Water HW #6-11

What causes a geyser?

A geyser has one or more constrictions, such as partly blocked water pipe, that interfere with the upward flow of heated water. Because of the constriction, the water at the bottom of a geyser's tube is under pressure. It becomes superheated to a very high temperature but it doesn't turn into steam because of the pressure.

What is a fumarole?

A fumarole is a fissure in the ground from which steam and hot gases escape. They are found in volcanic regions where fairly recent eruptions have occurred.

What is a paint pot?

A paint pot (mud volcano) is a sputtering spring that occurs in such places where groundwater may come to the surface as boiling hot springs, and the hot water then comes up through thick, sticky clays.

Define valley glacier.

A valley glacier is a long, slow-moving, wedge-shaped stream of ice. It is composed of milky-colored water that runs out from beneath the ice and flows down the valley.

What is the difference between ice caps and continental glaciers? Give examples of each.

Ice caps are small ice sheets. Continental glaciers are extremely large ice sheets. Examples of ice caps→ Iceland, Baffin Island, and Spitsberg. Examples of continental glaciers→ Greenland and Antarctica

Define impermeable.

Impermeable describes a material in which water cannot pass through.

Describe the arrangement of rock layers in an artesian formation.

In an artesian formation, an aquifer dips underground between impermeable beds, forming a "sandwich" of permeable and impermeable rocks. The upper impermeable layer of an artesian formation, usually shale, is called the cap rock.

How deep is the water table in swamps, lakes, deserts, and farmland?

In swamps, lakes, and rivers, the water table is at the surface. In desert regions, the water table may be hundreds of meters below the surface. In woods, fields, and farmlands, the water table is likely to be within a few meters of the surface.

How can groundwater be recharged artificially?

Groundwater can be recharged artificially by pumping water back underground through wells, or it is pumped into ponds to allow the water to seep back into the groundwater naturally.

How can groundwater pollution be reduced or prevented?

Groundwater pollution can be reduced or prevented by restricting the use of pesticides and fertilizers. Another way is by disposing of toxic wastes in such a way that they cannot enter the environment.

What is hard water?

Hard water is water that contains a substantial amount of ions that were dissolved from mineral matter.

Where do hillside springs occur?

Hillside springs occur on hillside where the water table meets the surface. They are more common in mountainous areas.

Describe karst topography and give examples.

Karst topography is regions characterized by sinks, sinkhole ponds, lost rivers, and underground drainage. Examples→ the Mammoth Cave region of Kentucky, regions in Florida, Tennessee, and Indiana.

What is permafrost?

Permafrost is water in the ground that is permanently frozen, which may be hundreds of meters deep.

What is the relationship between permeability and grain size?

Permeability increases with grain size because large-grained materials have large pore spaces.

What is permeability?

Permeability is the rate at which water or other liquids can pass through the pore spaces of a rock.

Explain the origin of petrified wood.

Petrified wood is formed when minerals dissolved in the groundwater replace the decaying wood of buried trees. As each microscopic particle of wood is replaced by a grain of mineral matter, many details of the wood structure are reproduced.

How do pollutants enter groundwater?

Pollutants can enter groundwater when any polluting agent in the soil becomes part of the groundwater. In agricultural areas, this includes nitrates from fertilizers that are applied to the soil, as well as pesticides applied to plants. Toxic chemicals from accidental spills, careless disposal, or rotting underground storage containers can all become apart of groundwater. Even salt, used to melt ice on highways in the winter, seeps down into the groundwater.

What is porosity?

Porosity is the percentage of a material's volume that is pore space.

How does reforestation prevent floods?

Reforestation helps prevent floods because natural vegetation, such as trees, shrubs, and grass help prevent runoff.

Explain how groundwater forms sinkhole ponds.

Sinkhole ponds form when a sinkhole is deep enough to meet the water table.

Explain how groundwater forms sinkholes.

Sinkholes form when parts of a cave roof collapses, forming a hole or a depression in Earth's surface.

List some natural factors that cause the depth of the water table to vary.

Some natural factors that cause the depth of the water table to vary include the amount of rainfall, the season, the slope of the ground surface, the thickness of the soil, the climate, and the time between rains.

What kinds of things can happen to rain that falls on Earth's surface?

Some of the rain that falls on Earth's surface returns to the oceans from rivers and streams as runoff, some seeps into the ground to become groundwater, and some returns to the air by evaporation (from the ground) or by transpiration (from plant leaves).

How do spillways prevent floods?

Spillways help prevent floods because water is guided into these spillways to relieve the flooding of rivers. Spillways are channels that run through back swamps parallel to the main river and then flow elsewhere into another body of water.

Why do spring water and well water stay cool in the summer?

Spring water and well water stay cool in the summer because the water is close to the same temperature as the ground in it, and the ground is protected from weather changes at a depth of up to 20 meters.

Explain how stalacites and stalagmites are formed.

Stalactites form groundwater drips from the roof of a limestone cave, and slowly deposits some of the calcite. This creates deposits shaped like icicles that hang from the roof along the routes of the dripping water. Stalagmites form in the floor beneath the stalactites as blunt, rounded masses.

How does the building of dams prevent floods?

The building of dams helps prevent floods because excess runoff can be stores in reservoirs.

Locate and describe the capillary fringe.

The capillary fringe is the part of the zone of aeration that is just above the water table. Here, water rises from the water table by capillary action.

Identify the energy source of the water cycle.

The energy source for the water cycle is sunlight.

Explain the heat source of boiling hot springs and geysers.

The heat source of boiling hot springs and geysers is the heating and pressurization of groundwater, or fissure springs.

List the parts of the hydrosphere.

The hydrosphere includes groundwater, running water, lakes, and oceans.

How does the snow line change with latitude?

The snow line changes with latitude since it is higher near the equator and lowest near the poles. As climate becomes colder with greater latitude, less height is needed to reach the snow line. Highest near equator, lowest near poles.

Define snow line.

The snow line is the lowest level that permanent snows reach in summer.

Why is the water of very deep artesian wells warmer than ordinary well water?

The water of very deep artesian wells is warmer than ordinary well water because below the 20-meter depth, heat from Earth's interior raises underground temperatures at the rate of about 1 degree C for every 40 meters of depth.

Why is the water table dropping steadily in some areas?

The water table is dropping steadily in some areas because more groundwater is being removed than can can be returned.

Locate and describe the water table.

The water table is the surface of the zone of saturation.

Locate and describe the zone of aeration.

The zone of aeration is the part of the ground where the ground can still hold more water and air can enter this region. It is located between the water table and the surface of the ground. (Has 3 parts).

Locate and describe the zone of saturation.

The zone of saturation is the part of the ground where all pore spaces are filled with water. It is located below the water table.

What three factors cause a high mineral content in a mineral spring?

Three factors that cause a high mineral content in a mineral spring include: 1 → the water passes through very soluble rock. 2 → the water contains large quantities of gases that form acids when mixed with water, such as carbon dioxide or hydrogen sulfide. 3 → the water is very hot. (Minerals dissolve better in hot water than in cold water)

Name three kinds of natural dams and explain how they form.

Three kinds of natural dams: 1 - Ice jam. An ice jam may form when a frozen river breaks up in winter or spring thaws. 2 - Other natural dams may result when a volcano erupts and deposits ash, cinders, or lava across streams. 3 - Dams caused by landslides are also very common.

Explain the origin of travertine.

Travertine are calcite deposits around mineral springs. Here, the hot water pours out of long hillside fissures in limestone bedrock, depositing some of its dissolved calcite as it cools.

Identify two factors that determine the porosity of a material.

Two factors that determine the porosity of a material include: 1 - Particle shape: Rounded particles have a lot of space between them. Flat or angular particles fit together more closely than rounded particles and thus have less total pore space. 2 - Sorting: The percentage of pore space is greatest in well-sorted materials → that is, materials in which the particles are the same size. Where the material is poorly sorted → small particles fill the spaces between the large particles, which greatly reduces the total porosity.

Where are valley glaciers generally found?

Valley glaciers are generally found in all parts of the world where mountains stretch above the snow line. This includes all continents except Australia.

Why doesn't well water freeze in winter months?

Well water doesn't freeze in winter months because it maintains the same temperature as the ground in it.

Define continental glacier.

A continental glacier is a moving mass of ice, and is much larger than a valley glacier. It is usually thousands of meters thick, and moves outward from its center in all directions toward the seacoasts. From it, great chunks of ice break off to float away as icebergs.

What is drift?

A drift is foreign materials that have been moved by water that was left by a glacier.

What is a fissure spring?

A fissure spring (artesian spring) is a source of water that occurs when water rises through cracks that have formed in an artesian formation. Such a spring may form a desert oasis.

What is a flash flood?

A flash flood is a sudden local flood that may be caused by a single cloudburst.

Why is all the water hard in a limestone region?

All the water in a limestone region is hard because limestone is largely calcite.

What is an aquifer?

An aquifer is a permeable material that contains and carries groundwater.

What is an artesian well?

An artesian well is a well in which water comes from the aquifer that lies beneath an impermeable layer.

Explain what an ordinary well is.

An ordinary well contains water from its bottom up to the level of the water table. It is formed in places where the water table does not reach the surface, so the groundwater is reached by digging into the ground to create one of these.

Compare the hardness of water in ordinary wells, artesian wells, and rivers.

Artesian water is usually harder than ordinary groundwater/wells. Ordinary groundwater is almost always harder than river water.

How do artificial levees prevent floods?

Artificial levees help prevent floods by keeping rivers from overflowing.

Where do back swamps form?

Back swamps form in the lowest areas where the floodplain slopes away from the river.

What is capillary water and how is it removed?

Capillary water is a film of water that is made when some of the water that passes through a sediment or rock sticks to the particles. It can be removed only be evapotranspiration.

Explain how groundwater forms caverns.

Caverns form when groundwater flows through limestone (which dissolves easily) between beds that can become so large that they form underground tunnels (many km long). The enlarged fissures may form the tunnels known as caverns.

What is dripstone?

Dripstone is a calcite deposit formed from dripping water in caverns. It can only form when a cave is above the water table, where the water can evaporate. When stalagmites and stalactites meet, the pillars they form are an example of a dripstone.

What is evapotranspiration?

Evapotranspiration is the combined term for evaporation and transpiration.

What factors determine the amount and kind of mineral matter dissolved in groundwater?

Factors that determine the amount and kind of mineral matter dissolved in groundwater include: -The kind of rock through which water passes -The distance the water travels underground -The water temperature

How does firn become a glacier?

Firn becomes a glacier when it starts to become thicker, with crystals that may grow as large as corn kernels. The lower layers of firn then change to solid ice because they are being compressed by the weight of the top layers. This ice then begins to flow downward or outward because of the weight of the overlying firn and snow. This moving mass of ice and snow is now a valley glacier.

What is firn?

Firn is a rough, granular ice material that forms when fallen snow found in huge snow fields becomes compressed and recrystallizes.

Why are flood plains fertile?

Floodplains are fertile because of the minerals and soil nutrients that each flood deposits on the valley floor.

What causes floods in large rivers?

Floods in large rivers are caused by many days of steady rainfall over large parts of their vast drainage basins.

Explain the origin of geyserite.

Geyserite is a white porous substance that is deposited around the openings of geysers. It is silica dissolved from the hot igneous rock through which the geyser waters pass on their way to the surface. Hot groundwater often leaves deposits of minerals in bedrock cracks and fissures.

Why are limestone caves common?

Limestone caves are common because caves are formed by the dissolution of limestone. Rainwater picks up carbon dioxide from the air and as it percolates through the soil, which turns into a weak acid. This slowly dissolves out the limestone along the joints, bedding planes and fractures, some of which become enlarged enough to form caves.

How did Louis Agassiz explain the drift that covered parts of northern Europe?

Louis Agassiz explained the drift that covered parts of northern Europe by stating how bedrock is attacked by glacial erosion and how boulders and soils are carried downslope. Sometimes deposits were found kilometers down the valley from the glacier front or high above the glacier on valley walls. In those cases geologists reasoned that the glacier had been longer and thicker. A number of geologists, including Louis Agassiz, then used this reasoning to explain the drift that covered so much of northern Europe. They concluded that great ice sheets had covered the drift area during a long ice age; GLACIATION

Compare the percentage of salt water and fresh water on Earth.

More than 97% of Earth's water is salt water and less than 3% is fresh water.

What portion of Earth's fresh water is frozen into ice caps and glaciers?

More than two-thirds of the world's freshwater is frozen in the ice caps and glaciers.

Where is most of Earth's usable fresh water located?

Most of Earth's usable freshwater is located in the ground.

Explain how groundwater forms natural bridges.

Natural bridges form when a surface river disappears into a fissure in the bedrock, runs underground a short distance, and then gushes out of a crack on the face of a cliff.

How do natural levees form?

Natural levees form when a large river carrying large amounts of sediment overflows onto its floodplain, making the speed of the river slow and immediately depositing its sediment load. Thick deposits build up alongside the stream banks. These deposits form the elevated ridges known as natural levees.