Lesson 2- What is the water cycle and where is water stored?

Question 1

What % of the worlds water is in the ocean?

Answer 1

99%

Question 2

Where is all the freshwater in the world?

Answer 2

Ice- 70%
Flowing- 31%
In the air- 0.04%
Rivers- 0.006%

Question 3

What is the water cycle?

Answer 3

• The water cycle is also known as the hydrological cycle, it’s a closed system and shows how water continuously moves on above and below the earths surface
• The cycle also shapes landscapes, transports minerals and is essential to life on Earth

Question 4

What are the key parts of the water cycle?

Answer 4

Evaporation- sun evaportaes surface water into water vapour

Condensation- water vapour condenses and precipitates

Flows- water runs off the surface into streams and reservoirs or beneath the surface as ground flow

Question 5

Examples of how water is transferred- Evaporation

Answer 5

• For water to evaporate we need heat energy, the heat comes from the surrounding environment.
• This means that the heat is used and the environment cools during evaporation.

Question 6

Examples of how water is transferred- Condensation

Answer 6

• Another example is condensation, for water to condense it needs to release the heat.
• This means the heat is transferred to the environment heating it up.

Question 7

What are the different water stores?

Answer 7

• Atmospheric Water– water found in the atmosphere; mainly water vapour with some liquid(cloud and rain droplets) and ice crystals.
• CryosphericWater– Water locked up on the earth’s surface as ice.
• Ocean Water– Water contained in the earth’s oceans and seas. Not inland sea.
• Terrestrial Water– Water stored on land. Groundwater, soil moisture, lakes, wetlands and rivers.

Question 8

Stores of water-Oceans

Answer 8

• 1,370,000,000 km3 of water
• Depth is 3,682m on average
• Covers 72% of theearthssurface.

-Salty due to salt from rocks being dissolved or being released from underwater volcanoes, this allows it to stay liquid at 0 degrees

• Falling pH (becoming more acidic) due to increased carbon.

Question 9

Store of water- Ice

Answer 9

-Sea ice
-Ice sheets
-Apline glaciers
-Ice caps

Question 10

Sea ice

Answer 10

Most sea ice is found in the arctic ocean and sea ice sheets are formed where glaciers move out over oceans such as near antarctica

Question 11

Ice sheets

Answer 11

A mass of glacial ice more than 50,000km2 with there being 2 major ones on earth (Greenland and Antarctica)

Question 12

Alpine glaciers

Answer 12

Found in upland hollows or deep valleys and are fed by ice caps.
- The Himalayas are home tosome 15,000 glaciers.

Question 13

Ice caps

Answer 13

These are thick layers of ice on land smaller than 50,000km2 and found in mountainous areas flowing outwards.

Question 14

Stores of water- On land

Answer 14

• Surface water
• Ground water
• Soil water
• Biological water

Question 15

Surface water

Answer 15

Lakes:
-2 hectares + in size or would be a pond
-LARGEST- the Caspian Sea. DEEPEST- Lake Baikal in Siberia (mean depth of 749m).

Rivers:
-Transfer water and store water
-0.0002% of all water
-The Amazon is the largest river by discharge in the world.

Question 16

Ground water

Answer 16

Aquifers under the ground
-Below the water table where it is saturated in water.
- Up to 4,000m deep
- Fills up from the surface.
- Only permeable rocks can store water known as aquifers where interconnected pore spaces become saturated with water.

Question 17

Soil water

Answer 17

Water in the ground above the water table
-Soil moisture controls the exchange of water and heat energy between theland surface and the atmosphere.
- Important in the development of weather patterns and the production ofprecipitation.

Question 18

Biological water

Answer 18

Water in plants
- It varies widely around theglobe depending on the vegetation cover and type.
- Areas of dense rainforeststoremuch more water that deserts.
- If the vegetation is destroyed, this store is lost to theatmosphere and the climate can become more desert-like.

Question 19

What are the two types of aquifers?

Answer 19

Unconfined- where porous rock is open to surface water and is directly recharged by precipitation

Confined- where there are thick layers of rock over the aquifer, known as the confining beds; these contain the aquifer from the earths surface or other rocks

Question 20

Where is water stored- In the atmosphere

Answer 20

• Water vapour being a greenhouse gas is good and bad – it keeps us warm but also if there is too much of it can lead to global warming by absorbing the solar radiation and contributing to the greenhouse effect.
• The warmer the atmosphere is the more water vapour it can hold, this means hotter climates atmospheres can hold more water.