Hydrosphere: Oceans, Lakes & Shorelines

1. Hydrosphere: Oceans, Lakes & Shorelines EDU 370 Sharon Sloan

2. The Hydrosphere aThe hydrosphere is often called the "water sphere" as it includes all the earth's water that is found in streams, lakes, the soil, groundwater, and in the air. a The hydrosphere interacts with, and is influenced by, all the other earth spheres. aThe biosphere serves as an interface between the spheres which aids  in the movement of water between the hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere.

3. The Hydrologic Cycle aThe water on earth stays consistent, it is believed to have been consistent throughout the life of the planet aThere are five processes by which water moves throughout each of the earth’s spheres acondensation aprecipitation a infiltration arunoff a evapotranspiration

4. aWater is found everywhere in, on, and around the earth. aEarth is the only planet where water is found, and it is found in its three different forms aliquid (water) a gas (vapor) asolid (ice) aNearly ¾ of the earth’s surface is covered by water, hence the nick-name “the Blue Planet” aRemember, water is also found in the ground and in the soil as well Water, Water, Everywhere

5. a although our planet is nearly ¾ covered by water, there is only a small percentage of it usable by humans aIt is the saline (salt) content in the water that makes it unusable to humans aHumans have found way to filter the water and make it usable, but these processes are still slow and costly How much is usable by Humans?

6. a Oceans are responsible for keeping the planet from burning up by the sun’s heat and it is the planet’s largest source of heat aThe large mass of liquid serves as a buffer for the sun’s heat and it keeps earth in a state of homeostasis by not allowing any drastic changes in temperature aWhy would it be important to keep the earth’s temperature at a relatively constant state? Oceans

7. aThe oceans are the earth’s main reservoirs of readily available carbon dioxide (CO2). aWhy do you think that this would be important to the earth’s atmosphere? aCarbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas aCO2 is important in the process of photosynthesis in plants aIt is the deep circulation that allows the creates the cycle that allows the entrapment of CO2 at the deeper, colder regions of the ocean The Ocean and the Atmosphere

8. aOcean currents: apull CO2 down to the deeper portions of the ocean a carry warm waters from equatorial regions to those neared to the poles aThese currents are sent in motion by: a prevailing winds a Coriolis force, which is the force created by the rotation of the earth aaccount for 1/4 of the heat transport on the earth Ocean Currents

9. The ocean is divided into three levels These levels are determined by the level of penetration by the sun’s light OceanicLevels

10. Oceanic Zonation EUPHOTIC ZONE (Sunlit) The most shallow of the zones only reaches the depth of 600 feet awarmest temperatures a temperatures are nearly UNIFORM (due to rapid transfer of heat) athickness and temperatures FLUCTUATE alots of light penetrates

11. Oceanic Zonation DISPHOTIC ZONE (Twilight) This middle zone reaches the depths of 3000 feet a cooler waters a more fluctuation in temperature a some light penetrates

12. Oceanic Zonation APHOTIC ZONE (Midnight) This deepest zone takes up 90% of the space in the ocean a coldest temperatures a most saline a most dense a completely devoid of light

13. a currents carried on the surface of the water are called waves a when waves meet the land shorelines are created a the interaction between the sea and the land causes some erosion of the land which creates sediment a sediment is carried into the ocean from the waves Currents, Waves & Shorelines

14. Sediment is part of the lithosphere and is deposited on the ocean floor as the waves pull back from the shore there are two types of shorelines created by sediment deposition sediment poor shorelines more of the sediment is pulled away from the shoreline and deeper into the ocean floor sediment rich shorelines more of the sediment deposits on the shore Sediment and Shorelines

15. Shoreline types are assigned by the physical characteristics of the upper tidal zone (the area that shows during high tide) standard classifications of shorelines are used for ecological catastrophes and how vulnerable the shoreline is to damaging effects beaches are made of assorted sediments and they are categorized according to their substrate Shorelines

16. Environment Canada shoreline classifications non-permeable shorelines bedrock man-made solid structures & ice permeable shorelines sand beaches mixed sediment pebble/cobble beaches mud tidal flats sand tidal flats salt marshes peat shoreline (arctic) linundate low-lying tundra shorelines tundra cliffs Warm and tropical climates coral coastlines mangrove & estuaries Shoreline Classification

17. Shorelines aren’t only present where the ocean meet the land lakes are another body of water with shorelines shorelines of lakes are influenced by the same factors as ocean shorelines lake shorelines can also determine the longevity of the lake and how long it will exist Shorelines & Lakes

18. Lake Characterisitcs • The cycle of erosion continuously changes the topography of the lake on the shore and on the lake bottom • this erosion determines the productivity of a lake • can anyone guess how this would influence the lakes longevity? • Lakes are categorized by these characteristics

19. dystrophic lakes low food value full of soil particles water is usually brown oligotrophic lakes lake nourishment very clear water eutrophic lakes well nourished intense birdlife lots of plankton Lakes are divided into threecategories