Let’s check

Activity no. 2

1. How hydrologic cycle occurs?

Ans. The hydrologic cycle begins with the evaporation of water from the surface of the ocean.
As moist air is lifted, it cools and water vapor condenses to form clouds. Moisture
is transported around the globe until it returns to the surface as precipitation. Once the water
reaches the ground, one of two processes may occur; some of the water may evaporate back
into the atmosphere or the water may penetrate the surface and become groundwater.
Groundwater either seeps its way to into the oceans, rivers, and streams, or is released back
into the atmosphere through transpiration. The balance of water that remains on the earth's
surface is runoff, which empties into lakes, rivers and streams and is carried back to the oceans,
where the cycle begins again.

2. Explain the groundwater movement.

Ans. Some of the precipitation that falls onto the land infiltrates into the ground to become
groundwater. If the water meets the water table (below which the soil is saturated), it can
move both vertically and horizontally. Water moving downward can also meet denser and
water-resistant non-porous rock and soil, which causes it to flow in a more horizontal fashion,
generally towards streams, the ocean, or deeper into the ground. If groundwater wants to be a
member in good standing of the water cycle, then it can't be totally static and stay where it is.
The direction and speed of groundwater movement is determined by the various characteristics
of aquifers and confining layers of subsurface rocks (which water has a difficult time
penetrating) in the ground. Water moving below ground depends on the permeability (how
easy or difficult it is for water to move) and on the porosity (the amount of open space in the
material) of the subsurface rock. If the rock has characteristics that allow water to move
relatively freely through it, then groundwater can move significant distances in a number of
days. But groundwater can also sink into deep aquifers where it takes thousands of years to
move back into the environment, or even go into deep groundwater storage, where it might
stay for much longer periods.