1B2 Processes of the Hydrosphere and Atmosphere Flashcards
Study the dynamic interactions shaping Earth's water and air systems.
What is evaporation?
The process where liquid water is heated by the sun and changes into gaseous water vapor.
Evaporation is a key component of the water cycle and is responsible for transferring water from Earth’s surface into the atmosphere.
Define condensation in the context of the water cycle.
The process by which gaseous water vapor becomes liquid water.
Condensation is critical for cloud formation and precipitation, helping to regulate Earth’s temperature and climate.
What is precipitation?
The process by which water returns from the atmosphere to the Earth’s surface in forms such as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
Precipitation is essential for replenishing freshwater sources and maintaining ecosystems.
What is sublimation in the water cycle?
The process where frozen water, like snow, changes directly into water vapor without becoming liquid first.
Sublimation is most common in cold regions where the air is dry, such as in the polar ice caps.
Explain transpiration in the water cycle.
The evaporation of water from plant leaves through openings called stomata.
Transpiration is a major component of the water cycle, contributing to the overall amount of water vapor in the atmosphere.
What is runoff in the context of the water cycle?
The flow of water, usually from precipitation, over the ground due to gravity.
Runoff can lead to soil erosion and the transport of nutrients and pollutants into water bodies.
Define infiltration.
The process where water on the ground surface enters the soil and percolates into the groundwater system.
Infiltration is important for replenishing aquifers and maintaining groundwater levels.
What is the water cycle?
Also known as the hydrologic cycle.
The continuous movement of water on, above, and below Earth’s surface, involving changes between solid ice, liquid water, and gaseous water vapor.
What is the hydrosphere?
The total amount of water on Earth, including water in oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, underground reservoirs, glaciers, and in the atmosphere as water vapor.
Name the three main processes of the water cycle.
- Evaporation
- Condensation
- Precipitation
What role does the sun play in the water cycle?
The sun provides the energy that drives the water cycle by causing evaporation, where water turns into vapor and rises into the atmosphere.
What forms as a result of condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere?
Clouds
What is ocean circulation?
The large-scale movement of waters in the ocean basins.
Name two types of ocean currents.
- Surface currents
- Deep-water currents
What drives surface ocean currents?
Wind patterns
How do ocean currents affect marine life?
By distributing nutrients, regulating temperatures, and transporting organisms to different regions, supporting diverse ecosystems.
What causes ocean waves?
Wind blowing across the surface of the water.
What are tides?
The regular rise and fall of sea levels caused by the gravitational forces of the moon and the sun.
Distinguish between a high tide and a low tide.
- High tide: When the water level is at its highest point.
- Low tide: When the water level is at its lowest point.
How often do most coastal areas experience high and low tides?
Twice a day.
Describe coastal erosion.
The process where waves and currents remove land along the coastline.
What is glacial erosion?
The process by which glaciers carve and shape the land.
What is sediment transport?
The process by which particles are moved from one location to another by natural forces such as water flow, air (wind), or glacial action.
This includes the processes of erosion, transportation, and deposition.
Name the 5 layers of the atmosphere.
- Troposphere
- Stratosphere
- Mesosphere
- Thermosphere
- Exosphere
What gases are present in the atmosphere?
- Nitrogen (78%)
- Oxygen (21%)
- Trace amounts of Argon (0.93%), Carbon dioxide (0.04%) and other gases
What is the troposphere?
The lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere, where most weather events occur and where we live.
It extends from the Earth’s surface up to about 8-15 kilometers (5-9 miles) high.
How does the water cycle influence weather patterns?
By redistributing heat and water vapour around the planet.
How do ocean currents affect atmospheric conditions?
By distributing heat around the planet.
Warm currents can raise temperatures and humidity in coastal regions, while cold currents can cool them.
These interactions influence weather patterns and climate.
What is the impact of climate change on the hydrosphere?
- This causes:
- Glaciers and ice caps to melt.
- Sea levels to rise.
- Ocean temperatures to increase.
- It also leads to more extreme weather events, such as heavier rainfall and stronger storms, altering the distribution and availability of water.
How does climate change affect the atmosphere?
- By increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, leading to global warming.
- This results in higher temperatures, altered weather patterns, more extreme weather events, and shifts in atmospheric circulation.
How does pollution impact the hydrosphere?
- By contaminating water bodies with harmful substances, harming aquatic life, disrupting ecosystems, and making water unsafe for human use.
- It also leads to issues like algal blooms and acidification.
What are the effects of deforestation on the atmosphere?
Reduced oxygen production and increased carbon dioxide (& other greenhouse gas) levels.
What are Hadley cells?
They are low-latitude overturning circulations that have air rising at the equator and air sinking at roughly 30° latitude.
They are responsible for the trade winds in the Tropics and control low-latitude weather patterns.
Which layer of the Earth’s atmosphere (shown in the diagram) contains the ozone layer?
The Stratosphere
Which layer of the atmosphere contains approximately 75% of the atmosphere’s mass and most of the water vapor, leading to weather phenomena?
Troposphere
Which layer of the atmosphere is furthest from the Earth’s surface and what are its characteristics?
The exosphere, which is characterized by extremely low densities of particles, which are mostly hydrogen and helium.
It gradually transitions into outer space.
Which layer of the atmosphere lies above the stratosphere and what are its characteristics?
The mesosphere, which is the coldest layer of the atmosphere where the temperature decreases with altitude.
What is meant by the ‘greenhouse effect’?
The process by which certain gases (such as carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor) trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, leading to a warming effect.
This effect is essential for maintaining Earth’s temperature within a habitable range, but human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, have intensified it, contributing to global warming and climate change.
