Global distribution and size of major stores of water Flashcards
What are the major stores of water?
sea ice, ice shelves, glaciers/ice sheets, snowfall, permafrost
What are the 4 major systems?
Hydrosphere, Lithosphere, Cryosphere, Atmosphere
What is the hydrosphere?
All of earth’s water including surface water, groundwater, snow and ice and water in the atmosphere.
What is the Lithosphere?
Water stored in rocks, soil.
What is the Cryosphere?
Frozen states: permafrost, snow and ice
What is the atmosphere?
Water stored as vapour
Why is the Cryosphere important?
- West America - 3/4 of water comes from snow melt
- 1/5 of the lands surface is permafrost
- Greenland’s ice sheet = 10% of earth’s ice
What percentage of water is saline?
- saline water (oceans) 96.5%
- other saline water (salt water lakes) 0.9%
What percentage of water is found in rivers and lakes?
0.006%
Why is groundwater more important than glaciers, icecaps etc.?
it is found everywhere whereas glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets are in specific places.
What is an aquifer?
an underground layer of permeable rock which groundwater can be extracted from
Why are aquifers important?
30% of all fresh water is stored in rocks buried deep beneath the surface and are crucial for sustaining civilizations
Where are aquifers found?
arid regions of Africa, Middle East and Australia.
What can happen to aquifers?
Salt water intrusion can occur. this is where sea water has infiltrated into rocks often due to over abstraction.
