2.3: The Hydrosphere

INTRODUCTION

Water is an abundant substance on Earth and covers 71 percent of the Earth's surface. Earth’s water consists of three percent freshwater and 97 percent saltwater. All living organisms require water to live. In fact, they are mostly comprised of water. Water is also important for other reasons: as an agent of erosion, it changes the morphology of the land; it acts as a buffer against extreme climate changes when present as a large body of water, and it helps flush away and dilute pollutants in the environment.

The physical characteristics of water influence the way life on Earth exists. The unique characteristics of water are:

1. Water is a liquid at room temperature and over a relatively wide temperature range (0 -100°C). This wide range encompasses the annual mean temperature of most biological environments.
2. A relatively large amount of energy is required to raise the temperature of water (i.e., it has a high heat capacity). As a result of this property, large bodies of water act as buffers against extreme fluctuations in the climate, water makes an excellent industrial coolant, and it helps protect living organisms against sudden temperature changes in the environment.
3. Water has a very high heat of vaporization. Water evaporation helps distribute heat globally; it provides an organism with the means to dissipate unwanted heat.
4. Water is a good solvent and provides a good medium for chemical reactions, including those that are biologically important. Water carries nutrients to an organism's cells and flushes away waste products, and it allows the flow of ions necessary for muscle and nerve functions in animals.
5. Liquid water has a very high surface tension, the force holding the liquid surface together. This, along with its ability to adhere to surfaces, enables the upward transport of water in plants and soil by capillary action.
6. Solid water (ice) has a lower density than liquid water at the surface of the Earth. If ice were denser than liquid water, it would sink rather than float, and bodies of water in cold climates would eventually freeze solid, killing the organisms living in them.

Freshwater comprises only about three percent of the earth's total water supply and is found as either surface water or groundwater. Surface water starts as precipitation. That portion of precipitation that does not infiltrate the ground is called runoff. Runoff flows into streams and lakes.

The drainage basin from which water drains is called a watershed. Precipitation that infiltrates the ground and becomes trapped in cracks and pores of the soil and rock is called groundwater. If groundwater is stopped by an impermeable barrier of rock, it can accumulate until the porous region becomes saturated. The top of this accumulation is known as the water table. Porous layers of sand and rock through which groundwater flows are called aquifers.

Most freshwater is locked up in frozen glaciers or deep groundwater, where it is not usable by most living organisms. Only a tiny fraction of the earth's total water supply is therefore usable freshwater. Still, the amount available is sufficient to maintain life because of the natural water cycle. In the water cycle, water constantly accumulates, becomes purified, and is redistributed. Unfortunately, as human populations across the globe increase, their activities threaten to overwhelm the natural cycle and degrade the quality of available water.

OCEAN CURRENTS

Since the Earth's surface is over 71 percent water, it is not surprising that oceans have a significant effect on the weather and climate. Because of the high heat capacity of water, the ocean acts as a temperature buffer. That is why coastal climates are less extreme than inland climates. Most of the radiant heat from the sun is absorbed by the ocean surface waters, and ocean currents help distribute this heat.

Currents are the movement of water in a predictable pattern. Surface ocean currents are driven mostly by prevailing winds. The "Coriolis Effect" causes the currents to flow in circular patterns. These currents help transport heat from the tropics to the higher latitudes. Two large surface currents near the United States are the California Current along the west coast and the Gulf Stream along the east coast. Differences in water temperature and density drive deep ocean currents. They move in a convective pattern.

The less dense (lower salinity) warm water in the equatorial regions rises and moves towards the polar regions, while the more dense (higher salinity) cold water in the polar regions sinks and moves towards the equatorial regions. Sometimes this cold deep water moves back to the surface along a coastline in a process known as upwelling. This cold, deep water is rich in nutrients that support productive fishing grounds.

About every three to seven years, warm water from the western equatorial Pacific moves to the eastern equatorial Pacific due to weakened trade winds. The eastern Pacific Ocean thus becomes warmer than usual for a period of about a year. This is known as El Niño. El Niño prevents the nutrient-rich, cold-water upwelling along the western coast of South America. It also impacts the global weather conditions. Some regions receive heavier than usual rainfall, while other regions suffer drought conditions with lower than usual rainfall.