Impact of Hydrological Cycle on Earths Surface Processes

Impact of Hydrological Cycle on Earths Surface ProcessesThe impact of a changing hydrological cycle onEarths show up processesIntroductionThe hydrological cycle is the cycle of processes by which weewee circulates between the earths oceans, atmosphere, and land, involving precipitation as rain and snow, drainage in streams and rivers, and put across to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration.(Website 1) Throughout this essay I will emphasise the importance of this cycle unneurotic with the factors that affect the water quality correspond with the climate change and the conduct impact upon three Earth geological surfaces.The importance of the Hydrological CycleFigure 1 the hydrological cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, surface runoff, infiltration and transpiration and the transitions of water between the solid, liquid and gas phases) (website 2)This process is extremely strategic for the biosphere, as it sustains all the life on Earth. Although water i s continuously recycled, recent studies confirm that direct or indirect human activities (fossil fuels burning, factory pollution, etc.) have a huge impact upon the environment and continuous pollution may cause dear changes on the hydrological cycle, modify both water quality and the processes that take place on Earths surface.Factors that influence the water qualityRapid growth of nation and heavy industrialisation coupled with a weak effort to find a more suitable way of waste disposal argon the important factors that induce water pollution.( Hennigan, 1969)Figure 2 various sources of water pollution (website 3)Chemical pollutionThe chemical industry is bingle of the most important threats to water contamination. For example the most dangerous wastes that come from the fertilizer manufacturing plants ar nitrogen and phosphorous and their varying chemical forms.Nitrates buttocks increase eutrophication, leading to the promotion of alga and macrophytes growth affecting thus the water quality. As for humans, the health hazards related to nitrates present in water are considered to be infant methemoglobinemia and cancer appearance.Phosphates can affect the growth rate of aquatic plants that may fix atmospheric nitrogen. Under these circumstances, phosphate becomes the growth-limiting agent, and programmes to control eutrophication have generally sought to reduce obtainable phosphate limits, to prevent excessive algal and macrophyte growth, with subsequent increase in nutrient retention. ( Bahadori et al,2013)Biological pollutionBacterial pollution of water is the most serious threat, as diseases can be transmitted very easily by the underground water system. It only can be removed by filtration through a thick layer of porous and permeable sediments, but this happens only in certain areas. If the biological hazard will occur in one spot, it will be transmitted several kilometres from the initial place through water circulation, affecting a large area. Thats why it is very important to have a sewerage system carrying the human wastes away from the source, or to have a piped water supply. Journal (American piss Works Association, 1957)Changes of the hydrological cycle affecting Earths surfacesThe chemical or biological pollution of water can lead to changes in climate and temperature that can affect the Earths surface processes.Chemical WeatheringWeathering is the chemical or physical process that changes the rock structures located on Earth surface. In order to occur, the rocks must be straightway exposed to water and air. The weathering disintegration takes place at the sub-microscopic level, and therefore exposed rocks that contain complex pore systems, fracture surfaces and grain boundaries provide the perfect surface where the chemical weathering occurs. However, as the concentration of chemicals in the atmosphere increases, the process is accelerated. ( Siegesmund et al, 2002)Chemical weathering rate depends on three briny factors temperature, amount of surface area and availableness of water or natural acid. So, the rocks in the tropical environments experience the most severe weathering.( Siegesmund et al, 2002)Figure 3 Cube dimensions versus surface area (website 4)Because water is a dipolar molecule, it is categorized as a good solvent being able to dissolve many chemical compounds.(Mahhafy) In addition to this effect, water assist decomposition through acid action, hydrolysis and oxidation. A good example is the weathering of silicate minerals by carbonic acid that forms by the interaction of water with carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The reaction is habituated below2KAlSi3O8+ H2O + 2H2CO3= Al2Si2O5(OH)4+ 2K+++4SiO2(aq)+ 2HCO3Other minerals that dissolve easily in water are halite and calcite. In particular, structures made out of limestone and marble contain calcite and are prone to chemical weathering by dissolution.(for example marble tombstones )ErosionErosion refers to the transportat ion of rock particles and minerals from the initial location to another. It is different from weathering as it is a combat-ready element. The main force that induces erosion is gravity and the main agents are wind, rain, running water, and glaciers. As the temperature increases, the amount of rain is also increased so the transportation of sediments is faster. The resolving power is the rapid erosion of the river banks, producing a wider channel.A good example of this process can found in the testimonies of Kansas residents. They stated that Cimarron River, which was a small weave stream in 1914, began to increase after the flood from the same year. The channel at Point of Rocks was 66feet in 1874, but in 1916, a bridge of 644 feet was necessary to be built in order to cross the channel at that point. By 1939, the width was measured as being 1400 feet, so many houses were engulfed by the channel in 1944. (McLaughlin, 1947)Figure 4 Aerial view of Cimarron River in the vicinity of Point of Rocks(lower left corner at N) and Elkhart bridge (upper sort out center) (McLaughlin, 1947)DepositionThe final step in the weathering-erosional system is deposition. The rock particles that are picked up and transported by an eroding agent will be deposited in a final location and the erosion agents will become deposition agents. The deposited sediments will then be arranged from largest to smallest, process known as horizontal sorting. The main factor that influence the sorting of the rocks is water. However if the flow is high, small particles like clay, sand and silt will be found in the depositional basin together with a large quantity of bigger sediment, including boulders, cobbles and pebbles.( The International Journal of Soil and water supply Conservation, 1997)Diameter(mm)Particle type256 mm and upBoulders64-256 mmCobbles2-64 mmPebbles0.0625-2 mmSand0.002-0.0625 mmSilt0.002mm and smallerClayTable 1 The diameter of various sediments that can be found in depositio nal basins(Grotzinger et al, 2010)ConclusionThe chemical and biological pollution of water is in a direct relation with the changes that occur in the processes on Earths surface. The release of toxic gases in the atmosphere contributes to the increase in temperature that directly affects the hydrological cycle. As the temperature is increased, the amount of water that is precipitated is also increased and surface processes such as weathering, erosion and deposition are accelerated causing rock decomposition, alteration of river banks or the high abundance of large sediments in the depositional basins.BibliographyBooks and JournalsWater Pollution Robert D. Hennigan BioScience Vol. 19, No. 11 (Nov., 1969) (pp. 976-978)Alireza Bahadori Malcolm Clark and report Boyd,2013. SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology Essentials of Water Systems Design in the Oil, Gas, and Chemical Processing Industries,Siegesmund, S., Weiss, T. Vollbrecht, A. (eds) 2002. Natural Stone, Weathering Phenomena, Conservation Strategies and Case Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 205The American Water Works Association, (April 1957) Pollution of Ground Water World Health Organization Report Journal Vol. 49, No. 4 (pp. 392-396)The International Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 1997.Rain erosion hazard evaluation by soil surface micro-topographic features A case of the soil loss plots at ChiangDao experiment station, northern Thailand. (pp. 45-58.)Thad G. McLaughlin, (Mar., 1947). The Accelerated occupation Erosion in the Cimarron Valley in Southwestern Kansas. Journal of Geology Vol. 55, No. 2 (pp. 76-93)Grotzinger, J, Jordan, T H, Press, F and Siever, R (2010). Understanding Earth (6th Edition) ppWebpageshttp//www.oxforddictionaries.com/ rendering/english/water-cyclehttp//ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.htmlhttp//visual.merriam-webster.com/images/earth/environment/water-pollution.jpghttp//www.engr.uconn.edu/lanbo/G229Lect06121Weathering.pdf