What is the most important impact of hydrological cycle?
Answers
A warmer world means the atmosphere has the capacity to hold greater moisture.
So there are changes in the amount of water vapour, rainfall and the circulation of water in the atmosphere.
Long term changes in rainfall have been observed. The 20th Century has seen an increase in precipitation in Northern latitudes, but a downward trend in the tropics, particularly after the mid-1970s.
Areas that have seen an overall reduction in precipitation are also likely to have seen an increase in heavy rainfall events.
In the future century it is estimated that more intense rainfall and more frequent floods could result in greater surface runoff. This leads to less water recharging ground water stores and subsequently influences the amount of water available to maintain rivers during dry periods.
As temperature increases so does the process of evaporation. In addition the moisture holding capacity of the atmosphere increases with temperature
The water cycle or the hydrologic cycle is one of the greatest natural processes . It has two significant effects: 1-Effects on climate The water cycle involves the exchange of energy, which leads to temperature changes. For instance, when water evaporates, it takes up energy from its surroundings and cools the environment. When it condenses, it releases energy and warms the environment. These heat exchanges influence climate. 2-Effects on biogeochemical cycling While the water cycle is itself a biogeochemical cycle,[21] flow of water over and beneath the Earth is a key component of the cycling of other biogeochemicals. Runoff is responsible for almost all of the transport f eroded sediment and phosphorus[22] from land to waterbodies. There are many articles which discusses the human impact on water cycle. here is the effects based on NASA website: Large-scale human manipulation of water has significantly altered global patterns of streamflow. Resulting changes in sea level, ocean salinity, and in biophysical properties of the land surface could ultimately generate climate feedbacks. According to a study by Vivien Gornitz (GISS/Columbia), Cynthia Rosenzweig (GISS), and Dan Hillel (University of Massachusetts), human regulation of river flow and vegetation clearing has reduced river runoff by around 324 km3 per year, representing nearly 1% of the total annual streamflow (41,022 km3/yr) and around 10% of the yearly volume of fresh water used by people (3240 km3/yr).
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