Question

Directions: Answer the following question. The suggested time is about 23 minutes for answering the question. Write all your answers on a sheet of notebook paper. Where explanation or discussion is required, support your answers with relevant information and/or specific examples.

1. Some scientists estimate that by 2025 over 60 percent of the global human population will live in urban areas. Urban residents experience a variety of problems related to the physical environment.
a. Identify and describe TWO ways in which the local hydrologic cycle of urban areas differs from that of nearby rural areas.

Answer 1

Urban areas exhibit greater surface runoff due to impervious surfaces and lower transpiration rates due to a reduction in plant-covered areas, both of which differentiate their hydrologic cycle from that of rural areas.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question deals with the local hydrologic cycle differences between urban and rural areas. Urbanization significantly alters the natural hydrological cycle due to the following two reasons:

1. Increased surface runoff: This occurs because cities have more impervious surfaces like concrete and asphalt that prevent water from soaking into the ground. As a result, there is less water infiltration and percolation that can recharge the groundwater, leading to higher surface runoff during rainstorms.
2. Lower rates of transpiration: Urban areas have fewer plants compared to rural areas. Plants play a crucial role in the hydrologic cycle by releasing water into the atmosphere through the process of transpiration. With fewer green spaces in cities, the amount of water cycled back into the atmosphere is reduced, altering the local hydrologic cycle.