Hydrosphere and the Water Cycle Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the hydrosphere, ocean currents, and environmental impacts like pollution and bioaccumulation.

Water Cycle

A continuous cycle driven by solar energy and gravity where water is exchanged among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere.

Evaporation

The process where heat from the Sun causes water at Earth’s surface to evaporate.

Condensation

The process where warm air rises, cools, and forms clouds.

Precipitation

Water that falls back to Earth’s surface when it rains or snows.

Run-off

Water that moves over Earth’s surface and moves downhill back into the ocean water due to gravity.

Transpiration

The process by which water is absorbed by the roots of plants, carried through the plant, and lost as water vapour through small pores in the leaves.

Salt water

Makes up $97\%$ of Earth's water and is found primarily in the oceans.

Surface currents

Ocean currents created by wind that redistribute thermal energy and nutrients around Earth.

Warm currents

Currents that move heat (warm water from the equator) toward the poles.

Cold currents

Currents that bring cold water from colder, higher latitudes to tropical regions.

Great Ocean Conveyer Belt

A massive system of deep-water currents that moves deep water, thermal energy, and nutrients around Earth based on differences in temperature and salt content.

Water pollution

Any physical, biological, or chemical change in water quality that has an adverse effect on organisms or that makes water unsuitable for desired uses.

Point sources

Specific sources of pollution like factories, power plants, and oil wells that are easy to monitor and regulate.

Non-point sources

Pollution sources that are difficult to monitor and treat, such as run-off from farms, construction sites, and roads.

Bioaccumulation

The gradual build-up of chemicals or pollutants in the cells and tissues of organisms, occurring when a chemical is taken up and stored faster than it is broken down and excreted.

Biomagnification

The increase in concentration of pollutants in tissues of organisms that are at successively higher levels in a food chain or food web.