HYDROLOGY

HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
RIVER FORMATION
UNDERGROUND WATER

Prepared by: Tan Kai Yi

2 PISMP SN 1
 Hydrology is a
study of water

What Is Hydrology ?
 Hydrology is the science that encompasses the
occurrence, distribution, movement and properties of
the waters of the earth and their relationship with the
environment within each phase of the hydrologic
cycle. 
 HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
• The hydrologic cycle, or water cycle, is a continuous process by
which water is purified by evaporation and transported from the
earth's surface (including the oceans) to the atmosphere and back
to the land and oceans.

• It includes all of the physical, chemical and biological processes

involving water as it travels its various paths in the atmosphere,
over and beneath the earth's surface or through growing plants.
 The colder air causes
The heat of the sun The sun evaporates This invisible vapor rises Volcanoes can produce
water vapor to
provides energy to make water from the oceans into the atmosphere, steam, which forms
condense into water
the water cycle work. into water vapor. where the air is colder. clouds.
droplets and clouds.

Water drops form in Snow can melt, becoming Some ice evaporates
In the atmosphere, air In cold climates,
clouds, which then fall to runoff, which flows into directly into the air,
currents move clouds all precipitation builds up as
Earth as precipitation rivers, the oceans, and skipping the melting
around the Earth. snow, ice, and glaciers.
(rain and snow). into the ground. phase (sublimation).

Rainfall on land flows Some rain soaks into the

Water from lakes and Water moves Groundwater close to the
downhill as runoff, ground, as infiltration,
providing water to lakes, and, if deep enough, rivers can seep into the underground because of land surface is taken up
ground. gravity and pressure. by plants.
rivers, and the oceans. becomes groundwater.

Plants take up
Some groundwater seeps Some groundwater goes
groundwater and Groundwater flows into
into rivers and lakes, and very deep into the
evapotranspire, or the oceans, keeping the
can flow to the surface ground and stays there
evaporate, it from their water cycle going.
as springs. for a long time.
leaves.
 RIVER FORMATION

• Most rivers begin life as a tiny stream running down a mountain slope. They are fed
by melting snow and ice, or by rainwater off the land. The water follows cracks and
folds in the land as it flows downhill. Small streams meet and join together, growing
larger and larger until the flow can be called a river. On its way down, the water
shapes the landscape by wearing away rock and craving out a network of valleys.
Reaching lower ground, the river widens and takes a winding route. Eventually, most
rivers empty out into the sea.
 Melting snow

Valley

Lakes
Tributaries

River
 3 STAGES OF A RIVER
Youthful Mature Old age
stage stage stage
V-shaped Floodplain
Meanders
Valley s

Interlockin Ox-box
g Spurs lakes

Waterfalls Deltas

Potholes Levees.
 ACTIVITIES OF A RIVER
Transport Depositio
Erosion
ation n
Hydraulic Action Rolling Loss of energy=has
• The force of the • Larger rocks and not got the energy
water. boulders to carry the load so
it has to drop it

Abrasion Bouncing When the rivers

• The load hitting the • Smaller rocks meets resistance
bed and the banks when trying to
enter the sea or
lake

Attrition Suspension
• Load hitting against • Light particles are
load and eroding carried in the water

Solution Solution
• Some rocks such as • Some rocks are
limestone can dissolved in water.
dissolve due to acid
in the water.
 FURTHER INFORMATION

• HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/EDNXHLCWZZ0?LIST=PLTBMXVRJTODKA0_4WGTNAU8KGYUN
Y6K0Z
What Is underground water ?
Groundwater is the water found
underground in the cracks and spaces
in soil, sand and rock. It is stored in and
moves slowly through geologic
formations of soil, sand and rocks called
aquifers.
 UNDERGROUND WATER

The area where water fills the aquifer is called the saturated zone (or saturation zone). The
top of this zone is called the water table. The water table may be located only a foot below
the ground’s surface or it can sit hundreds of feet down.
 AQUIFERS
• Aquifers are typically made up of gravel, sand, sandstone, or fractured
rock, like limestone. Water can move through these materials because
they have large connected spaces that make them permeable. The
speed at which groundwater flows depends on the size of the spaces in
the soil or rock and how well the spaces are connected.
• Groundwater can be found almost everywhere. The water table may be
deep or shallow; and may rise or fall depending on many factors. Heavy
rains or melting snow may cause the water table to rise, or heavy
pumping of groundwater supplies may cause the water table to fall.
• Groundwater supplies are replenished, or recharged, by rain and snow melt
that seeps down into the cracks and crevices beneath the land's surface. In
some areas of the world, people face serious water shortages because
groundwater is used faster than it is naturally replenished. In other areas
groundwater is polluted by human activities.
• Water in aquifers is brought to the surface naturally through a spring or can
be discharged into lakes and streams. Groundwater can also be extracted
through a well drilled into the aquifer. A well is a pipe in the ground that fills
with groundwater. This water can be brought to the surface by a pump.
Shallow wells may go dry if the water table falls below the bottom of the well.
Some wells, called artesian wells, do not need a pump because of natural
pressures that force the water up and out of the well.
• In areas where material above the aquifer is permeable, pollutants can
readily sink into groundwater supplies. Groundwater can be polluted by
landfills, septic tanks, leaky underground gas tanks, and from overuse of
fertilizers and pesticides. If groundwater becomes polluted, it will no longer
be safe to drink.
Thank you !!!!