= Evaporation is the process by which water is changed from a liquid to a gaseous form. The sun heats watér on the ground or on the surface of the sea or a pond, and this water changes from water as, a liguid to water as a gas. & Transpiration is the process by which water is released by plants or trees into the atmosphere, Plants draw water up from the ground into their leaves and branches. From there it is evaporated into the air, and may rise to form clouds. m= Runoff is the total amount of water that is trans- ported along the surface of the earth. Runoff is gen- erally high during and immediately after periods of heavy rainfall. 1 Infiltration is the process by which water from pre- Spitation soaks into the ground to become ground water. The rate at which water can infiltrate depends on: «© the surface slope - the steeper the slope the greater the runoff; «= the cype of surface rock — the greater the porosity of the rock, the higher the rate of infiltration. = Permeability is the ability of water to flow through a rock. Permeability depends on the texture and size of the pores in a rock, Sedimentary rocks like sand- stones and limestones are generally more porous than metamorphic rocks. Springs and artesian basins Water from precipitation slowly works its way down, into the earth through pores and fractures in the rocks to an underground atea that is filled with water. This is called the zone of saturation. The top of this zone is called the water table (Fig. 6.3). Fig 6.3 The water table Fig 6.4 Underground water in confined and un- confined aquifers An aquifer is an underground layer of rock or soi that contains water. The water is held in the spaces between the rock or soil particles. This means that the aquifer for- ‘mation must be porous (e.g. it must be sand or gravel or there must be cracks or fractures in more solid rock) and large enough amounts of water must be able to flow downwards into the rock formation. The most productive aquifers are found in sand and gravel deposits. ‘There are two kinds of aquifers: A confined aquifer is one in which the water is sandwiched between two layers of impermeable soil or rock. The name artesian aquifer is normally given to a confined aquifer that is under pressure. This pressure can be used to push water to the surface in well drilled into the artesian aquifer (Fig. 6.4). lm An unconfined aquifer is one in which the water is trapped above an impermeable soil (ike clay) or a rock layer, but above it is permeable rock, which allows ‘water to easily infiltrate from the surface (Fig. 64). Uses of an aquifer ‘We use the water from aquifers for three main purposes: = Drinking Crop irrigation @ Industry ‘Thus, water stored in these underground reservoirs ‘would dry up if they were not constantly replenished by recharge from rain or snowmelt. The amount of water available for recharge depends on factors such as: 1m Vegetion cover Slope of the land 70 Natural systemsINDIAN OCEAN Key [Gy Great artesian Basin | NORTHERN | TERRITORY Paes WESTERN Musorave austraLin MUSE. i Brisbane 1 y $ q__g0 _e00 Kn Fig 6.5 The Great Artesian Basin in Australia Soil composition The absence of impermeable rock layers that could stop the downward movement of water One of the largest artesian basins in the world, the Great Artesian Basin, is found in Australia (Fig. 6.5) and covers an area of 1,711,000 km?. Rainfall and streams flowing along the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales recharge the aquifers of this basin. The ‘water seeps down through the sandstone aquifers and becomes pressurized because the overlying imper- ‘meable layer confines the water to the aquifer. Another area with large underground water supplies is the Floridian Aquifer, Florida, USA (Fig. 6.6). Florida's heavy rainfall and sandy soils, as well as the porous nature of the limestone, make ideal conditions for unrestricted percolation (flow through rocks), More than 7 billion gallons of water are consumed daily in Florida, most of it from the Floridian Aquifer. Springs Springs form when groundwater is forced up and onto the surface through openings in the ground. As rain falls and water seeps underground, it puts pressure on the water already in the aquifer, forcing some to the surface through natural openings. In Florida there are thousands of springs in the north-central part of the state, where the underground aquifer is closest to the surface. Such features can also be found throughout the Caribbean, The islands of St Vincent, St Lucta, Martinique 30°N ‘Tampa © Winter Haven Guif of Mexico { Sarasotr'h ein Coral Springs Naples Miami asw Key Ny [7] Foridian Aquiter | $ 9 100 Km_ Fig 6.6 The Floridian Aquifer and Dominica all have hot springs with high sulphur content because of active volcanoes, and freshwater springs can be found in most of the territories from Jamaica in the north to Guyana in the south. Underground and surface water 71