Thermal Springs

Discharge water at a temperature greater than normal

groundwater, usually highly mineralized, mostly
consists of the meteoric water, in the areas of large
thermal gradients
1. Geyser: Periodic thermal spring, resulting from the
force of super heated steam within constricted
subsurface channel
Large amounts of hot water are presumed to fill underground

cavities. The water, upon further heating, is violently ejected when

a portion of its suddenly flashes into steam.
This cycle can be repeated with remarkable regularity, as for
example, Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park , which
has erupted on an average of about once every 65 minutes.

2) Mud pot: only when a limited supply of

water is available

consists of a pool of usually bubbling mud which is

generally of white to greyish color, but is sometimes
stained with reddish or pink spots fromironcompounds
When the slurry is particularly colorful, the feature is
then called apaint pot
Mudpots form in high-temperaturegeothermalareas
where water is in short supply
The little water that is available rises to the surface at a
spot where the soil is rich involcanicash,clayand other
fine particulates.

3. Fumarole: an opening through which

only steam and other gases such as CO2

and H2S discharge. This emits mixtures of
steam and other gases, are fed by
conduits that pass through the water
table before reaching the surface of the
ground.

Geothermal Energy
Resources
Heat within the earth
flows out ward at an average rate of

1.5*10-06 cal/cm2/s and thus creates a thermal gradient of

1 deg c / 50 meters
At a depth of about 20 meters, it is found that the
temperature remains almost uniform throughout the year
In the areas of volcanic/ tectonic activity it is much more
Within a depth of three kms, 2*10 21 cal of geothermal
energy is available 1% of which can be commercially
recovered (Present throughout the world but notable areas
are in Iceland, New Zealand, Kamchatka in former USSR)
Four types of sources are generally recognized

Wet Steam Fields: Sufficient GW reaches, mixture of water and

steam is produced
Low Temperature Fields: Temp. in the range from 50-80 deg C
Dry Rock Fields: at depths exceeding 3000 meters, Temp. are
found in the range of 200-500 deg C without Presence of GW
Dry Steam Fields: permeability is so low that only limited GW
reaches the heat sources and is fully vaporized

Precipitation

Condensation of water vapors at higher altitudes by

condensation nuclei give rise to formation of clouds

Further cooling gives rise to precipitation
Types of precipitation:
Cyclonic: due to lifting of moist air, converging in to a low
pressure belt (is basically frontal precipitation)
Convectional: local whirling thunderstorms, mostly in
tropics, rise of hot air, cauliflower type of cloud, suddenly
burst in to thunderstorm
Orographic: mechanical lifting of air over mountains, e.g.
Cherapunji
Frontal Precipitation: due to coming into contact of two air
masses of contrasting temperature.
cold air mass: It drives away hot air mass, intense
precipitation
hot air mass: Warm air mass replaces the retreating cold air
mass
front/ frontal surface
Development of stationary front

orographic Rain
Convectional
Rain

Forms of precipitation
Drizzle: drop size 0.1-0.5 mm and intensity < 1mm
per hour
Rain: drop size > 0.5 mm to 6mm
Glaze: Freezing of drizzle when they come in contact
with cold objects
Sleet:Rain drops freezes while dropping through air,
formation of globular grains/ pallets are formed, size of
pallets is 1-4 mm
Snow/ Snow flakes resulting of crystals
Hail: balls/ irregular lumps of ice more than 5 mm in
size
Dew: moisture condensed from atmosphere
Frost: feathery deposits of ice formed on the ground
on surface of objects
Fog: thick condensation of atmospheric vapour near
the surface. Itis simply a cloud of minute water
droplets that exists at ground level
Mist: very thin fog

Necessary conditions for

precipitation

Sufficient accumulation of moisture

Condensation of vapour
Presence of the nuclei (dust/ salt particles
etc)
Cooling of air to dew point to produce
saturation conditions
Growth of small water droplets to
precipitable size
Measurement of Precipitation
Symons Rain Gauge
Recording Rain Gauge

Infiltration
Process by which water enters the subsurface
Water entering the soil at the surface
Infiltration Capacity (f):
Maximum rate at which soil in any given
condition is capable of absorbing water
f0=f if i>f
where i = rate of rainfall
f = Infiltration capacity (maximum)
f0 = Observed infiltration rate
f0=I, if i<f

Factors governing Infiltration

Capacity

Depth of surface retention

Thickness of saturated zone
Soil moisture
Compaction
Surface cover conditions: effect of

vegetation, overgrazing etc

Temperature
Entrapped air: increases resistance
High dissolved solids
Transpiration
Decaying vegetation, earth worm,
ploughed fields

Hydrometeorology
Science which deals with the movement of

water and water vapours in the atmosphere

Hydrometeorological data is required to
determine the water balance of a basin for
developing and managing water resources.
Hydrometeorological elements are
Precipitation,
Evaporation,
Evapo-transpiration,
Solar radiations,
Air temperature
Humidity,
soil moisture,
water levels,
stream discharge,
water quality etc.

Types of Aquifers
Confined aquifers
Unconfined aquifers

Concept of piezometric surface, perched

water table and flowing wells/artesian well

Leaky aquifers
Idealized aquifers

Storage Coefficient/ storativity: A

storage coefficient is defined as the

volume of water that an aquifer releases
from or takes into storage per unit surface
area of an aquifer per unit change in the
component of head normal to that surface.

Aquifer
A subsurface zone that yields economically important
amounts of water to wells. The term is synonymous with
water-bearing formation. An aquifer may be porous rock,
unconsolidated gravel, fractured rock, or cavernous
limestone.
Aquifers are important reservoirs storing large amounts of
water relatively free from evaporation loss or pollution. If
the annual withdrawal from an aquifer regularly exceeds
the replenishment from rainfall or seepage from streams,
the water stored in the aquifer will be depleted. This
mining of groundwater results in increased pumping costs
and sometimes pollution from sea water or adjacent
saline aquifers. Lowering the piezometric pressure in an
unconsolidated artesian aquifer by overpumping may
cause the aquifer and confining layers of silt or clay to be
compressed under the weight of the overlying material.
The resulting subsidence of the ground surface may
cause structural damage to buildings, altered drainage
paths, increased flooding, damage to wells, and other
problems.