Concise Notes on Fresh and Salt Water Systems

Water Systems and Human Impact

  • Most of Earth’s water is in the oceans, influencing climate and supporting diverse species.

  • Human activities alter water systems, causing shortages, floods, and pollution.

  • Sustainability: Meeting present needs without compromising future generations.

Earth's Water Distribution

  • 97% of Earth’s water is saltwater, while only 3% is freshwater.

  • Freshwater sources include lakes, rivers, ponds, and groundwater.

  • Freshwater is vital for drinking, agriculture, manufacturing, and recreation.

Water Usage and Conservation

  • Water is essential for bodily functions, agriculture, and various industries.

  • The water cycle distributes water through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

  • The sun's energy drives the water cycle.

  • Water is always moving, but the total amount on Earth remains constant over billions of years.

  • Reducing personal water usage can significantly decrease overall consumption.

The Frozen Water

  • Ice sheets and glaciers contain a large portion of Earth's fresh water.

  • Glaciers form from accumulated snow compressed into ice over time.

  • Icefields feed multiple glaciers and create unique weather patterns.

  • Valley glaciers form in mountain ranges, while continental glaciers cover large land masses near the poles.

  • Glaciers shape the land through erosion and deposition, creating features like cirques, arêtes, moraines, and eskers.

  • Ice ages are periods of cooling, with glaciers covering large areas of land.

  • Ice core sampling provides data on past climates.

Global Warming

  • The greenhouse effect is natural warming caused by gases in the atmosphere.

  • Global warming is associated with increasing greenhouse gases, leading to rising temperatures.

Fresh Water Systems

  • Fresh water systems include surface water (lakes, ponds, wetlands) and groundwater.

  • A watershed is an area of land that drains into a body of water.

  • Runoff is water that flows across Earth’s surface.

Runoff

  • Landforms, soil conditions, vegetation cover, and human activities influence runoff.

Erosion

  • Erosion and deposition shape river valleys and deltas.

Glacial Deposition

  • Water quantity and quality are concerns for water resource management.

Water Quality

  • Sediment plays a major role in transporting pollutants.

  • Groundwater systems depend on permeable soil and rock that allow water to flow through pores.

  • Aquifers are underground layers of porous rock that hold water.

Water Sources

  • Wells extract groundwater, but over-extraction can deplete aquifers.

Groundwater Contamination

  • Groundwater contamination comes from point sources (e.g., landfills) and non-point sources (e.g., agricultural runoff).

Surface water

  • Surface run-off with contaminants pollutes it.

Water Supply

  • Managing water involves balancing human, industrial and environmental needs.

Oceans and global processes

  • Oceans cover most of the Earth

  • It contains Salt concentration from land

  • Ocean basin features; tectonic plate.

  • Ocean basin features; Continental shelf and slope.

  • Wave height depends on wind over long distances

  • Tides: Spring and Neap Tides.

  • Ocean Currents; Surface and Ocean temperature.

Aquatic species

*Adaptions necessary to consider oxygen concentrations.

Plant Adaptions

  • Nutrients are important, where do they come from and steady state.

  • Types of Plants on the surface and adaptions

  • Phytoplankton are on the surface to grow.

Water Quality

  • Human Interaction that are necessary. Toxic substances and measurements.

  • Testing and Monitoring.

  • Bioindicators are needed for the ecosystems.