The Hydrosphere

1. The Hydrosphere

2. Objectives • Namethe three major processes in the water cycle. • Describethe properties of ocean water. • Describethe two types of ocean currents. • Explain how the ocean regulates Earth’s temperature. • Discuss the factors that confine life to the biosphere. • Explain the difference between open and closed systems.

3. The Hydrosphere • The hydrosphere includes all of the water on or near the Earth’s surface. • This includes • water in the oceans • lakes • rivers • wetlands • polar ice caps • soil • rock layers beneath the Earth • clouds

4. The Water Cycle • The water cycle:is the • continuous movement of water • from the ocean to atmosphere to land back to ocean. • Evaporation: change of a substance from liquid to gas. • Water continually evaporates from the Earth’s oceans, lakes, streams, and soil, but the majority evaporates from the oceans.

5. The Water Cycle • Condensation is the change of state from a gas to a liquid. • Water vapor forms water droplets • Droplets form clouds • Clouds create heavier drops that fall as Precipitation • Precipitation is any form of water that falls to the Earth from the clouds including • Rain • Snow • Sleet • Hail

6. The Water Cycle

7. Earth’s Oceans • All of the oceans are joined together called: • world ocean. • Oceans regulate the planet’s environment.

8. Earth’s Oceans • The largest ocean is the Pacific Ocean • surface area of about 165,640,000 km2. • The deepest point is Challenger Deep. • It is 11,033m (6.85miles) below sea level • deeper than Mount Everest is tall.

9. Earth’s Oceans • Largest Ocean: Pacific Ocean • divided into two parts • North Pacific and South Pacific • based on the direction of the surface currents. • North Pacific: currents move clockwise • South Pacific: currents move counter-clockwise

10. Pacific Ocean Currents

11. Earth’s Oceans • 2nd largest ocean: Atlantic Ocean • about 1/2 the size of Pacific Ocean • Covers 81,630,000 km2. • Can be divided into a north and south based on the directions of surface currents.

12. Earth’s Oceans • 3rd largest ocean: The Indian Ocean • covers73,420,000 km2. • The smallest ocean: Artic ocean • covers 14,350,000 km2. • much of its surface is covered by floating ice Summer in the Arctic

13. Ocean Water • What makes ocean and fresh water different? • SALT • Salinityis a measure of the amount of dissolved salts in water. • lower in places: • that get a lot of rain • where fresh water flows in to the sea. • higher where water evaporates rapidly leaving salts behind.

14. Ocean Water • Most of the salt in the ocean is sodium chloride(NaCl a.k.a. table salt) • although many other elements can be found in the ocean as well.

15. Temperature Zones • Surface: warmed by the sun • stirred up by waves and currents so the • warm surface zone may be 350 m deep. • Thermocline: Below the surface zone • about 300 to 700 m • temperature falls rapidly. • depths of the ocean • no sunlight = very cold, just above freezing.

16. Temperature Zones

17. Ocean Layers

18. Ocean Layers (From Surface to Floor) • Epipelagic Zone • Mesopelagic Zone • Bathypelagic Zone • Abyssopelagic Zone • Hadalpelagic Zone • Benthic Zone

19. Ocean Zones • Epipelagic Zone: • Surface – 650 ft • Upper ocean zone. • Full of life • enough sunlight to sustain photosynthesis. • (a.k.a.) Euphotic Zone.

20. Ocean Zones • Mesopelagic Zone: • 650 ft – 3300ft • not enough sunlight to sustain photosynthesis. • (a.k.a.) Disphotic Zone.

21. Ocean Zones • Bathypelagic Zone: • 3300 ft- 13000ft • lowest level on the continental shelf. • No sunlight. • Aphotic Zone: No Sunlight • Plants cannot grow. • No primary productivity. • All the food in this zone comes from dead material sinking from the higher layers.

22. Ocean Zones • Abyssopelagic Zone: • 13000ft- ~20000ft • Largest layer of the ocean. • It is completely dark, and the • Low oxygen concentration • Extreme pressure. • No sunlight. • Aphotic Zone: No Sunlight • Plants cannot grow. • No primary productivity. • Does Support life. • Organisms feed off of dead and fecal materials that sink to the sea floor.

23. Ocean Zones • Hadalpelagic Zone: • 20000ft and Lower • Deep ocean trenches such as the Mariana Trench and others. • Shares same characteristics as the Abyssal Zone except even deeper. • No sunlight. • Aphotic Zone: No Sunlight • Plants cannot grow.

24. Ocean Zones • Benthic Zone: • This is the ocean floor. • Mudlike sediments form bodies of dead organisms • Fecal pellets of aquatic organisms also accumulate here. • Sediment of dead organisms and fecal matter can be a mile thick. • Aphotic Zone: No Sunlight • Extreme pressure

25. Light

26. A Global Temperature Regulator • Important functions: • Absorb and store energy from sunlight • This regulates temperatures in Earth’s atmosphere. • Because the ocean both absorbs and releases heat slower than land, the temperature of the atmosphere changes more slowly. • If oceans did not regulate temperatures, temperatures would be too extreme for life to exist on Earth.

27. A Global Temperature Regulator • Local temperatures are regulated by the world ocean. • Currents circulate warm water causing land areas they flow past to have more moderate climates. • For example, the British Isles are warmed by the waters of the Gulf Stream.

28. Ocean Currents • surface currents: Streamlike movements of water that occur at or near the surface. • wind driven and result from global wind patterns. • Surface currents: • can be warm or cold • They do not readily mix with one another.

29. Ocean Currents

30. Ocean Currents • Deep currents • movements of water that flow very slowly along the ocean floor. • Deep currents form when the cold, dense water from the poles sinks below warmer, less dense ocean water and flows toward the equator. • The densest and coldest ocean water is located off the coast of Antarctica producing a deep current called the Antarctic Bottom Water.

31. Fresh Water and River Systems • Fresh water: • Most fresh water is locked up in icecaps and glaciers • The rest is found in • lakes • rivers • wetlands • soil and • atmosphere • A river system: • network of streams that drains an area of land • including the main river, smaller streams or rivers that flow into larger ones.

32. Ground water • Precipitation sinks into the ground and run off the land. • Most of this water trickles down through the ground and collects as groundwater. • Groundwater fulfills the need for fresh drinking water, and supplies agricultural and industrial need. • Makes up 1% of all the water on Earth,

33. Aquifers • A rock layer that stores and allows the flow of groundwater is called an aquifer.

34. The Biosphere • The biosphereis the part of Earth where life exists, • 11 km into the ocean • 9 km into the atmosphere. • The materials that organisms require must be continually recycled. • Biosphere: only area with Suitable conditions for life due to abundant sunlight.

35. The Biosphere • Plants need sunlight to produce food • almost every other organism gets its food from plants and algae. • Most of the algae float at the surface, known as phytoplankton.

36. Energy Flow in the Biosphere • When an organism dies, its body is broken down and the nutrients become available for use by other organisms. • This flow of energy allows life on Earth to continue to exist.

37. Energy Flow in the Biosphere • Closed systems are systems that cannot exchange matter or energy with its surroundings. • Open systems are systems that can exchange both matter and energy with its surroundings. • Earth is a closed system with respect to matter • Earth is a open system for energy • energy travel • Sun • Plant • animal