Earth Science – Oceanography, Geology, Astronomy, Meteorology
Science – Physical Sci, Life Sci,
Earth Sci
Hydrosphere
Meteorology is the study of the weather
and forces and processes that cause it. In
order to understand how the weather works,
meteorologists must understand how energy,
air, and water move between the hydrosphere,
atmosphere and lithosphere. - the water cycle
Meteorologists – good at math and physics, visual problem solvers, good at seeing
patterns/solving puzzles; making connections, seeing relationships, what stuff has in common
– understanding how stuff fits together.
 Scientists have given names to the living,
solid, liquid, and gas parts of the earth. The
four spheres of Earth Science are: sphere = round, ball shaped
(1)
Biosphere – living (biologist)
(2)
Lithosphere – rocky, ground, solid (geologist)
(3)
Hydrosphere - water, liquid (oceanographer)
(4)
Atmosphere – air, gas (meteorologist)
Cryosphere – ice (glaciologist)
 The living part of the Earth is called the
Biosphere. The term is used to refer to the
whole earth. Ecologists,
Environmentalists, and other
types of Life Scientists study
the Biosphere.
tectonic plate 60-100 miles thick
Hydrosphere - 2
 The lithosphere is the solid part of the earth. It is
made up of rocks, minerals, and soil. The ground you
walk on is part of the lithosphere. Mountains are part
of the lithosphere. The lithosphere extends under the
ocean and makes up the continents. It includes the
earth’s crust and the top part of the upper mantle.
Various types of geologists study the lithosphere.
Useable Freshwater: 1mi3 = a cube 10,000 gal by 10,000 gal by 10,000 gal
 The hydrosphere is the liquid part of earth
that is near or around the surface. About
71% of the earth’s surface is covered by
water. The amount of water on earth is
immense, an estimated 326 million cubic miles.
A cubic mile of water equals more than one
trillion gallons. However, 99.7% of all water
States Geological Survey
on earth is unusable by humans. United
(USGS); NOAA
0.3% = 0.003 times 326 = 0.978
x/326 = 0.3/100
Useable Freshwater: 326,000,000 mi3 times 0.3% = 0.978 or about
1,000,000 mi3 or about 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 gallons or about
1quintillion gallons = 1 trillion million gallons of usable freshwater
We use 0.4 trillion gal per day in the US.
How deep are the world’s oceans, deepest lakes and rivers?
This picture shows the size of a sphere that would contain all of Earth's water in
comparison to the size of the Earth. The blue sphere sitting on the United States,
reaching from about Salt Lake City, Utah to Topeka, Kansas, has a diameter of about
860 miles (about 1,385 kilometers) , with a volume of about 332,500,000 cubic miles
(1,386,000,000 cubic kilometers). The sphere includes all the water in the oceans,
seas, ice caps, lakes and rivers as well as groundwater, atmospheric water, and even
the water in you, your dog, and your tomato plant.
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/2010/gallery/global-water-volume.html
Hydrosphere -3
Salt Water
97.2349% of all water on earth is salt water
and is unusable by living organisms.
round to 97%
oceans = 97.2269% - round to 97%
salt lakes (inland seas) = 0.008%
Remember 97% to 3%
Remember 85% of freshwater is unusable
Fresh water = 2.7651% - round to 3%
Only 15% of the Earth’s freshwater can be used
by living things.
ice sheets and glaciers = 2.14% - not usable by
living organisms
ground water = 0.61%
fresh water lakes = 0.009%
rivers and streams = 0.0001%
soil moisture (above the aquifer) = 0.005%
atmosphere = 0.001%
Remember most of earth’s usable freshwater comes from the ground!
These numbers are good approximations, but they
change constantly because of the water cycle!
Remember 97% toHydrosphere
3% and 99.7% to 0.3%
-4
 Humans use an enormous amount of water.
Each person uses about 80-100 gallons per
day. In the year 2005, the United States
used about 410 billion gallons per day
(410,000 Mgal/d) of fresh water with a
population of 281,421,906 people.
At this rate of use, the US would use up the entire world’s supply of
useable fresh water in 6570.84 years.
Current population = U.S. 316,937,528; World 7,119,758,440
Oct 24, 2013 10:55 UTC (-4)
http://www.census.gov/
 Water usage is broken down into eight
major categories. The following is what water
was used for in the Unites States in 2005:
thermoelectric power (hydroelectric) = 49% -thermal pollution
irrigation (farming) = 31%
public supply = 11% - you, me, city water
industry = 4%
aquaculture (fish farms) = 2%
domestic (self-supplied wells) 1%
mining = 1%
livestock = <1%
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)
Health of an ecosystem?
Pollution + Biodiversity
How much stuff
is in the water?
water hardness?
mercury and lead?
Hydrosphere - 5
Water pollution contains minerals, chemicals, or
organisms that can disrupt life processes and cause
disease or death. The largest source of water pollution
is sediment - loose clay, mud, or minerals that have
been eroded. There are two types of pollution.
Ocean water 35-38
Point Source – known source, small area parts per thousand
Non Point Source – source unknown, large area
Freshwater versus polluted water – defined and classified
storm drain pipe?
Classified by the amount of pollutants: freshwater = 0 – 1000 ppm [parts per
million or 1000 mg/l (milligrams per liter)]; 0-499 = drinkable; 500-999 potable
Polluted water = greater than1000 ppm
Polluted water area with excessive plant growth, dead animals, and lots
of bacteria
RED TIDE – toxic algae
bloom in the ocean
Algae Blooms: definition and 4-5 steps
(1) pollution, fertilizers/run off enters lake, streams, rivers (2) algae populations
grows out of control because of the fertilizers. As the algae dies, the bacteria
population grows out of control (3) the bacteria consume all the oxygen in the
water (4) all the animals die because of the lack of oxygen
N–P-K

Acid rain is a type of both water and air pollution.
Polluted water = greater than1000 ppm
Pollutants
such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) or nitrogen oxide
(NOx) enter the air from a source such as a power plant or
volcano. The wind blows the pollutions far from the source.
The pollutant lowers the pH (raises the acidity) of the water
in the air. Pure water has a pH of 7.0. Normal rain is slightly
acidic because carbon dioxide dissolves into it, so it has a pH
of about 5.5. As of the year 2000, the most acidic
rain falling in the US has a pH of about 4.3 which is
3 ways
thatharmful
water quality to
is plant and animal life.
very
measured
Water Quality
a measure of the suitability of water for a
particular use based upon selected
characteristics.
chemical: pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, phosphates, salts,
hardness, iron, carcinogens, solvents, sediments
physical: temperature, electrical conductivity, turbidity/
suspended particulates (muddiness)
biological: bacteria - fecal coliform, protozoa, pathogens
Point Source Pollution:
pollution enters from a
small area; the specific
location is known.
Non Point Source Pollution:
pollution enters from a large
area; the exact source is
unknown.
Hydrosphere - 6
Physical Property
 Although the percentage of fresh water available on
earth is small, the earth never runs out because water
is a renewable resource. This means its actual amount
is not limited and it can be easily replenished. This
happens because water can readily change from one
state of matter (solid, liquid, gas) to another at the
temperatures and pressures that occur around Earth’s
surface.
 Water is constantly moving between each of the
four spheres of Earth Science. This unending
circulation of earth’s water supply is called the water
cycle or the hydrologic cycle. It has several main
steps:
water storage
evaporation / transpiration
Water is renewable
because it can exist and condensation
change from a solid to a
liquid to a gas on or near precipitation
the surface of the earth!
recharge of water storage
Hydrosphere - 7
Even though water is renewable, it must be conserved because: (1) there is a limited amount; humans
can use it up due to pollution and (2) humans can also use it faster than nature can replenish it.
ocean = largest water storage area
solid or liquid water
water storage
 Water storage supplies are stored in lakes,
streams, oceans, and snow fields. Man-made
water supplies are called reservoirs.
ground water = largest useable freshwater storage area
glaciers – largest freshwater storage area
water towers?
evaporation / transpiration
 Evaporation is the process where liquid
water is
and becomes a gas called
water vapor. Usually the sun heats the water
supply and vaporizes it at its surface.
Transpiration is the process by which water is
evaporated into the air through plants (leaf
pores). The sun drives the water cycle!
gas – heated rises
Adding heat turns liquid water into a gas
Lots of spaces between molecules
Temperature: speed or motion of particles; everything has a temp!
Heated water vapor rises into the air because it is lighter.
Hot light things rise!!!! Cold Heavy things sink!!!
condense
gas rise – cool,
contract
FROZEN – SOLID
NO SPACE BETWEEN MOLECULES
evaporate
add heat
expand
liquid – cool
some space between
Hydrosphere
-molecules
8
condensation
 Condensation is the process of changing water
vapor (gas) held in the air into a liquid by removing
heat - cooling. Water drops on the outside of a
cold glass are condensed water. Where does the water come from?
condensation point = dew point = temperature that gas changes
into a liquid
How does dew form?
 The temperature at which water vapor changes
from a gas to a liquid is called the dew point or
saturation point. When the dew point is close
(within 5°F) to the air temperature, rain is very
likely. Dew forms when moist air (water vapor)
near the earth’s surface cools. If the surface
temperature falls below freezing, then the dew
turns into frost.
Dew point is determined by pressure – weight of the air
It is the temperature at which liquid water or dew evaporates at the same rate at which it
condenses.
less weight (lower pressure) = easier to condense = lower dew point; HP = high dew point
 Humidity is moisture or water in the
atmosphere. The amount of humidity is
determined by temperature. Higher temperatures
mean higher humidity. Lower
temperatures mean lower humidity.
Hydrosphere - 9
condensation
 Relative humidity is a measure of how much
water air holds at a certain temperature compared
to the total amount of moisture that it can hold.
It is measured in percent. When air is totally dry,
the relative humidity is 0. When air holds half the
water that it is able, the relative humidity is 50%.
When air is completely full of water the relative
humidity is 100%. When air reaches the point of
100% humidity, the air is saturated and water
vapor will change from a gas to a liquid and it will
rain.
Specific Humidity: measures the actual quantity of water vapor in a given mass
of air. It is measured in g/kg (parts per thousand) or g/m3 (parts per million)
[1g=1cc=1ml water, 1m3=1000L].
Fog/clouds are liquid, not a gas!
 Fog is a mass of tiny liquid droplets of water
that have condensed around dust particles (cloud
seeds). The droplets are too tiny to fall and are
held in place by air currents. Fogs/clouds need:
Why do you see your breath when it is cold?
What are dirty clouds? Why are clouds dark?
cloud seeding – artificial clouds
contrails? condensed trail: cloud made by an airplane
How do you see tornados if they are just wind?
3 types of fog – advection,
Hydrosphere
radiation, and upslope
- 10
(1) water vapor - gas
(2) cooling agent
(3) something to stick to
condensation
 Fog forms on the ground when a layer of air is
cooled to its dew point by contact with the colder
surface. Clouds are very similar to fogs only they form
at much higher altitudes. They are formed when a
layer of moist air is cooled by another layer of air.
Clouds are not water vapor; they are liquid water
droplets too tiny to fall to Earth as precipitation.
CLOUD
temperature drops with
height above the ground
dew point temp
cool air
cooled from air above
FOG
cooled from ground below
warm air
warm air
water gas
cool ground
Precipitation
 Precipitation is water that falls to earth from clouds
in the atmosphere. When water droplets cool and
condense, they get larger to the point that gravity pulls
them back to the earth.
There are five kinds based on their size:
hail
snow
rain
sleet
1- largest
drizzle
5- smallest
Hydrosphere - 11
precipitation
1/1000th inch, 14 μm
 The size of water vapor droplets is very small.
Drizzle droplets are much
smaller than rain droplets, but
are much larger than water
vapor droplets.
 When water droplets
freeze on their way to the
earth, sleet, snow, and hail
form. Sometimes strong
updrafts blow the droplets
back up into the clouds where they gain another
layer of water which refreezes. This process is
how hail is formed.
The largest hailstone ever recovered in the United States
(South Dakota), a seven-inch (17.8-centimeter) wide chunk
of ice almost as large as a soccer ball. 2 pounds; July, 2010
Removing heat (cooling) turns
water vapor back into a liquid.
Liquid water sinks or falls to
the ground because it is
heavy. Cool heavy things
sink!!!!
What is the shape of a rain drop?
Hydrosphere - 12
2 types:
above ground - runoff
below ground – filling the
aquifer/ground water
recharge of water storage
 The recharge of water storage happens after
precipitation hits the ground. The water follows
surface contour lines as it flows as runoff into lakes,
rivers, and the ocean.
Gravity is the energy source! Water runs downhill!
Nile River?
 Much of the water that hits the ground does not
runoff. It percolates or moves downward through the
pores and spaces in the soil until it hits the
- a place where the soil is saturated or completely
filled with water. This zone of saturation is an
underground water storage area called an
.
 If it rains so much that the water table moves to
the surface, there will be a flood. If it rains so hard
and fast that most of the rain runs off above the
ground and does not go into the ground,
do some rivers/lakes run
then flash flooding occurs. Why
dry in the summer?
What is a flood plain?
an area where the water table is always near the surface
 The rate of movement of ground
water depends on the porosity and permeability of the
ground. Porosity is the amount of void space or
opening in a rock or other earth material like a sand
deposit. It is how much water a material can hold.
Water table and drought?
Hydrosphere - 13
recharge of water storage
 Porosity represents the storage capacity of the
ground material. It is measured in percent of open
space. The more tightly packed the grains are, the
lower the porosity. If the sizes of the ground particles
are both large and small, the smaller grains tend to fill
the spaces between the larger grains, resulting in lower
porosity.
Teayes River Valley? Cedar Bog/Fen
 Permeability refers to how well water flows through
a material. It is controlled by how large the pores are,
and how well connected they are. Materials such as
clay and shale may have a high porosity because of lots
of microscopic openings, but they have low permeability
because the openings are not connected. So, water
cannot pass through. Materials such as clay and solid
rock that block water are called confining units.
Well yields? Champaign Co/Logan Co
How close is the bedrock to the surface?
West of Hw 68: 500 to 1000 gal/min; East of Hw 68?
East of 68: 3-8 to 100 gal/min
 The water in the aquifer moves due to gravity and
eventually recharges or refills wells,
reservoirs, lakes, rivers, and the ocean.
This is how we get our water!
surface runoff
river or pond
effluent stream:
fed by the water table
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/ear
thgwaquifer.html
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthgwaquifer.html