the only form the vapors make; it can also materialize as dew, fog and mist, which blanket the Earth, characteristically on a rainy or humid day. Evaporation takes place when water changes from a liquid state into a gaseous state, and ascents out of the pores of the earth and into the atmosphere as a vapor (“How”). While evaporation is taking place, condensation is also occurring. When the temperature in the air plunges, the clouds become heavy and as a result they relieve themselves of the extra weight, which is called precipitation. This produces rain, hail, snow and sleet, conditioned upon the temperate. As the precipitation falls, it enters the surface of the ground and percolates into the soil, which is called infiltration. The more porous the land is, the more the infiltration can take place. However, the ground cannot hold all of that water and floods. The excess rainfall, which is also called runoff that has not been absorbed makes its way into bodies of water, such as small ponds, rivers, lakes and parts of the ocean (“Summary”).
Rivers start in mountains, then they trickle methodically down its side as a creek, and when many of these meet a river is formed. These rivers then fill up the ocean, which then evaporates and turns into rain which starts the process over. This is the water cycle. But the water cycle is very similar to human life. One starts as an ignorant, uneducated being, but then through much hardship and austerity we gain knowledge as a river. Finally we pass this knowledge on to our offspring, and the cycle begins anew. This is the life cycle which is beautifully illustrated in Herman Hess’s Siddhartha, where revelation awaits in the flow of time.
One of the ways Yuma’s geography impacted irrigation were the dryness and heat of the climate. Since essential nutrients are added to the soils by farmers, the overflowing of water from the Colorado River (due to excessive heat and evaporation leading to precipitation) pose threats to the irrigation and proper farming of crops. This called for solutions, like the Yuma Project, to build dams and levees to limit overflow. Consequently, geography had an impact on irrigation- Yuma’s hot climate made more overflow and opened the eyes of the Bureau of Reclamation on irrigation issues leading to fixes for
Americans today tend to believe that the Colorado River drought has been a recent occurrence, although drought relief strategies have been implemented since early 1997. To summarize, in the book The Colorado River Basin Drought Planning and Organizations, Colorado is named as the original state to acquire a drought relief plan. For instance, various assume water levels are diminutive in the Colorado and blame is due to the previous ten years of drought throughout the United States. Although it is true that water levels are at a record low, initial plans in the early 1920’s to introduce manufactured structures into the water basin is the original reason Colorado’s water system began to be compromised. It follows, then the supplementary natural
Investigating the Rate of Transpiration in a Mesophyte Plant Experiment to investigate the relationship between the number of
Saier, M. H., Jr. (2010). Desertification and migration. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 205(1-4), S31+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA359852755&v=2.1&u=oran95108&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=d58e000340b9e00632d610b6b1c2b1e4
Rain forms when water vapor condenses and falls, the more it condenses the more it falls. Some raindrops are not pure and are filled with other materials, this is known as acid rain. Acid rain is a huge problem all over the world. Acid rain is mixture of chemicals, like fossil fuels and the atmosphere, it then comes down as rain, snow, hail, and sleet. The burning of fossil fuels is the main cause of acid rain. When oil and coal are burned they create sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide, and nitrogen dioxide. (" Acid Rain | US EPA") The mixture of all the chemicals and heavy winds blow the compounds across many borders.
1. Fresh water comes from ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, icebergs, lakes, rivers and stream. They also come from underground sources like; groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. The water in glaciers and ice caps is frozen. Only 3% of the water on the planet is fresh. The water all has something to do the water cycle. First you've got evaporation; water becomes water vapour and changes into a gas. Then there is condensation and the water vapour becomes a cloud. The last one is precipitation, this is rain, snow, etc. (to be continued)
“Water is the lifeblood of this planet. Every time a good is bought or sold there is a virtual exchange of water. Every time we interact with water, we change it, redirect it, or otherwise alter its state. We have never learned how to efficiently manage water.”(Cluckie, 2009) Ian Cluckie, Professor of Hydrology and Water Management, emphasizes the fact that humans can’t survive without water. Although water is a renewable resource that can replenish under hydrological cycles, our intervention has interrupted its natural cycle causing its supply to decrease.(Cluckie, 2009)