Water at the Surface of Earth

Water at the Surface of the Earth: An Introduction to Ecosystem Hydrodynamics provides an introduction to the ways in which biological, physical, cultural, and urban systems at the surface of the earth operate, with a particular focus on the hydrodynamics of ecosystems, i.e., water and its association with other forms of matter, including pollutants, and with several forms of energy. The chapter sequence in this book follows the downward progress of water from the lower atmosphere, through ecosystems at the earth's surface, through the soil and mantle rock, to the ""waters under the earth."" In other words, the book begins with input of water to ecosystems, then describes how it is processed in these systems, and ends with the liquid water yield from them.
The book first discusses storms in the atmosphere. These are systems that convert inflows of water vapor into outflows of raindrops and snowflakes that are precipitated to the underlying surface. This is followed by separate chapters on how water is delivered from the atmosphere to surface ecosystems; water budgets at the surface and in the soil; evaporation from these systems back to the atmosphere; water in the local air and rocks; and horizontal movement of water transformed by ecosystems where the preceding storages and fluxes were located.

Autorentext

Deptartment of Cell Biology

Inhalt

Preface
Chapter I Introduction
Just What is the Earth's Surface?
The Budget Idea
Water in Systems
Water Supplied by the Atmosphere to the Earth's Surface
Chapter II Atmospheric Vapor Flows and Atmospheric Storms
Water Vapor and Its Movement over the Earth's Surface
Atmospheric Storms
Sizes and Movement of Atmospheric Storms
Atmospheric Storms: Causes of Variability in Rainfall
References
Chapter III Point Rainfall-The Delivery of Water to an Ecosystem
Measuring Rain and Snow
The Dimensions of Point Rainfall
The Frequency of Precipitation-Intensity Events
Water Delivery to Ecosystems
References
Chapter IV Hydrologic Storms
The Area of Hydrologic Storms
Areal Syntheses
The Episodic Occurrence of Hydrologic Storms
Closing
References
Chapter V Large-Scale Organization of Rainfall
Organization of Storms in Time
Spatial Grouping of Rainfall
Spatial Pattern of Annual Precipitation
Areal Pattern of Long-Term Changes in Rainfall
Associated Mass Fluxes
Time and Space Organization of the Water Delivered to Ecosystems
References
Chapter VI Reception of Water by Ecosystems
Ecosystem Hydrodynamics
Delivery of Rain and Snow to Vegetation
Interception of Water by Vegetation
Storage of Rain and Snow on Foliage during Storms
The Outflows from Interception Storage of Rain and Snow
Evaporation as a Mode of Outflow from Interception Storage
Water Intercepted by Litter
Areal Redistribution of Water by Vegetation above the Soil
References
Chapter VII Water Detained on the Soil Surface
Snow Cover
Liquid Water on the Ground
Outflows from Detention Storage
References
Chapter VIII Infiltration of Water into the Soil of an Ecosystem
The Soil as Environment of Water
Infiltration of Water into the Soil
Influences of Vegetation on Infiltration
Time Differences in Infiltration
Infiltrated Water in Ecosystems
References
Chapter IX Soil Moisture
Soil-Moisture Bookkeeping
Soil-Moisture Distributions in Space
Time Variations of Soil Moisture
Freezing and Melting of Soil Water
Outflows of Water from the Soil
References
Chapter X Evaporation from Wet Surfaces
Determining Evaporation Rates
Evaporation from Deep Water Bodies
Evaporation from Shallow Water Bodies
Evaporation from a Wet Soil Surface
Evaporation
References
Chapter XI Evaporation from Well-Watered Ecosystems
Transpiration of Water from Leaves
Evapotranspiration from Plant Communities
Empirical Patterns of Potential Evapotranspiration
Evaporation Differs with Ecosystems
References
Chapter XII Evaporation from Drying Ecosystems
Bare Soil Surfaces
Evapotranspiration from a Drying Soil-Vegetation System
Variations in Evapotranspiration over Time
Large-Scale Patterns
The Era of Evaporation
References
Chapter XIII Water in the Local Air
Water Vapor in the Local Air
Visible Forms of Water in the Local Air
Condensation of Vapor on the Underlying Surface
References
Chapter XIV Percolation from Ecosystems
Shallow Percolation
Deeper Percolation
Mass Transports by Percolating Water
Significance of Percolation
Percolation and Recharge
References
Chapter XV Groundwater and Its Outflows into Local Ecosystems
The Environments of Groundwater
Groundwater Recharge
The Volume of Stored Underground Water
Mass Budgets Associated with Groundwater
Local Outflows of Water from Underground Storage
Artificial Outflows from Underground Storage
Groundwater Budgets
References
Chapter XVI Surface Transports from Ecosystems
Movement of Snow
Gravity-Powered Movement of Liquid Water
Other Forms of Mass Transport Associated with the Flow of Water at and near the Surface
Time Variations in Off-Site Flow
Off-Site Flows from Ecosystems
References
Chapter XVII Off-Site Yield of Ecosystems
Outflows from Groundwater Storage
Water Yield as Associated with Biological Yield
Total Off-Site Movement of Water
Total Yield
References
Chapter XVIII Water in Ecosystems
Environments of Water in Ecosystems
Unknowns and Uncertainties in Water Budgets
Patterns of Distribution
Water is Everywhere
References
Index