Water, Water
Everywhere!
Water in Earth’s Processes
Unit
S6E3
How is the amount of water
on Earth divided up?
3% =
Freshwater
97% =
Saltwater
Is most of the water on
Earth freshwater or
saltwater?
Saltwater!
Where can the freshwater be found?
¾ Freshwater is Frozen Solid
in ice caps and glaciers
¼ Freshwater is Liquid underground
A tiny fraction is in lakes & rivers
A smaller fraction is water vapor in the
atmosphere
What is the Water Cycle?
Definition: The continuous
movement of water from Earth’s
surface into the atmosphere and
then back again!
The water cycle is powered by the Sun.
Condensation
Precipitation
Evaporation
Trees
Accumulation
Main Parts of the Water Cycle:
Evaporation
Condensation
Precipitation
Accumulation
What is Evaporation?
When water changes from liquid to
water vapor (liquid to gas)
Evaporation comes from:
• plants
• lakes
• oceans
Evaporation from plants????
• This is called TRANSPIRATION
What happens after water
evaporates?
Condensation!
As air and water vapor rise,
they cool to form clouds
(gas to liquid)
What happens when the droplets
get too large to stay in the clouds?
They fall as Precipitation –
water that falls from clouds as
Rain
Snow
Sleet
Hail
What happens to water that falls
to the ground?
Accumulation- collection of water
•Runoff – water flows across
the land into streams, rivers,
or oceans
•Groundwater – water soaks
into the ground
Examples of surface water:
• Rivers
• Ponds
• Lakes
• Wetlands – swamps, bogs, marshes
How does water get
UNDERGROUND?
It trickles down between
particles of soil & through
cracks in rocks
How water gets into rock…
An Aquifer is an underground layer of rock or
sediment that holds water.
How can we get to the water so we
can use it everyday?
• Springs can form & water bubbles out
naturally
• Wells provide access to Aquifers that
have drinking water
– Wells can be mechanically or hand
pumped
– In Artesian Wells, water rises because
of pressure in an Aquifer
How is water used?
• In your home
• Industry & Transportation
• Agriculture
• Recreation
Why is it important to conserve
water?
Water Pollution is Bad!
• What is water pollution?
• What causes water pollution?
Properties that make up the
oceans’ composition:
• Salinity
• Temperature
• Dissolved Gases
Remember…we have more
saltwater on Earth than
freshwater!
So, why can’t we just drink sea
water?
Because it tastes yucky!
That’s why!
Why does it taste yucky?
Because it has lots of salt…
• Salinity – the amount of salt dissolved
in water (NaCl)
• Average salinity of the ocean is 3.5%
–If you boiled 1kg of ocean water in
a pot until all water was gone,
you’d be left with about 35g of salt
left in the pot!
Where do the salts and minerals
come from?
• Salt and minerals that are in the
ocean come mostly from
dissolved rocks, and soil that is
brought to the oceans from rivers
• Volcanoes also provide salts to
the oceans.
What does salt do to the ocean
water?
• Lowers the freezing point of
water
• It makes seawater more dense
• Greater buoyancy – you float
higher in some ocean water
Temperature of Ocean Water
• Closer to the equator = warmer
water
• Temperature decrease as you go
deeper
• Density & Pressure increase as
you go deeper
Dissolved Gases in Ocean Water:
Oxygen
Carbon Dioxide
Sea plants & creatures use these
gases to survive
Oxygen in
sea water
comes
from
Algae
& air
One big ocean or several smaller oceans?
World’s Oceans
• All of the oceans are connected,
and essentially one big ocean.
• We have made imaginary
boundaries to break up this
ocean, and currently we have 5
different oceans.
World’s Oceans
From the largest to smallest:
Pacific
Atlantic
Indian
Southern
Arctic
Main features of the ocean floor:
(F) Continental shelf
(C) Abyssal Plain
(A) Continental slope
(B) Seamount
(E) Volcanic islands
(G) Ocean trench
(D) Mid-ocean ridge
What is a wave?
The movement of energy
through a body of water
Waves
• Surface waves are caused by wind.
• The height and size of waves depend
on 3 factors:
Strength of the wind
Length of time the wind blows
Distance over which the wind blows