How does infiltration affect the water cycle

Infiltration is the process of water entry into the soil through the earth's surface. The water at the soil surface can originate from rain, snowmelt or anthropogenic activities e. As infiltration divides water resources into surface and subsurface water, it is a key process in the hydrological cycle.

The infiltration depends on the availability of water at the soil surface and on soil characteristics which influence the water retention capacity and hydraulic conductivity.

Water that is infiltrated and stored in the soil can also become the water that later is evapotranspired or becomes subsurface runoff. The prime moving force of groundwater is gravity. Water that is in the zone of aeration where air exists is called vadose water.

Water that is in the zone of saturation is called groundwater. For all practical purposes, all groundwater originates as surface water. Once underground, the water is moved by gravity. The boundary that separates the vadose and the saturation zones is called the water table. Usually the direction of water movement is changed from downward and a horizontal component to the movement is added that is based on the geologic boundary conditions.

Geologic formations in the earth's crust serve as natural subterranean reservoirs for storing water. Others can also serve as conduits for the movement of water.

Essentially, all groundwater is in motion. Some of it, however, moves extremely slowly. A geologic formation which transmits water from one location to another in sufficient quantity for economic development is called an aquifer. The movement of water is possible because of the voids or pores in the geologic formations. Some formations conduct water back to the ground surface. A spring is a place where the water table reaches the ground surface.

Stream channels can be in contact with an unconfined aquifer that approach the ground surface. Water may move from the ground into the stream, or visa versa, depending on the relative water level. Groundwater discharges into a stream forms the base flow of the stream during dry periods, especially during droughts. An influent stream supplies water to an aquifer while and effluent stream receives water from the aquifer. Water inside of plants is transferred from the plant to the atmosphere as water vapor through numerous individual leave openings.

Plants transpire to move nutrients to the upper portion of the plants and to cool the leaves exposed to the sun. Leaves undergoing rapid transpiration can be significantly cooler than the surrounding air. Transpiration is greatly affected by the species of plants that are in the soil and it is strongly affected by the amount of light to which the plants are exposed.

Water can be transpired freely by plants until a water deficit develops in the plant and it water-releasing cells stomata begin to close. Transpiration then continues at a must slower rate. Only a small portion of the water that plants absorb are retained in the plants. Vegetation generally retards evaporation from the soil.

Vegetation that is shading the soil, reduces the wind velocity. Also, releasing water vapor to the atmosphere reduces the amount of direct evaporation from the soil or from snow or ice cover. The absorption of water into plant roots, along with interception that occurs on plant surfaces offsets the general effects that vegetation has in retarding evaporation from the soil.

The forest vegetation tends to have more moisture than the soil beneath the trees. It generally consists of the flow that is unaffected by artificial diversions, storages or other works that society might have on or in a stream channel.

The flow is made up partly of precipitation that falls directly on the stream , surface runoff that flows over the land surface and through channels, subsurface runoff that infiltrates the surface soils and moves laterally towards the stream, and groundwater runoff from deep percolation through the soil horizons. Part of the subsurface flow enters the stream quickly, while the remaining portion may take a longer period before joining the water in the stream.

When each of the component flows enter the stream, they form the total runoff. The total runoff in the stream channels is called streamflow and it is generally regarded as direct runoff or base flow.

Water is stored in the atmosphere; water is stored on the surface of the earth, and water stored in the ground. Water stored in the atmosphere can be moved relatively quickly from one part of the planet to another part of the planet. The type of storage that occurs on the land surface and under the ground largely depend on the geologic features related to the types of soil and the types of rocks present at the storage locations.

Storage occurs as surface storage in oceans, lakes, reservoirs, and glaciers; underground storage occurs in the soil, in aquifers, and in the crevices of rock formations.

The movement of water through the eight other major physical processes of the water cycle can be erratic. On average, water the atmosphere is renewed every 16 days. Soil moisture is replaced about every year. Globally, waters in wetlands are replaced about every 5 years while the residence time of lake water is about 17 years.

In areas of low development by society, groundwater renewal can exceed 1, years. The uneven distribution and movement of water over time, and the spatial distribution of water in both geographic and geologic areas, can cause extreme phenomena such as floods and droughts to occur.

A little over 10 percent or 3. To learn about streamflow and its role in the water cycle, continue reading. Perhaps you've never seen snow. Or, perhaps you built a snowman this very afternoon and perhaps you saw your snowman begin to melt.

Regardless of your experience with snow and associated snowmelt, runoff from snowmelt is a major component of the global movement of water, possibly even if you live where it never snows. For the water cycle to work, water has to get from the Earth's surface back up into the skies so it can rain back down and ruin your parade or water your crops or yard.

It is the invisible process of evaporation that changes liquid and frozen water into water-vapor gas, which then floats up into the skies to become clouds.

The atmosphere is the superhighway in the sky that moves water everywhere over the Earth. Water at the Earth's surface evaporates into water vapor which rises up into the sky to become part of a cloud which will float off with the winds, eventually releasing water back to Earth as precipitation. The air is full of water, as water vapor, even if you can't see it. Condensation is the process of water vapor turning back into liquid water, with the best example being those big, fluffy clouds floating over your head.

And when the water droplets in clouds combine, they become heavy enough to form raindrops to rain down onto your head. Note: This section of the Water Science School discusses the Earth's "natural" water cycle without human Runoff is nothing more than water "running off" the land surface. Just as the water you wash your car with runs off down the driveway as you work, the rain that Mother Nature covers the landscape with runs off downhill, too due to gravity. Runoff is an important component of the natural water cycle.

The pumpage of fresh ground water in the United States in was estimated to be approximately 77 billion gallons per day Solley and others, , which is about 8 percent of the estimated 1 trillion gallons per day of natural recharge to the Nation's ground-water systems Nace, From an overall national perspective, the ground-water Skip to main content.

Search Search. Water Science School. Infiltration and the Water Cycle. The Components of the Water Cycle Investigate each part of the water cycle adults and advanced students Learn more. Downloadable Water Cycle Products coming soon! Printable versions of our water-cycle diagrams and products. Canopy drip is common in coniferous vegetation. Stemflow system directs the precipitation down to the plant branches and stem.

The quantity of stemflow is controlled by branch and stem architecture and leaf shape. In this process, the precipitation passes through the canopy of the plant. It is controlled by elements, such as the type of precipitation , duration of precipitation, intensity of precipitation and stem density and plant leaf. All the precipitation drop to the ground and part of water gets infiltrated.

As we mentioned before, infiltration involves the movement of precipitation into the soil. When the soil surface is saturated, runoff occurs. It is worth noting that run-off is usually more intense in semi-arid areas. The soil in these areas baked hard, making it difficult for water to seep into the ground. The soil is a pool that stores water for the growth of a plant.

The water in it is replenished by infiltration. The rate of infiltration can be limited by poor soil management. A soil that is in poor condition does not allow water to enter the soil, and it flows downslope as runoff.

A prolonged runoff can lead to poor water storage in the soil for plants to grow. It can also lead to soil erosion , which carries away sediments, organic matter and nutrients from the soil to the streams, lakes, and rivers.

Runoff from neighboring slopes can also soak soils in lowlands or create ponded areas, thereby killing upland plants. Evaporation in ponded areas can lower the quantity of water for vegetables.