Area of Focus: Hydrology and the Global Water Cycle

Created: Jan 05, 2007
Updated: Jul 10, 2007

Hydrology and the Global Water Cycle

Hydrology is the study of the water cycle by watershed, catchment, drainage basin, region, or worldwide. The cycle includes precipitation, interception, water returns to the atmosphere by evaporation; water losses from seepage and changes in quality; water use by vegetation; water in the soil, groundwater and resulting water balances. Applied hydrology focuses on humans and runoff, flood hazards, and erosion, water uses, and water quality changes. Recent concerns about climate change have spurred attempts to understand how global warming will shift rainfall, snowfall, permafrost, and evapotranspiration patterns. Major human consumptive uses include agriculture, industrial and energy, and commercial/residential withdrawals from natural systems. Major human impacts on the water cycle include greenhouse gases, dams, aqueducts, deforestation, and urbanization.

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FEATURED ORGANIZATIONS

New Zealand Hydrological Society includes scientists, technicians, consultants, hydrologists, engineers, biologists, climatologists, teachers, students, resource managers, and policy makers...

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Institute of Water Modelling is a Bangladesh-based project providing world–class services in the field of Water Modelling, Computational Hydraulics & Allied Sciences for improved integrated Water Resources Management...

FEATURED RESOURCES

Freshwater Issues: A Reference Handbook This book is part of the Contemporary World Issues series, and is an excellent introduction to freshwater issues.

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WRI Earth Trends is a comprehensive online database, maintained by the World Resources Institute, that focuses on the environmental, social, and economic trends that shape our world.

Did You Know?

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Water exists on the planet in a closed system, constantly shifting between Earth and atmosphere in gaseous, liquid, and solid states. However, the total amount never changes – Earth has now all the water it will ever have. Over 97% of water is stored in oceans, and of the remaining 3% that is freshwater, half is locked in glaciers and snowfields. Worldwide water surveys reveal there is more than enough available freshwater to support human and environmental needs. Humans currently withdraw around 4,000 cubic kilometers of water a year, while global runoff is somewhere between 39,500 and 42,700 cubic kilometers a year! See the WiserEarth resources about The Hydrologic Cycle for more.

Tags/Keywords

water cycle, hydrological cycle, infiltration, percolation, precipitation, evaporation, evapotranspiration, water table, groundwater, atmospheric water, oceanic water, reservoirs, lakes, runoff, soil moisture, river flows, freshwater reserves, glaciers, permafrost, river basins, watersheds, drainage basins, catchments, climate change

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Hydrology and the Global Water Cycle

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