E: Fresh and Saltwater Systems, section 1 and 2: water quality and distribution, waves, tides, climate Flashcards
What is potable water?
Water that humans can safely drink
How much water on the earth is saltwater?
97%
How much water on earth is fresh water?
3%
Of all the fresh water, how much is ice?
77%
Of the fresh water on earth how much is ground water?
22%
Of the freshwater how much is in rivers, lakes, and wetlands?
1%
Where is the most fresh water on earth?
In is in ice form
What does water quality describe?
How pure water is
What does water get tested for?
Taste and odor Turbidity (cloudiness) and color Toxic substances and pollutants Bacteria Hardness and mineral content Ph level of 7 Dissolved oxygen level Suspended solids Dissolved solids
What is salinity?
The total amount of saltS dissolved in water
What is hard water?
Hard water contains a high concentration of the minerals calcium and magnesium
What does hard water do?
They leave mineral deposits in appliances
What type of organisms can be found in freshwater?
E.coli and minerals
Why don’t people who get water from a well need to get their water tested often?
Because it comes from deep underground and is protected from most pollutants
What do they do to clean water?
They filter it and treat it with chemicals
What can give a rotten egg smell in water?
Hydrogen sulphide
What are the two processes to turn saltwater to fresh water?
Distillation and reverse osmosis
Explain the process of distillation?
Saltwater gets heated until it evaporates. And only the water evaporates. Then as it goes down a tube it condenses and leaves pure water
Explain the process of reverse osmosis
It forces saltwater through a membrane that has holes not big enough for salt to pass through. So it moves from low concentration of water to high concentration
What kind of waves do boats create?
They create waves called wash.
What can was do to smaller boats?
They can sink small ones, damage moored ones and contribute to shore erosion
What are waves?
Changes in patterns that move along the waters surface. They make water move in a circular motion
What causes waves?
Wind
What causes the tops of waves to rise?
When waves near the shore the bottoms drag on the bottoming the ocean floor
What affect do waves have on a shoreline?
The forces of waves crashing against a shoreline can change the shape. But small waves move more gently and deposit sediments
What is tide?
The gradual change in water height
What is high tide?
The highest water level along a shoreline
What is low tide?
The lowest water level on the coast
What causes tides?
Tides are caused by the gravitational force of the moon. As the moon orbits the earth it pulls water with it
What are stream characteristics?
Things that describe a stream
What do stream characteristics describe?
The rate of water flow and the slope of the streams bed
How do hot springs deposit sediments?
They bring water from deep underground. And because it was from deep underground it is at a higher temperature and that means it can hold more dissolved solids. But as it comes up the earth then it cools down and can hold less minerals
How does a stream or river start?
A glacier melts and the water collects until it starts a small stream. And then other streams join together to make a river
How does a river flow in the early stage?
It flows swiftly and fairly straight
What happens when a river reaches lower levels?
It flows slower and theta causes it to move on big curves called meanders. The flat land on wait her side gets covered with water when it overflows. That area is called a flood plain.
What is a meander?
Wide curves that a river bed does when it reaches ground level.
What is a flood plain?
A flood plain is the area that water overflows onto when it slows down
What happens when a river reaches the ocean?
It slows down much more and it drops its sediment load in triangle shapes called a delta
What can cause erosion?
Chemical weathering
What causes caves?
Caves are caused when rivers or streams break down big rocks like limestone
What is watershed?
Watershed is all the area of land that drains into one main lake or river
What determines the direction of watershed?
The continental divide?
What is the continental divide?
The highest land in a continent
What is the continental divide in North America?
The Rocky Mountains
Where does water flow if it is to the west of the continental divide?
The Pacific Ocean
Where does water flow of it is to the east of the continental divide?
To the Arctic or the Atlantic Ocean
What are continental shelves?
Shallow edges around the edges of continents. Mainly made of sedimentary deposits.
Where are continental shelves largest?
On the edge of Oceans that are opening up
How do trenches form?
Trenches form when plates are moving toward each other. The thinner oceanic plate is pushed below the thicker plate
What are seamounts?
Under water volcanoes that don’t reach the ocean surface
What are mid-ocean ridges?
When molten rock pushes up from the interior of the earth. The two plates beside it are moving away from each other
What happens when plates move toward each other?
Trenches form
What happens when plates move away from each other?
Ridges and faults form
What are glaciers?
Large moving bodies of ice
What are glaciers that cover vast bodies of land called?
Continental glaciers
How do glaciers grind down and shape the land they pass over?
As they move pieces of rock become embedded in them. It is these pieces of rock combined with he massive glaciers that shape the land it passes over
What are moraines?
Rocks that form at the edge of glaciers as they mele
What are eskers?
Eskers form when part of a glacier melts. They form when the water flow under the glacier in tunnels. The melting releases sand and gravel from the glacier. And the sediments are deposited in a river type shape
What are drumlins?
Small hills with a teardrop shape. They form when a glacier moves over a moraine.
What is climate?
The average weather measured over a long period of time
How do large bodies of water affect climate?
Because they are able to hold heat for a long time for the the temperature to change. Therefore it takes a they prevent extreme temperatures
What is a chinook?
A chinook is when warm moist air from the ocean travels to the top of a mountain and loses some of it moisture then goes back down a mountain in warm dry winds called a chinook
What are currents?
Streams of water that move within a larger body of water
What causes currents?
Wind
Temperature differences in water
Salinity differences
Earths rotation
How are currents different from waves?
Currents actually move from place to place
