The Water Cycle

Step 1 of Water Cycle

water evaporates from ocean

Step 2 of Water Cycle

condensation- water droplets in the air pull together

Step 3 of Water Cycle

once they get too big to stay in the air, they fall to Earth in precipitation (rain, snow, sleet or hail depending on the temperature)

Step 4 of Water Cycle

when the water reaches the ground, either the ground is oversaturated or not porous enough to receive water or it is not oversaturated and it does receive it.

What happens in step 4 of the water cycle when water does go into the ground?

Infiltration - thats why we have a water table that people drill wells to reach

What happens in step 4 of the water cycle when the water doesnt go into the ground?

the ground is oversaturated, the water does not absorb and runs off in streams or rivers, which takes water back to oceans or lakes. acts as transportation for sediments like salt back to the ocean

Estuary

a place where fresh water - a river or stream - goes into a salt water body like the ocean, so it is partly salt, partly fresh water

ie “brackish” water

Bodies of water with drainage tend to have ———- compared to those that only lose water through evaporation.

lower salinity

this is why the ocean is so salty, it is the final drainage point

what is the difference between Big Bear Lake and the Salton Sea?

Big Bear lake has a lower salinity level than the Salton sea because there is drainage from Big Bear lake, taking salt with it, but the Salton Sea has no source of drainage, only escapes via evaporation, which leaves the salt behind.

How are changes in the hydrosphere driven by energy from the sun and gravity?

energy: the sun is causing evaporation and uneven heating of ground causes wind

gravity: pulls water droplets to fall to Earth, gravity also causes water to run down into the ocean.

What is the hydrosphere?

The hydrosphere is all parts of the earth that contain water (clouds, ocean, lake, streams, etc)

Changes in the hydrosphere also effect…

Earth’s systems such as the atmosphere, biosphere & lithosphere, and are also subject to human impacts

how does the atmosphere get effected by the hydrosphere?

the clouds in the atmosphere (the air surrounding the Earth)

how does the biosphere get effected by the hydrosphere?

biosphere is where the living things are and living things are mainly comprised of water and are highly dependent on water

how does the lithosphere get effected by the hydrosphere?

the lithosphere is the part of the earth comprised of rock and soil which is being eroded and shaped by the water in the hydrosphere

What are three important properties of water?

1. water can absorb a lot of heat compared to land and rock, therefore it doesn’t get hot so quickly. warm land + cool ocean air = wind

2. due to polarity, water is an excellent solvent, so it is good at breaking down rocks (erosion) - impacts lithosphere

3. ice is less dense than liquid which puts ice on the surface, bc liquid is more dense

Energy is changing forms but ________

not being destroyed, as it changes forms its moving matter

how do water speed and different kinds of rocks make an effect

heavy gravel will stay put even when there is fast water running over it, light rocks like sand or clay tend to get swept away by fast moving water and deposited in areas where the water is slowly moving.

deposition of rock is related to the velocity of water

How does the deposition of rock related to the velocity of water effect the ecosystem?

different kinds of plants can grow in areas with silt or clay that might not grow in areas of gravel or sand

Human Impact on earths systems

• land erosion and soil movement from human beings annually far exceeds the movement of soil and land from all natural processes (ie construction) - lithosphere

• dams change the course of a river which effects how fish are moving - biosphere

• deforestation - when we remove plants there are mudslides - lithosphere

• rising sea levels due to melting of ice caps (carbon dioxide from humans causing heat)

• high nitrogen in soil (from fertilizer) can cause differences in soil composition

• effect of concrete (pavement/asphalt) - water doesn’t absorb into the ground, much more run off so pollutants run off into the ocean