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
Geyser: Periodic thermal spring, resulting from

the force of super heated steam within

constricted subsurface channel
Mud pot: only when a limited supply of water is
available
Fumarole:an opening through which only
steam and other gases such as CO 2 and H2S
discharge

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
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
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

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 by condensation of atmospheric vapour
near the surface
Mist: very thin fog

Necessary conditions for

precipitation

Sufficient accumulation of moisture

Cooling of air to dew point to produce
saturation conditions
Growth of small water droplets to
precipitable size
Condensation of vapour
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