The Dynamic Earth

Section 3

Section 3: The Hydrosphere and Biosphere

Preview
Bellringer
Objectives
The Hydrosphere
The Water Cycle
Earths Oceans
Ocean Water
Temperature Zones

The Dynamic Earth

Section 3

Section 3: The Hydrosphere and Biosphere

Preview , continued
A Global Temperature Regulator
Ocean Currents
Fresh Water and River Systems
Ground water
The Biosphere
Energy Flow in the Biosphere

The Dynamic Earth

Bellringer

Section 3

The Dynamic Earth

Section 3

Objectives
Name the three major processes in the water cycle.
Describe the properties of ocean water.
Describe the two types of ocean currents.
Explain how the ocean regulates Earths temperature.
Discuss the factors that confine life to the biosphere.
Explain the difference between open and closed
systems.

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Section 3

The Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere includes all of the water on or near the
Earths surface.
This includes water in the oceans, lakes, rivers,
wetlands, polar ice caps, soil, rock layers beneath
Earths surface, and clouds.

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Section 3

The Water Cycle

The water cycle is the continuous movement of water
from the ocean to the atmosphere to the land and back
to the ocean.
Evaporation is the change of a substance from a liquid
to a gas.
Water continually evaporates from the Earths oceans,
lakes, streams, and soil, but the majority evaporates
from the oceans.

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The Water Cycle

Condensation is the change of state from a gas to a
liquid.
Water vapor forms water droplets on dust particles which
then form clouds in which the droplets collide to create
larger, heavier drops that then fall from the clouds as
rain.
Precipitation is any form of water that falls to the Earths
surface from the clouds, and includes rain, snow, sleet,
and hail.

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The Water Cycle

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Section 3

Earths Oceans
All of the oceans are joined in a single large
interconnected body of water called the world ocean.
The world oceans play important roles in the regulation
of the planets environment.

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Section 3

Earths Oceans
The largest ocean on Earth is the Pacific Ocean with a
surface area of about 165,640,000 km2.
The deepest point on the ocean floor, the Challenger
Deep, is found in the Pacific Ocean.
The Challenger Deep is located east of the Philippine
islands at the bottom of the Mariana Trench and is
11,033m below sea level which is deeper than Mount
Everest is tall.

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Section 3

Earths Oceans
Oceanographers often divide the Pacific Ocean into the
North Pacific and South Pacific based on the direction of
the surface current flow in each half of the Pacific
Ocean.
Surface currents in the Pacific move in a clockwise
direction north of the equator.
Surface currents in the Pacific move in a counterclockwise direction south of the equator.

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Section 3

Earths Oceans
The second largest ocean on Earth is the Atlantic Ocean,
and covers about half the area of the Pacific Ocean
which is a surface area of about 81,630,000 km 2.
Like the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean can be
divided into a north and south half based on the
directions of surface current flow north and south of the
equator.

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Section 3

Earths Oceans
The Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean on Earth with
a surface area of 73,420,000 km2.
The smallest ocean is the Artic ocean which covers
14,350,000 km2.
The Artic Ocean is unique because much of its surface is
covered by floating ice, called pack ice, which forms
when either waves or wind drive together frozen
seawater, known as sea ice, into a large mass.

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Section 3

Ocean Water
The difference between ocean water and fresh water is
that ocean water contains more salts.
Salinity is a measure of the amount of dissolved salts in
a given amount of liquid.
Salinity is lower in places that get a lot of rain or in
places where fresh water flows in to the sea. In contrast,
salinity is higher where water evaporates rapidly and
leaves the salts behind.

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Section 3

Ocean Water
Most of the salt in the ocean is sodium chloride, which is
made up of the elements sodium and chloride, although
many other elements can be found in the ocean as well.

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Section 3

Temperature Zones
The surface of the ocean is warmed by the sun, while
the depths of the ocean, where sunlight never reaches,
are very cold, just above freezing.
Surface waters are stirred up by waves and currents so
the warm surface zone may be as much as 350 m deep.
Below the surface zone is the thermocline, which is a
layer about 300 to 700 m deep where the temperature
falls rapidly.

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Temperature Zones

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Section 3

A Global Temperature Regulator

One of the most important functions of the world ocean
is to absorb and store energy from sunlight which in turn
regulates temperatures in Earths atmosphere.
Because the ocean both absorbs and releases heat
slower than land, the temperature of the atmosphere
changes more slowly.
If the ocean did not regulate atmospheric and surface
temperatures, temperatures would be too extreme for life
to exist on Earth.

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Section 3

A Global Temperature Regulator

Local temperatures in different areas of the planet are
also regulated by the world ocean.
Currents circulate warm water causing land areas they
flow past to have more moderate climates.
For example, the British Isles are warmed by the waters
of the Gulf Stream.

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Section 3

Ocean Currents
Streamlike movements of water that occur at or near the
surface of the ocean are called surface currents.
Surface currents are wind driven and result from global
wind patterns.
Surface currents can be warm or cold water currents.
However, currents of warm water and currents of cold
water do not readily mix with one another.

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Ocean Currents

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Section 3

Ocean Currents
Deep currents are streamlike movements of water that
flow very slowly along the ocean floor.
Deep currents form when the cold, dense water from the
poles inks below warmer, less dense ocean water and
flows toward the equator.
The densest and coldest ocean water is located off the
coast of Antarctica and flows very slowly northward
producing a deep current called the Antarctic Bottom
Water.

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Section 3

Fresh Water and River Systems

Fresh water is water that contains insignificant amounts
of salts.
Most of the fresh water is locked up in icecaps and
glaciers while the rest is found in places like lakes,
rivers, wetlands, the soil and atmosphere.
A river system is a network of streams that drains an
area of land and contains all of the land drained by a
river including the main river and all its smaller streams
or rivers that flow into larger ones, or tributaries.

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Section 3

Ground water
Rain and melting snow sink into the ground and run off
the land. Most of this water trickles down through the
ground and collects as groundwater.
Although it makes up only 1 percent of all the water on
Earth, groundwater fulfills the human need for fresh
drinking water, and supplies agricultural and industrial
need.

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Aquifers
A rock layer that stores and allows the flow of
groundwater is called an aquifer.

Section 3

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Section 3

The Biosphere
The biosphere is the part of Earth where life exists,
extending about 11 km into the ocean and about 9 km
into the atmosphere.
The materials that organisms require must be continually
recycled. Gravity allows a planet to maintain an
atmosphere and to cycle materials.
Suitable combinations that organisms need to survive
are found only in the biosphere.

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Section 3

The Biosphere
The biosphere is located near Earths surface because
most of the sunlight is available near the surface.
Plants need sunlight to produce their food, and almost
every other organism gets its food from plants and algae.
Most of the algae float at the surface of the ocean and is
known as phytoplankton.

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Section 3

Energy Flow in the Biosphere

The energy used by organisms must be obtained in the
biosphere and must be constantly supplied for life to
continue.
When an organism dies, its body is broken down and the
nutrients in it become available for use by other
organisms.
This flow of energy allows life on Earth to continue to
exist.

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Section 3

Energy Flow in the Biosphere

Closed systems are systems that cannot exchange
matter or energy with its surroundings.
Open systems are systems that can exchange both
matter and energy with its surroundings.
Today, the Earth is essentially a closed system with
respect to matter, but an open system for energy as
energy travels from plant to animal which is eaten by
other animals. In the process, some energy is lost as
heat to the environment.

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Math Practice

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Quick LAB

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