Roger Herbert
Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala university
The hydrosphere and water resources
Required reading: Miller, Chapter 14
Recommended reading:
Chenoweth, J., 2008, “Water, water everywhere”, New scientist, 23 August 2008.
Hoekstra A.Y. and Chapagain A.K., 2007, Water footprints of nations: Water use by people as
a function of their consumption pattern, Water Resources Management 21, 35 – 48.
Study questions
1. ”Water is neither created nor destroyed”. Explain what this statement means in
terms of the water cycle and the processes precipitation, evapotranspiration, and
runoff.
2. Give examples of how man changes the water cycle in various areas throughout the
world. Explain why these changes have resulted in problems in terms of water
availability.
3. Explain how urbanization affects the water cycle in city areas. How does urbanization
lead to an increase in runoff in urban streams?
4. Southern Sweden and eastern Africa receive about the same amount of precipitation,
but available water in runoff is much more scarce in eastern Africa. Why is this so?
5. Describe the ecological disaster that has occurred around the Aral Sea, including the
hydrological causes for water level decline in the sea.
6. How is the rate of groundwater recharge and the rate of groundwater withdrawal
related to the sustainable use of groundwater resources?
7. Give example of how water is stored in a catchment area.
8. Describe three problems related to the over-withdrawal of groundwater.
9. Describe three ways to increase water availability in a catchment area.
10. What is meant by “water mining”. Is this a sustainable practice?
11. Debate the pros and cons of water pricing. That is, imposing the “user pays” principle
to water use.
12. Explain the concept of “Virtual water”. Some countries are net importers of virtual
water, while other countries are net exporters of virtual water. What is meant by
this?
13. Explain what is meant by the “water footprint of nations”.
14. What major categories of water use are included in a nation’s internal water
footprint.
15. Describe how your personal water footprint is affected by various choices you have
made for your lifestyle.