Bell QuestionDefine Hydrology

Explain the Hydrosphere

HydrologyHydrology is the study of the

movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets,

including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed

sustainability

HydrosphereWater affects everything that

happens in life. In Latin, "hydro" means water.

Anything that scientists describe, when it comes to water, is a part of the HYDROsphere.

Water……Water EverywhereWater is in the air, on the land, between

the rocks, and in every living thing.Water may be at the bottom of the ocean

or in the top layers of the atmosphere; it is all a part of the HYDROSPHERE.

The Hydrologic Cycle

Global Water Distribution

Water storage in oceans: Saline water existing in oceans and inland seas

The ocean as a storehouse of water

SalinityThe water in the oceans is saltwater (saline)The concentration of saline is the amount (by

weight) of salt in water, as expressed in "parts per million" (ppm).

Water is saline if it has a concentration of more than 1,000 ppm of dissolved salts; ocean water contains about 35,000 ppm of salt.

The salinity is approximately 3.5% on average in earth’s oceans and seas

Oceans in movement: "Rivers" in the oceansThere are currents and "rivers" in the oceans that move

massive amounts of water around the world.These movements have a great deal of influence on the

water cycle.The Gulf Stream is a well known stream of warm water

in the Atlantic Ocean, moving water from the Gulf of Mexico across the Atlantic Ocean towards Great Britain.

At a speed of 60 miles per day, the Gulf stream moves 100 times as much water as all the rivers on Earth.

The Gulf StreamComing from warm climates, the Gulf Stream moves warmer water to the North Atlantic. This diagram shows sea-surface temperatures of the

North Atlantic Ocean.

Evaporation: The process by which water is changed from liquid to a gas or vapor

EvaporationEvaporation is the primary pathway that water

moves from the liquid state back into the water cycle as atmospheric water vapor.

Studies have shown that the oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers provide nearly 90 percent of the moisture in our atmosphere via evaporation, with the remaining 10 percent being contributed by plant transpiration.

Heat (energy) is necessary for evaporation to occur.

The process of evaporation removes heat from the environment, which is why water evaporating from your skin cools you.

This is an endothermic reaction

Evaporation

Sublimation:

The changing of snow or ice to water vapor without melting

SublimationWithout the addition of energy (heat) to

the process, ice would not sublimate into vapor. That is where sunlight plays a large role in the natural world.

Water has a physical property called the "heat of vaporization," which is the amount of heat required to vaporize water.

Evapotranspiration:The process by which water vapor is discharged to the atmosphere as a result of evaporation from the soil and transpiration by plants

Evapotranspiration:

Transpiration

Transpiration is the loss of water vapor from parts of plants (similar to sweating), especially in leaves but also in stems, and flowers.

Leaf transpiration occurs through stomata Stoma is a pore, found in the leaf and stem

epidermis that is used for gaseous exchange.

Atmospheric factors affecting transpirationThe amount of water that plants

transpire varies greatly geographically and over time. There are a number of factors that determine transpiration rates:

Atmospheric factors affecting transpiration

1. Temperature:Transpiration rates go up as the temperature goes up, especially during the growing season, when the air is warmer.2. Relative humidity: As the relative humidity of the air surrounding the plant rises the transpiration rate falls. It is easier for water to evaporate into dryer air than into more saturated air.

3. Wind and air movement: Increased movement of the air around a plant will result in a higher transpiration rate.4. Soil-moisture availability: When moisture is lacking, plants can begin to senesce (premature ageing, which can result in leaf loss) and transpire less water.5. Type of plant: Plants transpire water at different rates. Some plants which grow in arid regions, such as cacti and succulents, conserve precious water by transpiring less water.

Atmospheric factors affecting transpiration

Bell QuestionDefine the following terms:

1. Sublimation2. Evaporation3. Transpiration4. Evapotransporation

What are the five factors that affect transpiration

1.________; 2.________; 3.________4.________; 5.________.

The Atmosphere

Water storage in the atmosphere: All water stored in the atmosphere as

vapor, such as clouds and humidity

CloudsClouds are, of course, the most

visible manifestation of atmospheric water, but even clear air contains water—water in particles that are too small to be seen.

Condensation:The process by which water is changed from vapor to liquid

Water vapor condenses into a liquid after making contact with the surface of a cold bottle.

CondensationCondensation is crucial to the water

cycle because it is responsible for the formation of clouds.

Precipitation: The discharge of water, in liquid or solid state, out of the atmosphere, generally upon a land or water surface

Rain DropletsFor precipitation to happen, first tiny water

droplets must condense on even tinier dust, salt, or smoke particles, which act as a nucleus.

If enough collisions occur to produce a droplet with a fall velocity which exceeds the cloud updraft speed, then it will fall out of the cloud as precipitation. This is not a trivial task since millions of cloud droplets are required to produce a single raindrop.

Rain

Raindrops have sizes ranging from 0.1 to 9 millimeters in diameter, above which they tend to break up. Smaller drops are called cloud droplets, and their shape is spherical.

CoalescenceCoalescence occurs when water droplets fuse

to create larger water droplets, or when water droplets freeze onto an ice crystal, which is known as the Bergeron process.

Coalescence generally happens most often in clouds above freezing, and is also known as the warm rain process. In clouds below freezing, ice crystals gain enough mass they begin to fall.

Water storage in ice and snow: Freshwater stored in frozen form, generally in glaciers, ice-fields, and snowfields

Ice and Snow Storage Facts:Glacial ice covers 10 - 11 percent of

all land. About 90% is in Antartica.According to the National Snow and

Ice Data Center (NSIDC), if all glaciers melted today the seas would rise about 230 feet (70 meters).

Snowmelt runoff to streams:

The movement of water as surface runoff from snow and ice to surface water

Surface runoff:

Precipitation runoff which travels over the soil surface to the nearest

stream channel

Stream flow:

The movement of water in a natural channel, such as a river

Toe River, Plumtree, North Carolina

Infiltration: The downward movement of water from the land surface into soil or porous rock

Groundwater storage: Water existing for long periods below the Earth's surface

Large amounts of water are stored in the ground.

Most of the water in the ground comes from precipitation that infiltrates downward from the land surface.

GroundwaterStored water as part of the water

cycle

Vadose Zone

Groundwater discharge: The movement of water out of the ground

There's more water than just what you can see on the surface. Groundwater that travels close to the land surface and emerges very quickly as discharge into streambeds is known as groundwater discharge.

Groundwater Discharge

Springs: A place where a concentrated discharge of groundwater flows at the ground surface

2 Types:1. Cold Spring 2. Thermal Spring

Cold Spring A spring is the result of an aquifer being filled to the point that the water overflows onto the land surface.

Thermal SpringThermal springs occur in regions of recent

volcanic activity and are fed by water heated by contact with hot rocks far below the surface.

Springs

Thermal Mud Springs Thermal Springs w/IceYellowstone, Wyoming Pakkula, Iceland

Global water distribution:Of the world's total water supply over 97 percent is saline. And, of the total freshwater, over 68 percent is locked up in ice and glaciers. Another 30 percent of freshwater is in the ground. Fresh surface-water sources, such as rivers and lakes, only constitute about 0.0015 percent of total water. Yet, rivers and lakes are the sources of most of the water people use everyday.