Sources of Water

REPORT
ON
SOURCES OF SURFACE WATER
SUBMITTED BY:
DEEPTI CHAUHAN
I SEM – I YEAR
M.LANDSCAPE
GANGA INSTITUTE OF ARCH AND TOWN PLANNING

KABLANA, H.R., INDIA.
WHAT IS SURFACE WATER
Surface water is any natural water that has not penetrated under the surface of the ground underneath. It is unlike
ground-water, which is underground or has seeped under the surface of the earth. This includes oceans, seas,
lakes,glacier,pond , rivers,streams or wetlands. Fresh surface water is maintained by rainfall or other precipitation, and
it's lost through seepage through the ground, evaporation, or use by plants and animals. Man-made bodies of water
are not considered surface water since they generally rest on artificial surfaces, not the ground itself.
DIFFERENT SOURCES OF SURFACE WATER
OCEANS :
The ocean holds 97% of the total water on the planet; 78% of global precipitation occurs over the ocean, and it is the
source of 86% of global evaporation. Besides affecting the amount of atmospheric water vapor and hence rainfall,
evaporation from the sea surface is important in the movement of heat in the climate system. Water evaporates from
the surface of the ocean, mostly in warm, cloud-free subtropical seas. This cools the surface of the ocean, and the
large amount of heat absorbed the ocean partially buffers the greenhouse effect from increasing carbon dioxide and
other gases. Water vapor carried by the atmosphere condenses as clouds and falls as rain, mostly in the ITCZ, far
from where it evaporated, Condensing water vapor releases latent heat and this drives much of the the atmospheric
circulation in the tropics. This latent heat release is an important part of the Earth’s heat balance, and it couples the
planet’s energy and water cycles.
The major physical components of the global water cycle

include the evaporation from the ocean and land
surfaces, the transport of water vapor by the atmosphere,
precipitation onto the ocean and land surfaces, the net
atmospheric transport of water from land areas to ocean,
and the return flow of fresh water from the land back into
the ocean. The additional components of oceanic water
transport are few, including the mixing of fresh water
through the oceanic boundary layer, transport by ocean
currents, and sea ice processes. On land the situation is
considerably more complex, and includes the deposition
of rain and snow on land; water flow in runoff; infiltration
of water into the soil and groundwater; storage of water in
soil, lakes and streams, and groundwater; polar and
glacial ice; and use of water in vegetation and human activities. Illustration of the water cycle showing the ocean, land,
mountains, and rivers returning to the ocean. Processes labeled include: precipitation, condensation, evaporation,
evaportranspiration (from tree into atmosphere), radiative exchange, surface runoff, ground water and stream flow,
infiltration, percolation and soil moisture.
RIVERS AND STREAMS:
A river forms from water moving from a higher altitude to a lower altitude, all due to gravity. When rain falls on the
land, it either seeps into the ground or becomes runoff, which flows downhill into rivers and lakes, on its journey
towards the seas. In most landscapes the land is not perfectly flat—it slopes downhill in some direction. Flowing water
finds its way downhill initially as small creeks. As small creeks flow downhill they merge to form larger streams and
rivers. Rivers eventually end up flowing into the oceans. If water flows to a place that is surrounded by higher land on
all sides, a lake will form. If people have built a dam to hinder a river's flow, the lake that forms is a reservoir.
Most of the water you see flowing in rivers comes from precipitation runoff from the land surface alongside the river.
Of course, not all runoff ends up in rivers. Some of it evaporates on the journey downslope, can be diverted and used
by people for their uses, and can even be lapped up by thirsty animals. Rivers flow through valleys in the landscape
with ridges of higher land separating the valleys. The area of land between ridges that collects precipitation is
a watershed or drainage basin. Most, but not all, precipitation that falls in a watershed runs off directly into rivers - part
of it soaks into the ground to recharge groundwater aquifers, some of which can then seep back into riverbeds.
Water in a river comes from the sky—and that is certainly true,
as streamflow is one part of the water cycle. It is also true that most of the
water flowing in rivers comes from precipitation runoff from the
surrounding landscape (watershed).
But, the water in a river doesn't all come from surface runoff. Rain falling
on the land also seeps into the Earth to form groundwater. At a certain depth below the land surface, called the water
table, the ground becomes saturated with water. If a river bank happens to cut into this saturated layer, as most rivers
do, then water will seep out of the ground into the river. Groundwater seepage can sometimes be seen when a road is
built through water-bearing layers, and even on a driveway.
Look at the diagram above. The ground below the water table, the aquifer (the purple area), is saturated, whereas the
ground above (the pink area) is not. The top layer (unsaturated soil/rock material) is usually wet, but not totally
saturated. Saturated, water-bearing materials often exist in horizontal layers beneath the land surface. Since rivers, in
time, may cut vertically into the ground as they flow (as the river cuts into the purple section in the diagram), the water-
bearing layers of rock can become exposed on the river banks. Thus, some of the water in rivers is attributed to flow
coming out of the banks. This is why even during droughts there is usually some water in streams.
LAKE:
A lake really is just another component of Earth's surface water. A lake is where surface-water runoff (and maybe
some groundwater seepage) have accumulated in a low spot, relative to the surrounding countryside. It's not that the
water that forms lakes get trapped, but that the water entering a lake comes in faster than it can escape, either via
outflow in a river, seepage into the ground, or by evaporation. And if humans live nearby, then water levels can be
affected by water withdrawals for human needs.
A reservoir is the same thing as a lake in many peoples' minds. But, in fact, a reservoir is a manmade lake that is
created when a dam is built on a river. River water backs up behind the
dam creating a reservoir
The Earth has a tremendous variety of freshwater lakes, from fishing ponds
to Lake Baikal in Siberia. Lake Baikal is the world's oldest, largest, and
deepest freshwater lake. Nearly a mile deep and holding over 23,000 cubic
kilometers water, it would require the total volume of all the Great Lakes to
fill it up if it were ever drained (NASA).
Most lakes contain fresh water, but some, especially those where water
cannot escape via a river, can be classified as saline lakes. In fact, some
lakes, such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah, are saltier than the oceans.
Most lakes support a lot of aquatic life, but not all.
GLACIER
Glaciers are made up of fallen snow that, over many years, compresses into large, thickened ice masses. Glaciers
form when snow remains in one location long enough to transform into ice. What makes glaciers unique is their ability
to move. Due to sheer mass, glaciers flow like very slow rivers.
Some glaciers are as small as football fields, while others grow to
be dozens or even hundreds of kilometers long.
Glaciers begin to form when snow remains in the same area

year-round, where enough snow accumulates to transform
into ice. Each year, new layers of snow bury and compress the
previous layers. This compression forces the snow to re-
crystallize, forming grains similar in size and shape to grains of
sugar. Gradually the grains grow larger and the air pockets
between the grains get smaller, causing the snow to slowly
compact and increase in density. After about two winters, the
snow turns into firn—an intermediate state between snow and
glacier ice. At this point, it is about two-thirds as dense as water.
Over time, larger ice crystals become so compressed that any air
pockets between them are very tiny. In very old glacier ice,
crystals can reach several inches in length. For most glaciers, this process takes more than a hundred years.
WETLANDS:
A wetland is a place where the land is covered by water, either salt, fresh or somewhere in between. Marshes and
ponds, the edge of a lake or ocean, the delta at the mouth of a river, low-lying areas that frequently flood—all of these
are wetlands.
Wetlands occur where water meets land. They include mangroves, peatlands and marshes, rivers and lakes, deltas,
floodplains and flooded forests, rice-fields, and even coral reefs. Wetlands exist in every country and in every climatic
zone, from the polar regions to the tropics, and from high altitudes to dry regions.
Wetland conditions occur where topographic and hydrogeologic conditions are favorable and a sufficient, long-term
source of water exists. Favorable topographic conditions refer generally to the presence of land-surface depressions
in the drainage basin. These depressions may be located in upland areas, along hillsides where there may be a
change in slope or geology, in
floodplains of streams or rivers, or
along the margins of lakes. Geologic
conditions which may be favorable for
wetland development include areas
that have fine textured surficial soils
with low hydraulic conductivity and
sufficient thickness to store water.
Also, the presence of impermeable
bedrock near the land surface may
favor the development of wetland
hydrology. The development of
wetland conditions requires a
persistent, longterm source of water.
The source of water may be

precipitation (P) which falls directly on
the wetland, surface water runoff
during rainfall or snowmelt events
within the catchment area surrounding
the wetland (surface water inflow, or
SWI), periodic flooding caused by
elevated water levels in nearby surface water bodies (also SWI), groundwater inflow to the wetland (GWI), or a
combination of any, or all, of these sources. Water may be lost from a wetland by evaporation from standing water or
Wetland Hydrology saturated soils (E), transpiration from plants (T), or surface water or groundwater outflow (SWD or
GWD). The development of wetland conditions depends on a long-term balance between water inflow to the wetland
and outflow from the wetland. During dry climatic periods, the rate of water inflow to the wetland (precipitation,
groundwater inflow, and surface or near-surface inflow) may greatly diminish. In this instance, the amount of water lost
through evapotranspiration may exceed the rate of all water inflow to the wetland. Water losses through
evapotranspiration can result in extreme declines in the water table and a de-saturation of the wetland.

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REPORT

SOURCES OF SURFACE WATER

GANGA INSTITUTE OF ARCH AND TOWN PLANNING

DIFFERENT SOURCES OF SURFACE WATER

The major physical components of the global water cycle

RIVERS AND STREAMS:

Glaciers begin to form when snow remains in the same area

The source of water may be

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