A spring is a component of the hydrosphere A hydrosphere in physical geography describes the combined mass of water found on, under, and over the surface of a planet, namely any natural occurrence where water Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. Its molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state, water vapor or steam flows to the surface of the earth from below the surface. Thus it is where the aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology. Related terms include aquitard, which is a bed of low permeability along an aquifer, and surface meets the ground surface.
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Formation
Sunrise at Middle Spring, Fish Springs National Wildlife RefugeA spring may be the result of karst topography Karst topography is a landscape shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite where surface water has infiltrated the Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets. It is sometimes referred to as the World, the Blue Planet,[note 6] or by its Latin name, Terra.[note 7]'s surface (recharge area), becoming part of the area groundwater Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of lithologic formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely saturated with water is called. The groundwater then travels though a network of cracks and fissures - openings ranging from intergranular spaces to large caves A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. Some people[who?] suggest that the term cave should only apply to cavities that have some part that does not receive daylight; however, in popular usage, the term includes smaller spaces like sea caves, rock shelters, and grottos. The water eventually emerges from below the surface, in the form of a spring.
The forcing of the spring to the surface can be the result of a confined aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology. Related terms include aquitard, which is a bed of low permeability along an aquifer, and in which the recharge area of the spring water table rests at a higher elevation than that of the outlet. Spring water forced to the surface by elevated sources are artesian wells An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater that will flow upward through a well, called an artesian well, without the need for pumping. Water may even reach the ground surface if the natural pressure is high enough, in which case the well is called a flowing artesian well. This is possible even if the outlet is in the form of a 300-foot deep cave. In this case the cave is used like a hose by the higher elevated recharge area of groundwater to exit through the lower elevation opening.
Non-artesian springs may simply flow from a higher elevation through the earth to a lower elevation and exit in the form of a spring, using the ground like a drainage pipe.
Still other springs are the result of pressure from an underground source in the earth, in the form of volcanic A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which allows hot magma, ash and gases to escape from below the surface activity. The result can be water at elevated temperature such as a hot spring A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are hot springs all over the earth, on every continent and even under the oceans and seas.
The action of the groundwater continually dissolves permeable bedrock such as limestone Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . Like most other sedimentary rocks, limestones are composed of grains; however, most grains in limestone are skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera. Other carbonate grains comprising limestones are ooids, peloids, intraclasts, and extraclasts and dolmite Dolomite is the name of a sedimentary carbonate rock and a mineral, both composed of calcium magnesium carbonate Ca creating vast cave systems[1].
A natural spring on Mackinac Island Mackinac Island is an island covering 3.8 square miles (9.8 km2) in land area, part of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The island was home to a Native American settlement before European exploration began in the 17th century. It in Michigan Michigan is the eighth most populous state in the United States. It has the longest freshwater shoreline of any political subdivision in the world, being bounded by four of the five Great Lakes, plus Lake Saint Clair. In 2005, Michigan ranked third among US states for the number of registered recreational boats, behind California and Florida.Types of spring outlets
- Seepage A seep is a wet place where a liquid, usually groundwater, has oozed from the ground to the surface. Seeps are usually not flowing, with the liquid sourced only from underground. It is often used in environmental sciences to define an exfiltration zone where contaminated water, e.g., from waste dumps, leaves a waste system or filtration spring. The term seep refers to springs with small flow rates in which the source water has filtered into permeable earth.
- Fracture springs, discharge from faults, joints, or fissures in the earth, in which springs have followed a natural course of voids or weaknesses in the bedrock.
- Tubular springs are essentially water dissolved and create underground channels, basically cave systems.
Spring flow
The stream flowing into this cave at the bottom of Grand Gulf, a huge sinkhole A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the earth's surface caused by karst processes - the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks. Sinkholes may vary in size from less than 1 to 300 meters both in diameter and depth, and vary in form from soil-lined bowls to in Missouri, resurfaces at Mammoth Spring in Arkansas.Spring discharge, or resurgence, is determined by the "spring's" recharge basin. Factors include the size of the area in which groundwater is captured, the amount of precipitation, the size of capture points, and the size of the spring outlet. Water may leak into the underground system from many sources including permeable earth, sinkholes, and losing streams. In some cases entire creeks A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, crick, kill, lick, rill, river syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or runnel. In some countries or communities a stream may be defined by seemingly disappear as the water sinks into the ground via the stream bed. Grand Gulf State Park in Missouri Missouri mirrors the demographic, economic and political makeup of the nation with a mix of urban and rural culture. It has long been considered a political bellwether state. With the exceptions of 1956 and 2008, Missouri's results in U.S. presidential elections have accurately predicted the next President of the United States in every election is an example of an entire creek vanishing into the groundwater system. The water emerges nine miles away, forming some of the discharge of Mammoth Spring in Arkansas The name "Arkansas" derives from the same root as the name for the state of Kansas. The Kansas tribe of Native Americans are closely associated with the Sioux tribes of the Great Plains. The word "Arkansas" itself is a French pronunciation of a Quapaw (a related "Kaw" tribe) word "akakaze" meaning "land.
Classification
Springs are often classified by the volume of the water they discharge. The largest springs are called "first-magnitude," defined as springs that discharge water at a rate of at least 2800 liters or 100 cubic feet (2.8 m3) of water per second. Some locations contain many first-magnitude springs, such as Central Florida Central Florida is the central region of the United States state of Florida, on the East Coast. It is the third largest region in Florida, after South Florida and Tampa Bay, respectively. Central Florida is also an important distribution center and transportation hub where there are 33[2] known to be that size, the southern Missouri Missouri mirrors the demographic, economic and political makeup of the nation with a mix of urban and rural culture. It has long been considered a political bellwether state. With the exceptions of 1956 and 2008, Missouri's results in U.S. presidential elections have accurately predicted the next President of the United States in every election Ozarks The Ozarks are a physiographic, geologic, and cultural highland region of the central United States. It covers much of the south half of Missouri and an extensive portion of northwest and North central Arkansas. The region also extends westward into northeast Oklahoma and extreme southeast Kansas (11 known of first-magnitude), and 11[3] more in the Thousand Springs area along the Snake River The Snake is a major river in the greater Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is the largest and longest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Rising in western Wyoming, the river flows westwards through the Snake River Plain, and turns north to empty into the in Idaho Idaho is a mostly mountainous state, with an area larger than all of New England. It is landlocked, surrounded by the states of Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana and the Canadian Province of British Columbia. However, the network of dams and locks on the Columbia River and Snake River make the city of Lewiston the farthest inland. The scale for spring flow is as follows:
| Magnitude | Flow (ft³/s, gal/min, pint/min) | Flow (L/s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Magnitude | > 100 ft³/s | 2800 L/s |
| 2nd Magnitude | 10 to 100 ft³/s | 280 to 2800 L/s |
| 3rd Magnitude | 1 to 10 ft³/s | 28 to 280 L/s |
| 4th Magnitude | 100 US gal/min to 1 ft³/s (448 US gal/min) | 6.3 to 28 L/s |
| 5th Magnitude | 10 to 100 gal/min | 0.63 to 6.3 L/s |
| 6th Magnitude | 1 to 10 gal/min | 63 to 630 mL/s |
| 7th Magnitude | 1 pint to 1 gal/min | 8 to 63 mL/s |
| 8th Magnitude | Less than 1 pint/min | 8 mL/s |
| 0 Magnitude | no flow (sites of past/historic flow) |
Spring water content
Main article: Mineral springMinerals A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance that is formed through geological processes and that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not have a specific chemical composition become dissolved in the water as it moves through the underground rocks In geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids. This may give the water flavor and even carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state. CO2 is a trace gas comprising 0.039% of the atmosphere bubbles, depending on the nature of the geology Geology is the science and study of the physical matter and energy that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structure, properties, and history of the planet's physical material, the processes by which it is formed, moved, and changed, the history of life on Earth, and human interactions with the through which it passes. This is why spring water is often bottled and sold as mineral water Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water can be sparkling , or still (without effervescence), although the term is often the subject of deceptive Deception, beguilement, deceit, bluff, mystification, and subterfuge are acts to propagate beliefs that are not true, or not the whole truth . Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda, sleight of hand. It can employ distraction, camouflage or concealment. There is also self-deception advertising Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience to purchase or take some action upon products, ideals, or services. It includes the name of a product or service and how that product or service could benefit the consumer, to persuade a target market to purchase or to consume that particular brand. These brands are usually. Springs that contain significant amounts of minerals are sometimes called 'mineral springs Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce water containing minerals, or other dissolved substances, that alter its taste or give it a purported therapeutic value. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage underground'. Springs that contain large amounts of dissolved sodium Sodium is a metallic element with a symbol Na (from Latin natrium or Arabic ناترون natrun; perhaps ultimately from Egyptian netjerj) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals within "group 1" (formerly known as ‘group IA’). It has only one stable isotope, 23Na salts In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that can result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions (negative ions) so that the product is electrically neutral (without a net charge). These component ions can be inorganic such as chloride (Cl−), as well as organic such as, mostly sodium carbonate Sodium Carbonate , Na2CO3, is a sodium salt of carbonic acid. It most commonly occurs as a crystalline heptahydrate, which readily effloresces to form a white powder, the monohydrate; and is domestically well known for its everyday use as a water softener. It has a cooling alkaline taste, and can be extracted from the ashes of many plants. It is, are called 'soda springs'. Many resorts have developed around mineral springs and are known as spa towns.
Trout fishing on Maramec Spring in Missouri Missouri mirrors the demographic, economic and political makeup of the nation with a mix of urban and rural culture. It has long been considered a political bellwether state. With the exceptions of 1956 and 2008, Missouri's results in U.S. presidential elections have accurately predicted the next President of the United States in every election.A stream A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, crick, kill, lick, rill, river syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or runnel. In some countries or communities a stream may be defined by carrying the outflow of a spring to a nearby primary stream is called a spring branch or run. Groundwater tends to maintain a relatively long-term average temperature of its aquifer; so flow from a spring may be cooler than a summer day, but remain unfrozen in the winter. The cool water Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. Its molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state, water vapor or steam of a spring and its branch may harbor species such as certain trout Trout is the name for number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Salmon belong to some of the same genera as trout but, unlike most trout, most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water. Trout are classifed as an oily fish that are otherwise ill-suited to a warmer local climate Climates encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elements in a given region over long periods of time. Climate can be contrasted to weather, which is the present condition of these same elements and their variations over periods up to two weeks.
Historic uses
Springs have been used for a variety of human needs including drinking water, powering of mills A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping . A watermill that generates electricity is usually called a hydroelectric plant, and navigation, and more recently some have been used for electricity generation.
Modern uses
Present-day uses include recreational activities, such as trout-fishing, swimming, and floating. The water is also used for livestock and fish hatcheries.
Notable springs
- Big Spring, Missouri Missouri mirrors the demographic, economic and political makeup of the nation with a mix of urban and rural culture. It has long been considered a political bellwether state. With the exceptions of 1956 and 2008, Missouri's results in U.S. presidential elections have accurately predicted the next President of the United States in every election
- Blue Spring, Florida With an area of 65,758 square miles , it is ranked 22nd in size among the 50 U.S. states. Florida has the most coastline in the Contiguous United States encompassing approximately 1,200 miles. The state has four large urban areas, a number of smaller industrial cities, and many small towns
- Fontaine de Vaucluse Fontaine-de-Vaucluse is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France, France France (pronounced /ˈfrænts/ frantss or /ˈfrɑːnts/ frahnts; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several of its overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian,
- Giant Springs Giant Springs is a large first magnitude spring. The spring outlet is located in Giant Springs State Park, just downstream and northeast of Great Falls, Montana on the east banks of the Missouri River. Discovered by Lewis and Clark during their exploration of the Louisiana Purchase in 1805. Giant Spring has an average discharge of 242 cubic feet, Montana
- Greer Spring, Missouri
- Mammoth Spring, Arkansas
- Maramec Spring, Missouri
- Poland Spring, Maine
- Rainbow Springs, Florida
- Saratoga Springs, New York
- Te Waikoropupu Springs, New Zealand
- Wakulla Springs, Florida
- Warm Springs, Georgia
- São Lourenço, Minas Gerais, Brazil
See also
| Water portal |
- Body of water
- Chalk stream
- Cienega
- Drinking water
- Geyser
- Hot spring
- Lake
- List of Ozark springs
- List of spa towns
- Mineral water
- Petroleum seep
- Pond
- Soakage
- Spa towns
- Source (river or stream)
- Water cycle
- Water well
References
- ^ http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesprings.html
- ^ http://www.tfn.net/springs/Springbook/FirstMagnitude.htm
- ^ http://www.if.uidaho.edu/~johnson/ifiwrri/1000spgs.html
- Springs of Missouri, Vineyard and Feder, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geology and Land Survey in cooperation with U.S. Geological Survey and Missouri Department of Conservation, 1982
External links
- "The Science of Springs"
- "What Is A Spring?"
- List of First-Magnitude springs in Florida
- Technical and educational material on mineral springs and mineral water in Victoria
- "Database of Historically Documented Springs and Springflow Measurements in Texas"
- "Historic water quality data for selected springs in Texas"
- The Water Cycle: Springs USGS
- Find a spring
Categories: Springs | Drinking water | Liquid water | Geomorphology
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