Download Water

Where
is
Earth’s
Water?
The water on earth
is spread through
the lithosphere,
hydrosphere and
the atmosphere
layers.
The lithosphere is the
solid, rocky crust covering
the entire planet. Water is
a major factor in
weathering and erosion of
rocks and the rock cycle.
erosion
The hydrosphere is
composed of all of the water
on or near the earth. This
includes the oceans, rivers,
lakes, and even the moisture
in the air. 97% of the earth's
water is in the oceans.
The atmosphere contains
water in the form of water
vapor and precipitation.
The water cycle
moves water
through these
layers.
When water reaches
earth’s surface, some of it
will flow along the surface
of the earth as runoff
while the rest of it soaks
into the soil.
The water goes
through the soil until
it becomes
groundwater and is
stored in the aquifer
below.
Eventually, after years,
the groundwater enters a
lake or stream. There, the
water will once again be
evaporated and begin the
cycle again.
Earth’s Bodies of Water
Rivers
A river is usually
freshwater and flows
toward an ocean, a lake,
a sea or another river.
River water comes from
precipitation through
surface runoff,
groundwater, springs, and
the release of water stored
in glaciers and snowpacks.
River Meander
Streams
A stream is a flowing
body of water with a
current, confined within
stream banks.
Lake
A lake is a body of water
that is set in the bottom of a
bowl-shaped hole. A body of
water is considered a lake
when it is inland, is not part
of a ocean, and is fed
by a river.
OCEANS
Most of the earth is
covered by ocean.
Oceans give us food
and help keep the air
temperature steady.
Arctic
Ocean
Atlantic
Ocean
Pacific
Ocean
Pacific
Ocean
Pacific
Ocean
Atlantic
Ocean
Indian
Ocean
Southern
Southern
Ocean
Ocean
On the ocean bed
there are
mountains, valleys
and even
volcanoes.
There are three
basic layers or
zones in the
ocean.
Sunlit Zone: This is the top
layer, nearest the surface. It is
also called the euphotic zone.
Here there is enough light
penetrating the water to support
photosynthesis.
Because photosynthesis
occurs here, more than 90
percent of all marine life lives
in the sunlit zone, which
goes down about 600 feet.
Twilight Zone: Only a small
amount of light can penetrate the
water at this depth. As the water
becomes deeper, the pressure
increases, too. Plants do not grow
here. Only animals that have
adapted to little light survive.
This murky part of the ocean
begins at about 600 feet
and extends to the darkest
part, which begins about
3,000 feet down.
Midnight Zone: Ninety percent
of the ocean is in the midnight
zone. It is entirely dark—there is
no light. The water pressure is
extreme. The temperature is
near freezing.
The living things found
here live close to cracks in
the Earth's crust and feed
on a special type of
bacteria.
The Mariana Trench is
the deepest point in the
ocean and is almost 7
miles deep. It is the
deepest part of Earth that
we know about.
Food provided by the ocean
is fish, shellfish, and
seaweed. Kelp, a kind of
seaweed, provides algin,
which is used as a thickening
in ice cream, salad dressing
and cosmetics.
There are estimated to
be between
500,000 and 5,000,000
marine species not yet
discovered.
Salt in the oceans and seas
comes from rocks that have
been broken and worn down
by wind and water.
Chemicals from the rocks
dissolve in the water and
make it salty.
The oceans are blue
because the color of
the sky is reflected off
the surface of the
water.
Oil and natural gas
are the main
energy resources
provided by the
ocean.
Oceans play a big part
in maintaining a healthy
environment. One of their
2
jobs is to soak up CO .
The ocean absorbs about
2
1/4 of the CO we create
when we burn fossil fuels.
If not for the ocean, we'd be
in even worse trouble with
too much CO2.
The oceans also soak up
heat and distribute it more
evenly around the Earth.
The top few meters of the
ocean stores as much heat
as Earth's entire
atmosphere.
That means that as
the planet warms, it's
the ocean that gets
most of the extra
energy.
But if the ocean gets
too warm, then the
plants and animals
that live in it must
adapt--or die.
Algae and plankton are at the
bottom of the food chain.
Plankton includes many
different kinds of tiny animals,
plants, or bacteria that just float
and drift in the ocean.
Other tiny animals such
as krill (sort of like little
shrimp) eat the
plankton. Fish and
even whales and seals
feed on the krill.
In some parts of the ocean,
krill populations have
dropped by over 80 percent.
Krill like to breed in really
cold water and as the ocean
warms, their breeding
slows down.
Scarcity of krill
causes a decrease
in food for all the
ocean’s animals.
Another problem is the
ocean is becoming
more acidic.
What does this mean?
Liquids are either acid
or alkaline
Normally, ocean water is
less acidic than fresh water.
Unfortunately, as the ocean
absorbs more and more
carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere, it becomes
more acidic.
When the ocean absorbs too much
CO2, the water becomes more acidic.
The alkalinity of the ocean is very
important in maintaining the balance
needed for animals to make
protective shells.
If the water is too acidic,
the animals may not be
able to make strong shells.
Corals could also be
affected, since their
skeletons are made of the
same shell-like material.
Coral reefs are an
essential part of ocean
ecosystems and are home
to over 25% of all known
species of marine life.
75% of the world’s coral
reefs are already at risk.
Unless things change, more
than 90% of coral reefs will
at risk by 2030 and all the
world’s reefs will be
threatened by 2050.
Scientists have
determined the main
causes of threats to the
oceans include climate
change, overfishing,
pollution and habitat loss.
Other factors include an
increase in areas of low
oxygen levels areas
(42 areas in 1950 -783 sites today)
and even dead zones, which
are areas with no oxygen
in the water.
Taking Water for Granted
Today nearly 1 billion
people in the world don't
have access to clean water.
Water scarcity is either the
lack of enough water or
lack of access to
safe water.
That is approximately 1/3 of
the world’s population or
basically 1 in every eight
people in the world.
31/2 million people die each
year from water-related
disease.
Every day 4,500 children under
the age of 5 years old die
because of a sickness related
to unclean water.
1 out of 6 people in the world
has no access to clean water
within mile of their home.
Sometimes there is
water, but not enough
money to get it. Other
times, it is an area that
lacks enough water for
its population.
In a day, Europeans
use about 50 gallons of
water. American use
100 gallons. Those living
in sub-Saharan Africa
use 2-5 gallons per day.
Many people don’t
realize how much
water is needed to
manufacture the
things we use.
It takes10 gallons of water
to make a single slice of
bread, 713 gallons to
produce a cotton t-shirt,
1,000 gallons to make 1
gallon of milk, and 634
gallons to produce
1 burger.