Water Cycle

Each year, at least 7.8 trillion gallons of water are drawn up from the Ogalla Aquifer to irrigate the crops planted on the High Plains. These cros are the main food sourrce for our entire country. Tragically, irrigation is depleting the aquifer faster than it can replenish itself, and that is the problem. In fact, only the tiniest fraction of the water is ever replaced in the Ogallala Aquifer. If the water were ever fully depleted, the aquifer would need 6,000 years to refill naturally (Zwingle 83). The only way the Ogalla can be replenished is by water seeping down through the layers of soil until it reaches the aquifer. This water comes from the small amount of precipitation in the region, as well as from streams, reservoirs, canals, and irrigation (McGuire and Sharpe).

Severe water scarcity could be imminent in the not so distant future. Flooding crop furrows has been an inexpensive irrigation method for over six thousand years. Though traditional, it is very wasteful. An excessive amount of the water evaporates into he air, or soaks into the ground while the plants receive very little. The excess water drains into rivers and underground aquifers. The water running from the furrows is polluted with fertilizers. The constant use of flooding creates erosion, waterlogging and salinization of the soil. 40 percent of the world’s food grows on irrigated soil.

The water cycle of the Earth is in constant balance, evaporating water from the oceans and other bodies of water, and depositing it on land through snowfall and rainfall, before ultimately returning it to the oceans via vast river networks. An amazing fact of the water cycle is how much water for the cycle is stored in the ocean phase, 96.5%, leaving a small amount available for deposition and runoff (United States Geological Survey, 2014).

However, many of the worlds irrigation systems are found in arid, semi arid environments, which climate change will alter significantly in the future (J. D, Connor, Schwabe, K. King, D. Knapp, K. 2011). Nearly one third of the worlds Nearly one-third of the irrigated land worldwide are affected by salinization (Schwabe et al., 2011e).

(Hasan and Özay 2002, 73-74). As Albiac (2008) reports, development of pipe network distribution and drip irrigation methods in other countries led the farmers to have remarkable irrigation efficiency in drought (143). Such technologies have already been used in China, but they are not widely spread in China’s agriculture. One investigation in China on rice paddy irrigation systems development was performed and it revealed that using the fry-foot paddy irrigation (when no water flooded the field) instead of flooding irrigation (when the rice field is completely flooded) significantly (40-60%) reduces water consumption (Xiaoping, Qiangsheng and Bin 2004, 351). Furthermore, drip irrigation method was applied in arid Northern China and it raised the water usage efficiency (Du et al 2007). However, introduction of new irrigation technologies faced some difficulties in China. As Hodstedt (2010) noticed in his article, the water saved by these technologies such as drip irrigation systems was simply spent on more food production and, therefore, did not reduce the water shortage. Also, as he reported, this caused two other environmental problems. Firstly, the water, which was the supply for underground water and aquifers as it was lost by deep percolation and leakage, became unavailable after the water-saving technologies were introduced and this strengthened the aquifers depleting along with its overpumping. Secondly, after

The Denver Basin has a semi arid atmosphere in which potential yearly evaporation is around five times greater than yearly precipitation. Most of the precipitation that falls on the land surface either runs off in streams, is evaporated from the surface of the soil, or is consumed by vegetation. Although this may be the case, a little part of the precipitation more often than not diffuses downwards and recharges the groundwater system. In the Denver Basin, a lot of the recharge happens in the highland areas between stream channels in the higher southern part of the basin. Precipitation is more prominent here, and the porous soils derived from the Dawson Arkose allow deep permeation. Recharge here can happen on a local and a regional scale. Locally, water moves

The Denver Basin has a semi arid atmosphere in which potential yearly evaporation is around five times greater than yearly precipitation. Most of the precipitation that falls on the land surface either runs off in streams, is evaporated from the surface of the soil, or is consumed by vegetation. Although this may be the case, a little part of the precipitation more often than not diffuses downwards and recharges the groundwater system. In the Denver Basin, a lot of the recharge happens in the highland areas between stream channels in the higher southern part of the basin. Precipitation is more prominent here, and the porous soils derived from the Dawson Arkose allow deep permeation. Recharge here can happen on a local and a regional scale. Locally, water moves

The beginning of the water cycle is evaporation. My experience with evaporation is really fun! You get to take a fun ride high up in the sky and suddenly

Evaporation is a crucial step to help the water cycle since without evaporation there would be no rain and no rain means no plants and no plants means no oxygen, meaning no us. Another thing apart from heat that helps evaporation is air pressure. If the pressure is high it means that water won't evaporate as fast, since the pressure pushes the molecules down making it hard for them to escape.

Among all sectors in Egypt, agriculture consumes the largest budget of available water supplies, with its share exceeding 80% of the total gross demand for water. In case the actual consumption of water is considered (water supply minus the water that is returned to the system), the share of agricultural demands is even higher at more than 95%. The area of cultivated land raised from 5.8 Million fed. in 1980 to about 8.0 Million fed. in 1997. Therefore, the consumptive use of water in agriculture has been steadily increased from an estimated 29.4 BCM/yr. to 38.5 BCM/yr. during the same period (1980-1997). This increase has been made possible by an increase in agricultural drainage water reuse, the abstraction of groundwater and a decrease in the fresh water outflow to the sea. In 1997, the total amount of diverted water for irrigation was 57.8 BCM/yr, (MWRI 2005). In 2010, the total agricultural withdrawal was accounted at 67.0 BCM (about 86% of available water supply), (AusAID 2011). Any water becoming additionally available will primarily be used to irrigate new development areas and not to increase the supply to existing lands. Based on water inflow of 55.5 BCM/year, it is expected that by the year 2017 agricultural lands will cover about 11 million fed., and 63.6 BCM of water will be allocated for agriculture. The total agricultural water consumption in 2017 is estimated at 38.7

The water cycle is a process, by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor. It starts from all the water that is on our planet earth. The sun provides energy from its heat, this energy breaks down the hydrogen bonds that hold water

In this picture you can see the water cycle creates rain. This happens because the water turns to water vapor and then water vapor turns to clouds. Clouds lose their water when it rains or snows. This happens because the water vapor condenses.

In class, the other day, we went through the water cycle as many forms such as animals, clouds, and mountains. The water cycle has precipitation(When it rains), transpiration(When plants give off water vapor), and condensation(When liquid water becomes gas). The Water Cycle was different from the activity that involved animals and objects. Our activity involved the objects that the water cycle happen and was not direct what it came from. Also they are the same because they are both related towards the Water Cycle. Some evidence of the water molecule were that it was drunk by an animal and then urinated by that animal. Other evidence is that transpiration of the plants then condensing into water vapor to go to the clouds. Also precipitation

HYDROLOGIC CYCLE The hydrologic cycle is a constant movement of water above, on, and below the earth's surface. It is a cycle that replenishes ground water supplies. It begins as water vaporizes into the atmosphere from vegetation, soil, lakes, rivers, snowfields and oceans-a process called evapotranspiration. As the water vapor rises it condenses to form clouds that return water to the land through precipitation: rain, snow, or hail. Precipitation falls on the earth and either percolates into the soil or flows across the ground. Usually it does both. When precipitation percolates into the soil it is called infiltration when it flows across the ground it is called surface run off. The amount of precipitation that infiltrates, versus the

Water is most certainly an important resource to us all – plants, animals and humans alike. Due to this fact, water scarcity can be a contributing factor to desertification as well. “[W]ater scarcity limits the production of crops, forage, wood, and other ecosystem provisioning services” (GreenFacts). This highlights why the UNCCD is most concerned about desertification in the generally dryer areas with scarce water supplies.