Hydrosphere

Hydrosphere
Hydrosphere
 “Water Sphere"
 Collective mass of water found on, under,
and over the surface of a planet
 Includes all the earth's water found in
streams, lakes, the soil, groundwater, and
in the air
Water…….. universal solvent
 Major constituent of almost all life forms
 Exists in all three physical states of matter: solid,

liquid, and gas
 In a pure state has a neutral pH
 Conducts heat more easily than any liquid

except mercury. This fact causes large bodies of
liquid water like lakes and oceans to have
essentially a uniform vertical temperature profile
Water
Water molecules Stays liquid over a wide range
of temperatures from 0 - 100° Celsius. This
range allows water molecules to exist as a
liquid in most places on our planet
Good transporter of nutrients
Does not dissolve organic molecules (so we do
not dissolve in our own cell fluids)
Inventory of water at the Earth's
surface
Reservoir Percent
Oceans 97.25
Ice Caps & Glaciers 2.05
Groundwater 0.68
Lakes 0.01
Soil Moisture 0.005
Atmosphere 0.001
Streams and Rivers 0.0001
Distribution of Water on Earth
Typical Residence Times of Water
Reservoir Residence Time

 Glaciers 20 to 100 years
 Seasonal Snow Cover 2 to 6 months
 Soil Moisture 1 to 2 months
 Groundwater: Shallow 100 to 200 years
 Groundwater: Deep 10,000 years
 Lakes 50 to 100 years
 Rivers 2 to 6 months
OCEANS
 97 % of all water
comes from the ocean
 2 % trapped in ice
(fresh water)
 1% of worlds water is
fresh drinkable water
(washing, bathing,
drinking)
LARGEST TO SMALLEST
 PACIFIC OCEAN = 165,164,000 km2
 ATLANTIC OCEAN = 81,630,000 km2

 INDIAN OCEAN = 73,420,000 km2
 ARCTIC OCEAN = 14,350,000 km2
Ocean Water
 Salt water = NaCl (sodium chloride)
 Salinity = how salty the water is
 more salt more saline
 less salt more fresh, or brackish
 Currents move water similar to the
convection currents in the mantle move
magma
FRESH WATER
 3 % of all water in
the world
 Most tied up in ice
caps and glaciers
 1% drinkable comes
from groundwater
Terminologies
 Groundwater is water located beneath
the ground surface in soil pore spaces and
in the fractures of lithologic formations
 The depth at which soil pore spaces or

fractures and voids in rock become fully
saturated with water is called the water
table
WATER CYCLE PROCESS
 Precipitation
 Runoff
 Infiltration
 Groundwater Flow
 Evapo-transpiration
Precipitation
 Process where water vapor in
the air becomes liquid or solid
water and falls to the land
 Precipitation occurs when

areas of high pressure and low
pressure air meet, or when
areas of hot and cold air meet
 Precipitation can take the

forms of rain, snow, sleet, or
hail
Runoff
 Runoff is the process
of water running off
the land surface
 Water flows downhill
from high places like
mountains and hills
into streams, then
rivers, and finally into
the ocean
Infiltration
 Process where water

seeps into the ground
 When it rains, some of
the water will infiltrate
or soak into the soil
 When the soil is full of
water or saturated, then
the rain will become
runoff
 Process where water in the
ground comes back to the land Groundwater Flow
surface
 When water infiltrates into the

ground, it moves to the
groundwater and is stored
 Over time, the water stored in

the groundwater flows (like a
very, very slow river) back to
the land surface further
downhill
 Usually this groundwater

flows into the bottom of a river
or the ocean
Evapo-transipration
 Process where liquid water either on the
land surface, in the soil, or in the ocean
goes back into the air as water vapor
 Term evapo-transpiration is actually two

processes: evaporation and transpiration
 Evaporation occurs when liquid water is

heated and becomes water vapor, like
boiling a pot of water
 Water also evaporates when the air does

not contain much water vapor
 Transpiration describes how plants take
liquid water from the soil and turn it into
water vapor, which is released through
leaves
 The water is used to move nutrients from

the soil into the leaves
Evaporation and transpiration are grouped

together, because it is hard to tell the
difference between them
Effects of Human Activities
on Water Cycle
 Withdrawing large amounts of freshwater

 Clearing vegetation and eroding soils
 Polluting surface and underground water
 Contributing to climate change

Hydrosphere

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Hydrosphere

 Exists in all three physical states of matter: solid,

 In a pure state has a neutral pH

 Conducts heat more easily than any liquid

Reservoir Residence Time

 PACIFIC OCEAN = 165,164,000 km2

 ATLANTIC OCEAN = 81,630,000 km2

 The depth at which soil pore spaces or

 Precipitation occurs when

 Precipitation can take the

 Process where water

 When water infiltrates into the

 Over time, the water stored in

 Usually this groundwater

 Term evapo-transpiration is actually two

 Evaporation occurs when liquid water is

 Water also evaporates when the air does

 The water is used to move nutrients from

Evaporation and transpiration are grouped

 Withdrawing large amounts of freshwater

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