Hydrosphere Flashcards
How old is the hydrosphere
3.8 to 4 billion years
How much percentage is water against land
29% land to 71% water
What makes up our water
97% is in our oceans, 2% is in glaciers, 0.5% is held as groundwater and 0.5% is in rivers, lakes, and biologics
Where is our water
99% of water is locked up in Ocean and Glacial Storage and 1% of water is in constant movement through the Water Cycle
What is an ocean
The body of salt water that covers nearly 71% of Earth’s surface, and the large bodies of water that the world ocean is divided into (by basins)
Largest to Smallest Oceans
Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean and the Arctic Ocean (PAISA)
Properties of Oceans
Composition, Salinity, Temperature, Density and Water Pressure
How to understand ocean differences
Due to differences in the properties of our oceans, we can identify distinct bodies of water
What is the ocean composed of
Ocean water is mainly composed of many different dissolved minerals that become salts
How does the salt get in the water?
As rivers flow, they break down and dissolve (erosion) minerals (salts) that are then carried to the ocean.
How much percentage for each element that makes up the salt in the saltwater
Chloride-55%, Sodium-31%, Magnesium-7.7%, Sulfur-3.7%, Calcium- 1.2%, Other-1.4%
What is upwelling
Winds blowing across the ocean surface push water away. Water then rises up from beneath the surface to replace the water that was pushed away
What is the Intertidal Zone
Closest to shore. At high tide is covered with water. At low tide, it is exposed to air
What is the Neritic Zone
Lies over the continental shelf, Water is not very deep. Nutrients are plentiful and so is light.
What is the Oceanic Zone
Open ocean out past continental shelf. Water may be very deep. Nutrients are scarce
What is Salinity
Measure of the amount of salt in a liquid
Where would High Salinity be in
Hot and dry places
Where would Low Salinity be in
Places with a lot of rain
What nutrients & mineral variability are in our Oceans
New water tends to be full of nutrients from the sea floor
This phenomenon happens most often along coastlines, creating nutrient rich waters close to shore
Creates a natural variability in the water
What are the zones based on distance
Intertidal Zone, Neritic zone and Oceanic Zone
What are the zones based on depth
Photic Zone and Aphotic Zone
What is the Photic zone
top 200 meters of water. This zone has enough sunlight for photosynthesis
What is the Aphotic zone
water below 200 meters. Not enough sunlight for photosynthesis.
What Elements can be found in the world’s oceans
Carbon, bromide, boron, strontium and fluoride can all be found in the ocean
Water density increases as
Salinity increases, Temperature decreases and Pressure increases
What is Temperature Variability
The temperature of the ocean varies from place to place and from season to season
What are the properties of water change with temperature
Cold water is denser than warm water, so it sinks
Cold water holds more dissolvable gases, such as carbon dioxide
Water temperature can affect the productivity of organisms living in it
Water expands when it warms up because heat energy makes its molecules move around more quickly and take up more space
What is the water pressure & depth
At sea level air pressure presses down on our bodies at 14.7 pounds per square inch
We don’t feel this pressure because the fluids in our bodies are pushing outward with the same force
Under water, you feel the pressure of the water above you pressing down on you
For every 33 feet (10.06 meters) of depth, the pressure increases by 1 atmosphere
What kind of weather does El Nino bring to SE Asia
A drought
Ocean layers by available sunlight
Sunlight, Twilight and Midnight
Ocean layers by available sunlight temperature
Surface, Thermocline and Deep Ocean
What is the Sunlight Zone
This is also called the “Epipelagic Zone”
Mixed Latin and Greek root words! (Epi = Greek for “on top of” & pelagic = based on Latin for “sea”
This zone is considered to extend to depths of about 200m (660ft)
Warmed by the heat of the Sun (temperatures ranges from as high as 104° to about 27 ° F, or 40- -3 ° C)
Depth and temperature varies by how clear the water is! Clearer = deeper sunlight zone & warmer)
What is the Twilight Zone
This zone is also called the “Disphotic Zone”
From Greek for “poorly lit”
Also called the “mesopelagic zone”
Because there is very little, if any, sunlight
The depth range of this zone is ~200m-1,000m (660-3,300ft)
Due to the rapid loss of sunlight, there is a quick change in water temperature (drops from about 41⁰F (5⁰C) to 39⁰ (4⁰C) and colder!
What is the Midnight Zone
This includes both the bathypelagic & abyssopelagic zones
The bathypelagic extends to 2000m (start varies by the clearness of the water)
The abyssopelagic extends from 2000m to the ocean floor
Depth range is from 1,000 to the ocean floor (as deep as 10,971m below sea level [Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench] as measured by the US Center for Coastal & Ocean Mapping)
Temperature continues to decline with depth (to about 0⁰-3⁰) – very near to freezing
What is the Surface zone temperature
Warmed by the heat of the sun
What is the Thermocline temperature
Quick change in water temperature due to differences in density of warm and cold water.
What is the Deep zone temperature
Temperature continues to slowly decline as you get deeper
This cold water is denser & holds more dissolved gases
How does Water Pressure function
Functions like atmospheric pressure.
What are Currents
streamlike movements of water flowing through the world’s oceans
What are Surface Currents
Horizontal currents that occur at or near the ocean’s surface
What are Surface Currents created from
Global wind patterns, The rotation of the Earth and The shape of the ocean basins
How are Global Wind Belts created
created when more solar energy strikes the Equator than the polar regions
What is the shape of the Ocean Basins
Surface currents move across the ocean until they run into land at the edge of the ocean basin
The current will then turn right in the Northern Hemisphere and left in the Southern Hemisphere
The different direction in each hemisphere is due to the Coriolis Effect
What are Gyres
5 loops located on Earth’s oceans created by surface ocean currents
What is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current flows around Antarctica
It is the only current that flows nonstop around the globe
What are Deep Currents
Flow deep below the surface of the ocean
Caused by differences in water density at the top and bottom
More dense water takes up less space and sinks
Less dense water rises
What is Downwelling
ocean water that sinks due to higher density
What is the Thermohaline Circulation
Deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water’s density, which is controlled by temperature (thermos) and salinity (haline)
What does the Gulf Stream do
Warms northern latitudes of Europe significantly compared to other areas
What are Longshore Current
Formed when waves approach the shore at an off angle in the direction of prevailing local wind
What are Rip Currents
A strong surface current that returns to the ocean from the shore
What are waves
Ocean waves transfer energy from wind to the water
Trough
minimum height, or low point, of a wave
Crest
maximum upward height of a wave
Wavelength
the distance between crests or troughs
Wave height
the measured height difference between a crest and a trough
What is the Breaker Zone
As waves approach the shore, the ocean floor causes the bottom of the wave to slow down.
Because the top of the wave is then moving faster, it “falls” over creating a breaker.
What are Tides
Daily changes in the level of ocean water caused by the moon and the sun
What is a Spring Tide
Occur during the new moon and full moon. Sun and moon and earth are aligned.
Largest tidal range. Highest high tides and lowest low tides
What is a Neap Tide
Occur during the first and third quarters of the moon. Sun and Moon are at a right angle.
Very small tidal range, not much change occurs.
What is a Storm Surge
Storm surge causes damage during large storms like hurricanes
Storm surge is caused when low pressure in a storm pulls water upward
Water piles up at a shoreline as storm winds push waves into the coast
Storm surge can raise sea level as much as 25 ft (7.5 m)
What is a Tidal range
difference between low and high tide
What types of Ocean Pollution are there
Marine pollution, Pollutant, Runoff, Chemical and Trash
What is Marine pollution
pollutants in the ocean, usually chemicals or trash
What is a Pollutant
chemical or other substance that harms a natural resource
What is a Runoff
overflow of fluid from a farm or industrial factory
Where are Oceans most polluted
At the coast (Coastal Pollution)
Where is the Open Water Pollution
About 20% of ocean pollution comes from ships
Trash, fishing lines and nets may be thrown overboard
Garbage patches form as trash is caught up in gyres
Much of the trash in these patches is small, possibly microscopic
Because the trash is difficult to see the true size of these garbage patches is difficult to judge
What is the Abyssal Zone
Bottom of the ocean, depths of up to 6,000 m
Very salty and cold
11,000 pounds of pressure/sq. inch
Many animals that live here are bioluminescent like angler fish
Animals may have large jaws so they can drag their open mouths along the seafloor to find food
What’s the Hadal Zone
Deepest ocean zone, found in trenches and canyons
Tiny isopods and invertebrates like sponges and sea cucumbers
Animals depend on marine detritus
Hydrothermal vents can add superheated water and minerals to the water
The minerals feed bacteria which feeds crabs, clams, and tube worms
