Water stores

Question 1

What is the hydrosphere?

Answer 1

water on or close to earths surface

97% oceanic water, remaining fresh water is cryospheric, terrestrial and atmospheric

Question 2

Explain oceanic water

Answer 2

cover 72% of planets surface, salts allow it to stay as water below 0 degrees, alkaline but co2 absorption is making more acidic

Question 3

What is cryospheric water?

Answer 3

water is in solid form- sea ice( ice sheet and shelves), ice caps, permafrost, alpine glaciers

Question 4

Describe sea ice and give an example

Answer 4

water cooled below freezing, doesn’t increase sea level when melts, closely linked to climate
the Ross ice shelf

Question 5

Describe ice sheets and give an example

Answer 5

mass of glacial land ice extending 50000km2+
form in areas where snow falls in winter and doesn’t entirely melt over summer- grow thicker and denser from weight over time- constantly flow downhill over own weight
Antarctica Greenland ice sheet (99% of all freshwater)

Question 6

Describe ice shelves and give an example

Answer 6

platforms of ice where ice sheets and glaciers move out into oceans- ice bergs break off and drift into oceans(only raise sea level when first push off, not when melting)
Antarctica, Greenland

Question 7

Describe ice caps and give an example

Answer 7

thick layers of ice on land (usually smaller than 50000km2
dome shaped, found in mountainous areas, over highest point of upland areas- flow outwards covering everything in its path and becoming major source for many glaciers
Iceland ice cap

Question 8

Describe permafrost and give an example

Answer 8

ground that remains at or below 0 degrees for at least 2 consecutive years, thickness varies from 1m to 1500m
melting from climate change- releasing masses of carbon
the Alaska north slope

Question 9

Describe alpine glaciers and give an example

Answer 9

thick masses of ice found in deep valleys or upland hollows- fed from ice caps or smaller corries
Mer de Glace France, Himalayas

Question 10

Name the 4 categories of terrestrial water

Answer 10

surface water, groundwater, soil water, biological water

Question 11

Describe surface water

Answer 11

rivers- act as store and transfer of water
lakes- collections of freshwater found in hollows on the land surface (greater than 2 hectares)- majority in northern hemisphere
pond- any standing body smaller than a lake
wetlands- areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, with water that is static or flowing and there is a dominance of vegetation -> water covers soil, water saturation etermines the animals and vegetation there

Question 12

Describe groundwater

Answer 12

Water that collects underground in the pore spaces of rock

depth at which soil pore spaces of fractures and voids in rocks are completely saturated= water table

Question 13

Describe soil water

Answer 13

held together with air in unsaturated upper weathered layer of earth- key in controlling exchange of water and heat energy between land surface and atmosphere

Question 14

Describe biological water

Answer 14

water stored in all the biomass- varies depending on vegetation cover and type

Question 15

Explain atmospheric water

Answer 15

gas most common- absorbs, reflects and scatters incoming solar radiation- temperature sustains life
cold air cant hold as much water vapour (poles air is dry)

Question 16

Describe cloud formation

Answer 16

visible mass of water droplets- air in lower layers of earths atmosphere becomes saturated (cooling of air or increase in water vapour)- cloud droplets grow and form rain