section 1+2 Flashcards
describe water distribution
oceans (saltwater) - 97%
frozen freshwater (glaciers, ice, snow) - 2%
groundwater - 0.9%
surface freshwater (lakes, rivers, pond) - 0.1%
WHY ARE OCEANS SO SALTY?
Oceans and seas are fed by river water, and rain water. When river water flows it picks up small deposits of minerals, these minerals along with the river water are eventually washed out to sea/ocean.
How come river water is not salty? But it makes the ocean salty?
Over millions of years the rivers have been depositing small amounts of mineral salts into the ocean. Over time that small amount collects and increases the salt concentration of the oceans.
POTABLE WATER meaning
- safe to drink
SALINITY meaning
Many different solids are dissolved in freshwater and saltwater -
name water testing criteria (7)
Colour & cloudiness (TURBIDITY) Dissolved salts and minerals (HARDNESS) Toxic substances Bacteria pH (acidity) Dissolved oxygen Even taste
Distillation meaning
- heat is used to evaporate water that leaves salt behind
Reverse osmosis meaning
forces salt water through a filter/membrane that only water passes through
describe waves (5)
- Waves are changes in patterns that move along the surface of water
- Waves do NOT move water - energy is just transferred through the water as a wave
- Caused by the wind
- Waves do most damage on shores
- Waves can also deposit materials at the shore
describe tides (3)
- Change in water level on shores
- Caused by gravitational pulls from the moon and sun
- Centripetal force causes water to bulge - higher water levels at the equator
describe river formation (5)
- Most streams originate in higher elevations
- In lower areas, smaller streams begin to combine to form rivers, increase in volume
- Over time rivers slowly begin to twist and turn, this erodes the nearby river banks forming valleys (river is meandering)
- As river waters begin to slow the farther it travels from its source it deposits rocks and minerals into the riverbed
- River eventually forms collects into a lake, or flows into the ocean
why is it so important river / stream charteristics?
- helps us understand types of organisms living there and the impact humans can have on these waters
- Engineers use stream characteristics for building bridges, dams
describe the different zones in rivers
Erosion zone - fast, large sediments enter water
Transfer Zone - slowing down, sediment moving along river
Depositional Zone - very slow, sediment deposited at bottom of river
describe 5 stream Characteristics
Speed of flow - fast, moderate, slow, crawling
Quantity of water - vast (Amazon River), large (North Sask. River), moderate (Bow River), small (Elbow River), trickle (mountain brook)
Stream shape - straight, sinuous, meandering
Stream slope (affects speed of water flow - steep, moderate, gentle)
Stream width (how wide is the river) wide, intermediate, narrow
Stream bank (tall steep cliffs - not much erosion, valleys eroded over time, deltas form via deposition)
Stream sediment size (how large are rocks being pushed by the river)
Stream sediment amount - turbidity (more sediment = murky)
large amounts (Mekong Delta), moderate (North Sask. River), small amounts (Bow River)
delta definition
zones of deposit
how are some landforms formed?
Landforms created by deposition of sediment carried by a river as the flow leaves the river and enters slower moving water (ocean / lakes)
examples of moving water being a powerful force:
waves on shorelines, rivers cutting through land.\
WEATHERING
the wearing away of rock and sediment
EROSION
transporting of the weathered rock fragments, soil, sand
SEDIMENTS
eroded rock fragments and soil carried by water, wind
DEPOSITION
depositing of sediments
CHEMICAL WEATHERING
water reacts with chemicals to dissolve rock
how does a river’s sediment load get affected?
The faster the water moves, the more water it can carry
river’s sediment load:
is the amount of materials that it can carry
describe Ocean Basins (3)
- Lithosphere (solid outer part of Earth) is broken into tectonic plates constantly moving very slowly due to convection currents in Earth’s core
- Without oceans, we would still see solid surface with mountains, volcanoes and basins - also trenches and mid-ocean ridges
- Oceans are like the sinks of the world because of their low elevation
describe Watersheds (4)
- An area of land that drains into one main lake or river
- Can contain many smaller lakes and rivers
- Like a funnel that collects water and drains it into a pipe
- Edges of watershed are raised areas (mountains, hills)
CONTINENTAL DIVIDE
- highest point of land on a continent
- rivers flow into different oceans depending on which side of the divide they begin
describe the continental divide (3)
- The same forces that shape the ocean basins also build the continental divides.
- on the edge of the continent, two plates meet and push against each other, which cause wrinkles in the continent’s surface to push upward and form mountain ranges.
- Plate tectonics have formed many continental divides.
Glaciers
- Large moving body of ice,
- glaciers can be many meters or even kilometres thick,
- stores vast amounts of freshwater.
describe glaciers(3)
- Glaciers that cover vast areas of land are called continental glaciers or ice caps.
- Glaciers form in the cold regions of Earth, they build up
- Glacier movement depends on climate: cooler leads to advancing, warmer leads to retreating glaciers
Currents (2)
- streams of water that move within a larger body of water.
- Currents carry warmer and colder water to different areas
Surface currents are caused
by wind and Earth’s rotation (riptides)
Deep water currents are
caused by temperature differences in water,
- salinity differences (density),
- Earth’s rotation (Gulf Stream)
describe Ocean Currents and Climate (3)
- Surface currents move water great distances
- Warm or cold currents greatly influence the climates on land
- ocean current temperature affects the amount of precipitation in an area (Warm air holds more moisture than cold air)
what is the difference between currents and waves?
***Currents are different from waves because the water moves from place to place
describe valley glaciers
- when glaciers move between mountains it’s called valley glaciers
- The valley glaciers collect huge or small pieces of rocks, which drag on the surface and determine the form of the land.
describe an example of the movement of warm water
-Warm water from the Gulf of Mexico moves to the North Atlantic - warms Europe’s climate
