Admin How does groundwater interact with the land?
Surface water seeps into the ground and recharges the underlying aquifer—groundwater discharges to the surface and supplies the stream with baseflow. Groundwater and surface water physically overlap at the groundwater/surface water interface through the exchange of water and chemicals.
What effect can groundwater depletion have on land?
Ground-water depletion is primarily caused by sustained ground-water pumping. Some of the negative effects of ground-water depletion include increased pumping costs, deterioration of water quality, reduction of water in streams and lakes, or land subsidence.
How does groundwater change Earth?
Groundwater is a part of the natural water cycle (check out our interactive water cycle diagram). Some part of the precipitation that lands on the ground surface infiltrates into the subsurface. Water in the saturated groundwater system moves slowly and may eventually discharge into streams, lakes, and oceans.
How does groundwater interact with the atmosphere?
Similarly, evaporation and transpiration return water to the atmosphere nearly everywhere, but evaporation and transpiration rates vary considerably according to climatic conditions. …
How does groundwater affect surface water?
Surface water and groundwater systems are connected in most landscapes. It is the groundwater contribution that keeps streams flowing between precipitation events or after snowmelt. For a stream to gain water, the elevation of the water table in the vicinity of the stream must be higher than the streamwater surface.
How does groundwater affect foundations?
In the aftermath of flooding, when water levels subside, the subsoil remains saturated with water. A further effect of flooding is that of soil erosion and scour which can do significant damage to foundations. Rises in groundwater level, can cause reductions in strength of the soil that can lead to failures of slopes.
What role does groundwater play?
Groundwater plays a key role in the hydrologic cycle. As surface water deposits, such as snow melt and precipitation, recharge the groundwater, it slowly drains gradually towards a discharge point. When precipitation falls on a land surface, part of the water runs off into the lakes and rivers.