Rock Moisture Figure (IMAGE)

University of Texas at Austin

Rock Moisture Figure

Caption

Research led by The University of Texas at Austin has found that weathered bedrock can store a significant amount of rock moisture inside its fractures and pores. This moisture in the layer of weathered rock that is commonly located beneath soils is an important part of the water cycle on the local and global level. Tree roots tap into the rock moisture and release it back into the atmosphere as water vapor, and water flows through the fractures and becomes part of the seasonal groundwater storage (blue arrows).

Credit

University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences.

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