Природные ресурсы мира = World Natural Resource. Учебно-методическое пособие

oceans had formed by at least 3.8 billion years ago. Very little water vapour escapes from the atmosphere to space because, at about 15 km height, the low temperature causes the vapour to condense and fall to lower levels. Cycling between reservoirs in the hydrosphere is known as the hydrological cycle (shown schematically in Fig.3). Although the volume of water vapour contained in the atmosphere is small, water is constantly moving through this reservoir. Water evaporates from the oceans and land surface and is transported within air masses. Despite a short residence time in the atmosphere, typically 10 days, the average transport distance is about 1000 km. The water vapour is then returned to either the oceans or the continents as snow or rain. Most rain falling on the continents seeps into sediments and porous or fractured rock to form groundwater; the rest flows on the surface as rivers, or reevaporates to the atmosphere. Since the total mass of water in the hydrosphere is relatively constant over time, evaporation and precipitation must balance for the Earth as a whole, despite locally large differences between wet and arid regions [1].

Water can directly go from a solid phase to gaseous (vapour). This process is called sublimation. It occurs when water molecules in ice warm up enough to escape vapour, but not as liquid water. This can occur at low atmospheric pressure with temperatures below 0°C. Research shows that 90% of all atmospheric moisture originates as evaporation from oceans, seas, and other water bodies. The remaining 10% is released by plant through evapotranspiration. This water loss from plants is caused by evaporation and transpiration. Transpiration brings water to the plants’ surface and evaporation occurs.

When vapour enters the lower layers of the atmosphere, air currents lift the moisture upwards generating vertical movements in large air masses. This process is a major factor in the occurrence of precipitation.

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Table 6

Porosity of common geological materials

Material Porosity (%)

In some cases under the gravity force groundwater can move into a river, stream, lake, wetland, oceans. The process of groundwater moving back to the surface is called groundwater discharge. In some cases water pressure can force groundwater upward toward the land surface, when it is trapped in a confined aquifer by watertight (impervious) layers – clays or bedrock. Under high hydrostatic pressure in the aquifer the groundwater is forced up a crack or fissure until land surface creating an artesian spring or well. Some groundwater can remain in deeper layers for thousands of years. Such water is called fossil water.

Major concerns centered on ground water quantity are:

1.Depletion of aquifers almost everywhere in the world. Water tables are falling almost everywhere.

2.Land subsidence.

3.Contamination of aquifers.

Groundwater can give a huge amount of fresh water; it maintains wetlands and ponds, etc. Groundwater aquifers are invaluable sources of fresh water. Overconsumption and excessive pumping (groundwater mining/overdraft) can reduce the amount of water to a point that cannot be replaced and recovered by natural recharge resulting in groundwater depletion. Excessive pumping can result in land subsidence, which has a drastic effect of human environment and landscapes. For example some parts of Mexico City have experiences such severe processes. Drops in land surface level, which is up to 10 m, have occurred in the city over the past decades. In California excessive pumping for irrigation purposes has caused the land surface to drop over 10 meters since the first half of the 20th century. Usually such subsiding result in

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damage to constructions, highways, etc. and cause huge economic losses.

Streams and rivers interact with groundwater when [20]:

-Discharging from groundwater (gaining or effluent streams)

-Surface water infiltrates into groundwater layers (loosing or influent streams)

-Both processes

Groundwater is an important drinking water source that is why maintenance of the water quality in groundwater aquifers is a major concern in the world. Potential groundwater contamination sources and the major contaminants they contain: hazardous materials, hydrocarbons, nitrates, pathogens, pesticides.etc.

Worldwide, groundwater supplies:

1.50% of all drinking water,

2.40% of water used by industry,

3.20% of water used for irrigation.

For irrigation purposes, groundwater is widely used in China (70% of the grain harvest), India (50% of grain harvest), as well as in Central Asia, North Africa and the Pacific coast of South America.

Rivers. River water resources

A river system is composed of three parts: a channel, a floodplain, upland transition, fringe area. Longitudinally, a river has a headwater, a transition zone, a depositional zone. Laterally, a river’s deepest part is called thalweg. River flow can be perennial, intermittent, ephemeral.

River water resources are renewable resources and renew every 11-14 days. The use of river water resources, due to peculiarities of the river regime of rivers, is limited. Uncontrolled surface water abstraction intake can lead to disturbances in the river's water regime and river water ecosystems. Surface river water resources consist of both groundwater and surface flow components.

Available fresh river water in the world: 41 thousand km³.

Asia - 11 thousand km³, South America - 10,5 thousand km³, S. America - 7 thousand km³, the CIS countries - 5,3 thousand km³, Africa - 4,2 thousand km³, Australia and Oceania -1,6 thousand km³, West. Europe - 1,4 thousand km³.

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Characteristics of rivers for water supply:

•distance from a river mouth

•catchment area

•average width and depth of a watercourse, flow velocity

•average annual runoff

Hydrological characteristics:

•Type of reservoir operation, entire and useful reservoir volumes,

•Average annual runoff in dam sites for reservoirs and ponds

•River freeze-up conditions (time thickness)

Hydrochemical

•Water chemical composition and suitability for water supply

•Surface water pollution degree

Water balance assessment

The equation for the water balance:

X + y1 + w1 + z1 = y2 + w2 + z2 ± Δu,

where: x - atmospheric precipitation, y1 - surface water inflow, w1 - underground water inflow, z1 - water vapor condensation y2 - surface water outflow, w2 - underground water outflow, z2 - evaporation, Δu - change in water volume within the basin.

World water availability

Countries with the largest water resources:

1.Brazil (8,233 km3),

2.Russia (4,508 km3),

3.United States (3,051 km3),

4.Canada (2,902 km3),

5.Indonesia (2,838 km3),

6.China (2,830 km3),

7.Colombia (2,132 km3),

8.Peru (1,913 km3),

9.India (1,880 km3),

10.Congo (1,283 km3)

Average per capita availability of water (m³ per year/person) is 220 million m³/person. According to calculations, the water availability of

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water resources is expected to decrease by 1.5 times by 2050 at the current rate of population growth.

The share of transboundary river runoff in the total annual runoff plays an important role in water availability (in %):

0% - the country does not receive water resources from the territories of neighboring countries

100% - all water resources come from neighboring countries

Top countries least dependant on transboundary surface water resources:

1.Brazil (8,233 km3) - (34.2%)

2.Russia (4,508 km3) - (4.3%)

3.US (3,051 km3) - (8.2%)

4.Canada (2,902 km3) - (1.8%)

5.Indonesia (2,838 km3) - (0%)

6.China (2,830 km3) - (0.6%)

7.Colombia (2,132 km3) - (0.9%)

8.Peru (1,913 km3) - (15.5%)

9.India (1,880 km3) - (33.4%)

10.Congo (1,283 km3) - (29.9%)

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Questions:

What do you know about world water supply and distribution?

What is sublimation and evapotranspiration?

What is hydrological cycle?

Describe the process of groundwater formation.

What is groundwater recharge rate and how is it affected by porosity geological materials?

Describe what is fossil water.

What are the main components of a river system?

Describe the characteristics of rivers for water supply and hydrological characteristics.

What are the main components of water balance assessment?

Practical session

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