Major Problem For The Water Cycle example essay topic

The hydrological cycle is vital in the world today, if the cycle was not occurring and operating then the world in which we live would not be able to function properly, because the hydrological cycle is the circular movement of the water from clouds to the ground through the precipitation and into rivers and lakes and also the ocean. At this point it usually transpires from plants or evaporates from rivers lakes and seas from the heat of the sun causing the water to rise and be taken as water vapour and then condensate in the cloud to form precipitation. This cycle is continually repeating itself. Without it the waterways would stagnate and this would bring on disastrous effects for the environment. SEE DIAGRAM.

The hydrological cycle affects people in all different ways and amounts. In particular the hydrological cycle affects agriculture. This is because water is essential for growing crops as well as this it is important to understand the hydrological cycle for location purposes. Disruption of the water cycle is becoming one of the major environmental problems facing humans. In heavily populated or farmed areas, more water is drawn from both surface sources and aquifers than can be replenished. Depletion of groundwater in coastal areas leads to salt water seeping into fresh water underground and to subsidence of the land.

Clearing large tracts of land increases surface run-off by removing vegetation that would otherwise hold some water in place. This in turn contributes to soil erosion and severe flooding. Pollution is another major problem for the water cycle and this also affects man, for example some factories use water for coolants, but this means that the water becomes warm, this in turn is pumped back into cooler water ways which then kill most of the living things in that water way through lack of oxygen It is necessary to understand the hydrological cycle for location purposes because you do not want to locate at the bottom of a hill or in a valley basin, because you are then liable to flooding caused by surface run-off and other water flowing down to your location. On the other hand, you do not want to be based in an area where there is not evapotranspiration and precipitation, because both these factors will affect your crops either through too much water or lack of water. Water is essential for human life, for the fact that it is required to keep and run communities it is used at home at work and within industry.

We also intervene in the water cycle in another way by the fact that we clear the vegetation from land for agriculture mining and also building construction, this then has the effect that it increases surface run-off and reduces infiltration that is necessary to recharge groundwater supplies, it also adds to the risk of flooding and accelerates soil erosion and landslides. Pollution is also creating a great problem to the atmosphere (hydrological cycle), because it is creating acid rain from Sulphur dioxide and Nitrogen oxide, these gasses come from the burning of fossil fuels. This either comes to the ground as dry deposition or is converted into acid rain and is precipitated onto the ground, this then gets into plants and trees weakening them and leaching and reacting with the Aluminium in the soil and leaching it and running of into the water supplies killing plants and animals. Acid rain also weathers limestone buildings; examples of where acid rain is having adverse effects are Scandinavia where pollution is carried by prevailing winds from Britain.

Examples such as St Pauls Cathedral and also Malvern College main building itself. The Taj Mahal. These are only a few well-known buildings that create a very expensive problem for the particular countries to deal with. Despite the fact that some governments are trying to deal with the problem, for example the British Government are continually raising taxes on fuel and vehicles, to try and encourage car sharing or public transport.

From all of the factors which I have mentioned it shows how important that it is that the public are made aware of these problems that they may face by disruption of the hydrological cycle so that we can do our best to change it. DIAGRAM.