Hydrosphere is the watery shell of the Earth. Water shell of the Earth
The hydrosphere is the water shell of our planet and includes all water that is not chemically bound, regardless of its state (liquid, gaseous, solid). The hydrosphere is one of the geospheres, located between the atmosphere and the lithosphere. This discontinuous envelope includes all oceans, seas, continental fresh and salt water bodies, ice masses, atmospheric water and water in living things.
Approximately 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by the hydrosphere. Its volume is about 1400 million cubic meters, which is 1/800 of the volume of the entire planet. 98% of the waters of the hydrosphere are the World Ocean, 1.6% are contained in continental ice, the rest of the hydrosphere is made up of fresh rivers, lakes, and groundwater. Thus, the hydrosphere is divided into the World Ocean, groundwater and continental waters, each group, in turn, including subgroups of lower levels. Thus, in the atmosphere, water is found in the stratosphere and troposphere, on the earth's surface there are waters of oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, glaciers, in the lithosphere - waters of the sedimentary cover and foundation.
Despite the fact that the bulk of water is concentrated in the oceans and seas, and surface waters account for only a small part of the hydrosphere (0.3%), they play a major role in the existence of the Earth's biosphere. Surface water is the main source of water supply, watering and irrigation. In the water exchange zone, fresh groundwater is quickly renewed during the general water cycle, so with rational use it can be used for an unlimited period of time.
During the development of the young Earth, the hydrosphere was formed during the formation of the lithosphere, which during the geological history of our planet released a huge amount of water vapor and underground magmatic waters. The hydrosphere was formed during the long evolution of the Earth and the differentiation of its structural components. Life first began in the hydrosphere on Earth. Later, at the beginning of the Paleozoic era, living organisms reached land, and their gradual settlement on the continents began. Life without water is impossible. The tissues of all living organisms contain up to 70-80% water.
The waters of the hydrosphere constantly interact with the atmosphere, the earth's crust, the lithosphere and the biosphere. At the boundary between the hydrosphere and the lithosphere, almost all sedimentary rocks that make up the sedimentary layer of the earth's crust are formed. The hydrosphere can be considered as part of the biosphere, since it is completely populated by living organisms, which, in turn, influence the composition of the hydrosphere. The interaction of waters in the hydrosphere, the transition of water from one state to another manifests itself as a complex water cycle in nature. All types of water cycles of various volumes represent a single hydrological cycle, during which all types of water are renewed. The hydrosphere is an open system, the waters of which are closely interconnected, which determines the unity of the hydrosphere as a natural system and the mutual influence of the hydrosphere and other geospheres.
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It was probably in the fifth grade that I became interested in geography. Then the older guys, who had been studying geography for several years, discussed something about the hydrosphere. I wondered what they were talking about and I understood that they meant something related to water. Then I searched in encyclopedias (there was the Internet, but not everywhere) and found a lot of information about the hydrosphere.
Hydrosphere
Hydrosphere - water layer of the earth. This is all the water that is on our planet. Are taken into account absolutely all waters, that is, fresh water from rivers, and undrinkable water from seas, oceans, swamps, and even that water that is in the atmosphere or is a multi-ton iceberg, all of this is part of the hydrosphere.
Ocean water - 96.4 percent, glacier water - 1.86 percent, underground water - 1.68 percent, surface water that cannot flow (lakes, reservoirs, etc.) - 0.02 percent, water in the most earth (in soil) - 0.01 percent, steam (including clouds) - a thousandth of a percent, river water - 0.0001 percent.
More details about the composition of the hydrosphere
All waters entering the hydrosphere are divided into:
- World Ocean(waters of all open seas and oceans).
- Continental waters(rivers and lakes, some types of seas).
- Surface water(water flowing or collecting on the surface of the earth).
- The groundwater(water contained in the bowels of the earth).
Problems of the hydrosphere
First of all, it is worth noting that the total one percent water - fresh water. That is, humanity uses just an insignificant part of all water resources. Desalination of water is an important task for the scientific community, because it is impossible to use salt water in machinery, agriculture, and simply in everyday life.
Another problem is water pollution. Since ancient times, people have been pouring waste into nearby bodies of water. The roads of medieval cities always carried sewage straight into the nearest river. Now factories and factories are pouring chemical (and not always safe) waste into rivers, and some into the ocean. Garbage is also thrown into the ocean. A striking example is the garbage patch near the island of Java, which covers tens of meters and consists of plastic.
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My zodiac sign is Pisces. I just love swimming, I have been swimming for many years and I can say that water is my second element! I use this rich resource in my everyday life. I began to think globally about the role of water on Earth while growing up. Then, in fact, I learned about the importance of the hydrosphere.
Details about the hydrosphere
If you look at our planet from space, you might think that there was a mistake with the name Earth, since 71% of the planet's surface is water. But there is no error. The mass of water, or more correctly, the hydrosphere, on the planet is only 1/4000 of the mass of the entire planet. In simple terms, the hydrosphere is the liquid (water) component of the Earth.
The hydrosphere includes:
- oceans;
- seas;
- ponds;
- rivers;
- streams.
But this watery shell of the Earth also exists in the form of steam or ice. For example, water vapor can be in the form of clouds and fog. In turn, the frozen part of the hydrosphere consists of glaciers, ice caps and icebergs.
Cycles in the hydrosphere
The water cycle describes how water evaporates from the earth's surface, rises into the atmosphere, cools and condenses into rain or snow in the clouds, and returns to the earth as precipitation. Water that falls to earth is collected in rivers and lakes, soil and porous rock layers, and much of it flows back into the oceans, where it evaporates again. The cycling of water in and out of the atmosphere is an important aspect of Earth's weather patterns.
Features of the water cycle in nature:
- the main engine of the cycle is the Sun;
- the main consumer of solar energy and supplier of water vapor into the atmosphere is the world ocean;
- in a liquid state, water evaporates and rises into the atmosphere;
- steam condenses in the atmosphere, turning into clouds;
- in the form of precipitation, water returns to the earth again - the cycle is completed
All kinds of industry negatively affect the cycles of the hydrosphere, thereby disturbing the natural balance. We regularly hear on the news how quickly all kinds of natural disasters are growing - floods, melting glaciers, etc.
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It seems to me that of all the geospheres, the atmosphere is the most widely heard. Holiday atmosphere, air pollution - these are the phrases I have heard since early childhood. But I learned about the concept of hydrosphere at school.
I recognized the name, the acquaintance took place, but it was very strange, because suddenly it turned out that the hydrosphere and I had “known each other” for a long time!
Now I will explain in more detail.
Hydrosphere - what is it
Hydrosphere- This is one of the geospheres (shells) of the Earth.
Hydrospheric objects include water in any forms and quantities, for example:
- oceans;
- seas;
- rivers;
- lakes;
- any small bodies of water;
- The groundwater;
- water vapor
Snow cover and glaciers are also composed of water, but they are often separated into cryosphere.
Hydrosphere is in constant contact with other geospheres:
- pedosphere(the soil);
- atmosphere(air);
- biosphere(alive organisms).
Water spaces influence the formation climate And relief, water nourishes plants and animals, and bodies of water are home to many species of flora and fauna.
Without the hydrosphere, life on Earth would be impossible.
Unusual inhabitants of the hydrosphere
Once upon a time, life began in water. And now the water is still churning with it. Even in small puddles you can find entire mini-communities of living organisms.
And about the depths ocean, which are still very little researched, one can talk endlessly. Inland water bodies are home to both the most common species and rare Red Book species, and even even endemic ones.
Of particular interest to me are freshwater seals, which include:
- Baikal seal;
- Ladoga ringed seal;
- Saimaa ringed seal.
The latter lives in Finland. All these seals are endemic their lakes. Apart from these reservoirs, they are not found anywhere else.
Freshwater seals perfectly illustrate hydrosphere variability And lithosphere(earth's crust). Land areas constantly rise and fall above the water level, water spaces are either separated or connected to each other.
And once upon a time ancestors of these seals there were exits to the seas and oceans. Now their habitat is limited to lakes, in which they survived even after the severance of communication with the “big water”.
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Back in school we were taught that life on Earth began about three and a half billion years ago. All my attempts to find out for sure from books exactly how this happened were unsuccessful. Later I found out that there is still no exact answer. However, the vast majority of scientists believe that, in one form or another, first formations, which can be attributed to organisms, formed in the hydrosphere.
What is the hydrosphere
The name hydrosphere comes from two Greek words meaning water and globe. Actually, the hydrosphere is water shell of the Earth. The hydrosphere is part of the biosphere, which will have the following layers selected:
- aerobiosphere, including moisture necessary for the life of microorganisms in the atmosphere;
- geobiosphere, where the environment for life is earth with underground moisture;
- hydrobiosphere, not including waters located underground.
The mass of the hydrosphere is approximately 275 times more mass of the Earth's atmosphere and approximately forty thousand times less the mass of the Earth itself.
The hydrosphere is the environment for the origin of life
Ocean waters form the basis of the Earth's hydrosphere, more than 96% of the total volume. Oceans occupy, in general, more than 70% percent of the total surface of the Earth. This part of the hydrosphere constantly interacts with the earth's crust and atmosphere. ocean salinity, on average, is approximately 35 ppm, which corresponds to the content of 35 grams of salt in one kilogram of water. Traditionally it is believed that life originated in the ocean on Earth, and only at the beginning of the Paleozoic did life reach land. Over the previous decade, a number of scientists began to lean towards the opinion that life originated in the waters underwater volcanoes or geysers, in an environment with hot mineral water. These assumptions were confirmed by a number of experiments.
Recently I have become curious about theories that life on Earth came from space thanks to meteorites, and cosmic dust. These hypotheses are gaining more and more supporters among scientists. But even in this case, the hydrosphere plays a decisive role in the process evolution of life on the ground.
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When I took the exam geography, I came across a ticket with exactly this question. Since I deservedly received an “A”, I will try to supplement the answers by indicating Interesting Facts.
What does the term "hydrosphere" mean?
Science gives this definition: the watery shell of the planet located between the lithosphere and atmosphere. The largest mass of water, about 91%, is dispersed between oceans, seas, lakes and rivers. Next come groundwater, and only then snow and ice at the poles and in mountainous regions. In total, according to estimates, on our planet there are about 1.5 billion km2 of water. This, like oxygen, is one of the key elements for the existence of life. Indeed, the role of water is difficult to overestimate: the human body contains about 80% this liquid, it influences the formation of relief and cycle of chemical elements.
Hydrospheric water volumes
Let me give you some numbers indicating distribution of total volume. So:
- sea and ocean waters - 90%;
- ground water bodies -1%;
- snow and ice - 2%;
- groundwater - 7%.
The deepest river planets - Amazon. Some sources claim that it falls to her share one fifth of all freshwater flowing into the ocean. This largely depends on the climate, which contributes to such filling.
The largest lake. Everyone who hears this word imagines quiet pond surrounded by vegetation. However, there are also lakes where storm waves are not at all rare, and their size exceeds the seas. Oddly enough, but the largest lake is Caspian Sea. In fact, this is really a lake, because in fact no drainage, and it is called the sea because of its large size. Its area and volume often change depending on the water level. Average depth about 215 meters, and the volume is approximately 70,000 m3.
The largest ocean isQuiet- the largest and deepest body of water on the planet. Its area is 179 million km2, which is much exceeds the area of all continents, and twice as large as the Atlantic. It falls to his lot more than half of all water resources and half of the world's oceans.
The largest sea is the Philippine Sea. It is also the deepest of all the seas, with an average depth of just over 4,000 meters. Within its boundaries is the deepest point on the planet - Mariana Trench, where a depth of 11 kilometers was recorded.
The largest glacier is the Lambert Glacier. Its width is more than 60 kilometers and its length is about 750 kilometers. The most interesting thing is that the glacier contains about 14% of all fresh water in the world.
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At the end of the first semester of the second year we had to take a test in hydrology, the professor decided to give the test automatically, but only to those who attended lectures. And, as you know, not all students have high attendance. If Nikolai Petrovich, having opened the record book, saw a familiar face, then without question he put a mark in it about the delivery. Those whom he did not remember, the professor asked something. When the speech reached Tanya, the teacher looked at her carefully and asked: “ What is the hydrosphere?"She clearly answered that uhthat part of the geosphere, which is the water shell of our planet. “What do you think about hydrology in general,” asked the professor. To which Tanya said: “I read it all night, I liked it so much!”:)))
What is the hydrosphere
So, The hydrosphere is the totality of all water on the globe, in any state of aggregation. It includes: seas and oceans, lakes and rivers, springs and underground waters, ice and snow, water vapor in the atmosphere and water of living organisms. The role of this earthly shell It’s difficult to overestimate this:
- maintaining a constant climate(H2O accumulates heat; in addition, the climate directly depends on precipitation);
- providing the planet with oxygen(almost half of all O₂ is produced by phytoplankton inhabiting water bodies);
- Without water, the origin and existence of all life on Earth is impossible.
Gyres
As far as I remember from hydrology course, one of the main characteristics of the watery earthly sphere is its unity, A small ones provide this(mainland and oceanic) and the large H2O cycle. With the direct participation of sunlight, water evaporates, condenses in the atmosphere and falls back in the form of various sedimentary phenomena. When water evaporates from a solid surface and falls as precipitation on it, we can talk about a small cycle, from the ocean surface - it’s not hard to guess that we are talking about an oceanic cycle. And here Both land and ocean take part in large water circulation. Masses of evaporated water (in a state of steam) are moved by winds from the ocean to the continents, pouring rain and covering the ground with snow; the moisture, overcoming the thickness of the soil, enters the groundwater, and then, with runoff, ends up back in the ocean. The large or global water cycle serves as a mechanism for cleansing and renewing all parts of the hydrosphere.
Water, and therefore the hydrosphere, is the basis of life. And it is within our power to at least try to preserve it for ourselves and future generations.
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And sphere), a continuous water shell of the Earth, containing water in all its states of aggregation (liquid, solid and gaseous), with constant water exchange between all geospheres and outer space and with its transformation from one state to another during the water cycle in nature.
The hydrosphere is one of the oldest shells of the Earth, existing in almost all geological eras (rocks with an age of about 4 billion years, formed in an aquatic environment, have been described). The bulk of the hydrosphere was formed as a result of melting and degassing of the Earth's mantle, apparently during the first hundreds - thousands of millions of years of the Earth's history, when degassing could occur more intensely. The emergence of the hydrosphere was determined by deep geophysical processes, which also resulted in the formation of shells associated with it - the lithosphere and atmosphere. The process of formation of the earth's crust led to the binding of significant masses of water in rocks (over 20%). Along with the influx of juvenile waters onto the earth's surface, part of the water, in the process of hydrogen dissipation in the upper layers of the atmosphere, went into outer space. The emergence of the biosphere led to a transformation of the gas composition of the atmosphere, the formation of a screen from an ionic layer that prevented the diffusion of moisture and slowed down its removal into space, while simultaneously increasing the accumulation of water on the Earth's surface.
The Earth's hydrosphere practically permeates all geospheres of the planet. The earth's crust up to its lower boundary contains groundwater. The upper boundary of the hydrosphere practically coincides with the upper boundary of the atmosphere. The bulk of water vapor is concentrated in the troposphere, but through the tropopause there is a constant exchange of moisture with the stratosphere, where, despite the insignificant amount of water vapor, condensation is possible, as a result of which nacreous clouds are formed.
The Earth's hydrosphere is divided into three main parts (Table 1). Atmospheric moisture has the smallest volume and extends from the Earth's surface to an altitude of 300 km (mainly in the form of vapor, drops of liquid moisture and ice crystals). The waters of the World Ocean and the surface waters of the land occupy the space from the Mariana Trench (depth 11,022 m) to the high-mountain snows of Chomolungma (height 8848 m). Water here is found mainly in liquid (oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, etc.), as well as in solid (glaciers, ice and snow covers, etc.) and biological (flora and fauna) states. Groundwater can be in vapor, liquid, solid and chemically bound states. These are soil moisture, gravitational waters of the upper layers of the earth's crust, deep pressure waters, waters in a bound state in various rocks and sediments, as well as waters that are part of minerals, juvenile waters (Table 2). In the earth's crust with a thickness of 20-25 km, the volume of water can reach 1.3 10 9 km 3, to a depth of 5 km - 60 10 6 km 3, up to 200 m - 23.4 10 6 km 3, in the soil horizon up to 2 m - about 16.5 10 6 km 3 water. Part of the groundwater (200-500·10 3 km 3) is contained in the underground ice of the permafrost zone. Groundwater, which most actively participates in modern global water exchange, accounts for only about 0.7% of the total water reserves on Earth.
In terms of the chemical composition, the waters of the hydrosphere are a complex solution of various substances; they differ in chemical elements, concentration of dissolved substances, in the quantitative relationship between the components of the composition, and the form of their compounds. The composition of water includes gases, salts, and organic substances. The chemical composition of the hydrosphere determines various processes occurring in the aquatic environment (Table 3).
The hydrosphere played and continues to play a fundamental role in the geological history of the Earth, life on the planet originated in it, the evolution of organisms continued in the marine environment throughout the Precambrian, and only at the beginning of the Paleozoic did the settlement of land by various organisms begin. Land surface waters, occupying a relatively small share of the total mass of the hydrosphere, play a vital role in the life of our planet, being the main source of water supply, irrigation and water supply. The interaction of different types of water and mutual transitions from one to another constitute a complex water cycle on the globe. The waters of the hydrosphere have a mechanical and chemical effect on rocks - freezing and expanding in cracks in rocks or dissolving them, the water does destructive work. River waters develop wide valleys, transporting debris to lower areas and ultimately to the oceans. When solid material settles to the bottom of lakes, seas, and oceans, it forms sedimentary rocks. A huge amount of natural material is transported by rivers in a dissolved state. As a result of the precipitation of various salts from the waters of the hydrosphere, rocks and minerals of chemical origin are formed (gypsum, dolomite, and so on). Organisms living in water have the ability to absorb various compounds from it (calcium carbonate, silica, and so on); accumulating at the bottom of reservoirs, their skeletons form thick layers of limestone and various siliceous sedimentary rocks. Thus, the overwhelming majority of sedimentary rocks and minerals such as oil, coal, bauxite, manganese and iron sedimentary ores were formed in past geological epochs under the influence of the hydrosphere and the processes occurring in it.
The current water balance on Earth is determined by the current climatic conditions and is maintained by global water exchange, in which over 1 million km 3 of water is involved.
In the history of the Earth, gigantic changes in the global water balance have repeatedly occurred, associated with changes in the radiation balance on the surface of the planet. With cooling and the growth of glaciers, water accumulates on land, the volume of the World Ocean decreases, and with warming, the reverse process occurs. During periods of severe cold snaps, the level of the World Ocean could drop by 110-130 m, a significant mass of water was conserved in glaciers, and 40-50 million km 3 of water moved from the ocean to land. Changes in the water balance led to significant geophysical consequences, such as changes in the Earth's rotation speed, pole shifts, etc. Modern climatic conditions, established approximately 10 thousand years ago, are quite stable, global temperature fluctuations occur within 1-2 °C, providing stabilization of the Earth's water balance. This is evidenced by the course of the World Ocean level in the Holocene and in historical time.
The waters of the hydrosphere play a vital role in human life. They are used for hydropower purposes, water supply, navigation, fishing, recreation, extraction of valuable chemical raw materials (brines), etc. Mineral waters have healing properties.
Lit.: Alpatiev A. M. Moisture cycles in nature and their transformations. L., 1969; World water balance and water resources of the Earth. L., 1974; Atlas of snow and ice resources of the world. M., 1997. T. 2. Book. 1; Kliege R.K., Danilov I.D., Konishchev V.N. History of the hydrosphere. M., 1998.
Each of the spheres of the planet has its own characteristic features. None of them have been fully studied yet, despite the fact that research is ongoing. The hydrosphere, the watery shell of the planet, is of great interest both to scientists and to simply curious people who want to study more deeply the processes occurring on Earth.
Water is the basis of all life, it is a powerful vehicle, an excellent solvent and a truly endless storehouse of food and mineral resources.
What does the hydrosphere consist of?
The hydrosphere includes all water that is not chemically bound and regardless of the state of aggregation (liquid, vapor, frozen) it is in. The general type of classification of parts of the hydrosphere looks like this:
World Ocean
This is the main, most significant part of the hydrosphere. The totality of the oceans is a water shell that is not continuous. It is divided by islands and continents. The waters of the World Ocean are characterized by their general salt composition. Includes four main oceans - the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic and Indian oceans. Some sources also identify a fifth, the Southern Ocean.
The study of the World Ocean began many centuries ago. The first explorers are considered to be the navigators James Cook and Ferdinand Magellan. It was thanks to these travelers that European scientists received invaluable information about the scale of the water space and the outlines and sizes of the continents.
The oceanosphere makes up approximately 96% of the world's oceans and has a fairly homogeneous salt composition. Fresh water also enters the oceans, but their share is small - only about half a million cubic kilometers. These waters enter the oceans with precipitation and river runoff. The small amount of incoming fresh water determines the constancy of the salt composition in ocean waters.
Continental waters
Continental waters (also called surface waters) are those that are temporarily or permanently located in bodies of water located on the surface of the globe. These include all water flowing and collecting on the surface of the earth:
- swamps;
- rivers;
- seas;
- other drains and bodies of water (for example, reservoirs).
Surface waters are divided into fresh and salty, and are the opposite of groundwater.
The groundwater
All water located in the earth's crust (in rocks) is called. Can be in gaseous, solid or liquid state. Groundwater makes up a significant part of the planet's water reserves. Their total is 60 million cubic kilometers. Groundwater is classified according to its depth. They are:
- mineral
- artesian
- ground
- interstratal
- soil
Mineral waters are waters that contain trace elements and dissolved salt.
Artesian water is pressurized underground water located between impermeable layers in rocks. They are classified as minerals and usually occur at a depth of 100 meters to one kilometer.
Ground water is gravitational water located in the upper, closest to the surface, waterproof layer. This type of groundwater has a free surface and usually does not have a continuous roof of rock.
Interstratal waters are low-lying waters located between layers.
Soil water is water that moves under the influence of molecular forces or gravity and fills some of the spaces between the particles of the soil cover.
General properties of the components of the hydrosphere
Despite the diversity of states, compositions and locations, the hydrosphere of our planet is united. All the waters of the globe are united by a common source of origin (the earth’s mantle) and the interconnection of all waters included in the water cycle on the planet.
The water cycle is a continuous process consisting of constant movement under the influence of gravity and solar energy. The water cycle is a connecting link for the entire shell of the Earth, but also connects other shells - the atmosphere, biosphere and lithosphere.
During this process it can be in three main states. Throughout the existence of the hydrosphere, it is renewed, and each of its parts is renewed over a different period of time. Thus, the period of renewal of the waters of the World Ocean is approximately three thousand years, water vapor in the atmosphere is completely renewed in eight days, and the ice sheets of Antarctica may take up to ten million years to renew. An interesting fact: all water that is in a solid state (in permafrost, glaciers, snow covers) is called the cryosphere.
Including the total mass of water found on, below and above the surface of the planet. Water in the hydrosphere can be in three states of aggregation: liquid (water), solid (ice) and gaseous (water vapor). The Earth's hydrosphere, unique in the solar system, plays one of the primary roles in supporting life on our planet.
Total volume of hydrosphere waters
The earth has an area of about 510,066,000 km²; Almost 71% of the planet's surface is covered with salt water, with a volume of about 1.4 billion km³ and an average temperature of about 4° C, not much above the freezing point of water. It contains almost 94% of the volume of all the Earth's water. The rest occurs as fresh water, three-quarters of which is locked up as ice in the polar regions. Most of the remaining fresh water is groundwater contained in soils and rocks; and less than 1% is found in the world's lakes and rivers. As a percentage, atmospheric water vapor is negligible, but the transport of water evaporated from the oceans to the land surface is an integral part of the hydrological cycle that renews and sustains life on the planet.
Hydrosphere objects
Diagram of the main components of the hydrosphere of planet Earth
The objects of the hydrosphere are all liquid and frozen surface water, groundwater in soil and rocks, as well as water vapor. The entire hydrosphere of the Earth, as shown in the diagram above, can be divided into the following large objects or parts:
- World Ocean: contains 1.37 billion km³ or 93.96% of the volume of the entire hydrosphere;
- The groundwater: contain 64 million km³ or 4.38% of the volume of the entire hydrosphere;
- Glaciers: contain 24 million km³ or 1.65% of the volume of the entire hydrosphere;
- Lakes and reservoirs: contain 280 thousand km³ or 0.02% of the volume of the entire hydrosphere;
- Soils: contain 85 thousand km³ or 0.01% of the volume of the entire hydrosphere;
- Atmospheric steam: contains 14 thousand km³ or 0.001% of the volume of the entire hydrosphere;
- Rivers: contain slightly more than 1 thousand km³ or 0.0001% of the volume of the entire hydrosphere;
- TOTAL VOLUME OF THE EARTH'S HYDROSPHERE: about 1.458 billion km³.
Water cycle in nature
Diagram of the cycle of nature
Involves the movement of water from the oceans through the atmosphere to the continents and then back to the oceans above, across, and below the land surface. The cycle includes processes such as precipitation, evaporation, transpiration, infiltration, percolation and runoff. These processes operate throughout the hydrosphere, which extends approximately 15 km into the atmosphere and up to approximately 5 km deep into the earth's crust.
About a third of the solar energy that reaches the Earth's surface is spent on the evaporation of ocean water. The resulting atmospheric moisture condenses into clouds, rain, snow and dew. Humidity is a decisive factor in determining the weather. It is the driving force behind storms and is responsible for the separation of electrical charge, which is what causes lightning and therefore the natural ones that negatively affect some. Precipitation moistens the soil, replenishes underground aquifers, disrupts landscapes, nourishes living organisms, and fills rivers that carry dissolved chemicals and sediments back to the oceans.
The importance of the hydrosphere
Water plays an important role in the carbon cycle. Under the influence of water and dissolved carbon dioxide, calcium is eroded from continental rocks and transported to the oceans, where calcium carbonate is formed (including the shells of marine organisms). Carbonates are eventually deposited on the seafloor and lithified to form limestones. Some of these carbonate rocks later sink into the Earth's interior through the global process of plate tectonics and melt, releasing carbon dioxide (such as from volcanoes) into the atmosphere. The hydrological cycle, the cycling of carbon and oxygen through Earth's geological and biological systems, is the basis for sustaining life on the planet, forming erosion and weathering of continents, and they stand in stark contrast to the absence of such processes on, for example, Venus.
Problems of the hydrosphere
The process of melting glaciers
There are many problems that are directly related to the hydrosphere, but the most global are the following:
Sea level rise
Sea level rise is an emerging problem that could affect many people and ecosystems around the world. Tide level measurements show a worldwide sea level rise of 15-20 cm, and the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has suggested that the increase is due to expansion of ocean water due to rising ambient temperatures, melting mountain glaciers, and ice caps. Most of the Earth's glaciers are melting due to , and many scientific studies have shown that the rate of this process is increasing and is also having a significant impact on global sea levels.
Declining Arctic sea ice
Over the past few decades, Arctic sea ice has decreased significantly in size. Recent NASA research shows it is declining at a rate of 9.6% per decade. This thinning and removal of ice affects the balance of heat and animals. For example, populations decline due to a break in the ice that separates them from land and many individuals drown in attempts to swim across. This loss of sea ice also affects the albedo, or reflectivity, of the Earth's surface, causing dark oceans to absorb more heat.
Change in precipitation
An increase in precipitation can lead to floods and landslides, while a decrease can lead to droughts and fires. El Niño events, monsoons and hurricanes also influence short-term global climate change. For example, changes in ocean currents off the coast of Peru associated with an El Niño event can lead to changes in weather patterns throughout North America. Changes in monsoon patterns due to rising temperatures have the potential to cause droughts in areas around the world that depend on seasonal winds. Hurricanes, which intensify as sea surface temperatures rise, will become more destructive to humans in the future.
Melting permafrost
It melts as global temperatures rise. This most affects the people living in this area, since the soil on which the houses are located becomes unstable. Not only is there an immediate effect, but scientists fear that thawing permafrost will release huge amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) into the atmosphere, which will greatly affect the environment in the long term. Those released will contribute to further global warming by releasing heat into the atmosphere.
Anthropogenic human influence on the hydrosphere
Humans have had a significant impact on the hydrosphere of our planet, and this will continue as the Earth's population and human needs increase. Global climate change, river flooding, wetland drainage, flow reduction and irrigation have put pressure on existing freshwater hydrosphere systems. The steady state is disrupted by the release of toxic chemicals, radioactive substances and other industrial wastes, as well as the leakage of mineral fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides into the Earth's water sources.
Acid rain, caused by the release of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the burning of fossil fuels, has become a worldwide problem. Acidification of freshwater lakes and increased concentrations of aluminum in their waters are believed to be responsible for significant changes in lake ecosystems. In particular, many lakes today do not have significant fish populations.
Eutrophication caused by human intervention is becoming a problem for freshwater ecosystems. As excess nutrients and organic matter from wastewater from agriculture and industry are released into water systems, they become artificially enriched. This affects coastal marine ecosystems, as well as the introduction of organic matter into the oceans, which is many times greater than in pre-human times. This has caused biotic changes in some areas, such as the North Sea, where cyanobacteria thrive and diatoms thrive less.
As the population increases, the need for drinking water will also increase, and in many areas of the world, due to changing temperatures, fresh water is extremely difficult to obtain. As people irresponsibly divert rivers and deplete natural water supplies, this creates even more problems.
Humans have had a great influence on the hydrosphere and will continue to do so in the future. It is important to understand the impact we have on the environment and work to reduce negative impacts.
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