The Earth S Water

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The Earth’s Water

The Water Cycle: Water moves constantly between the atmosphere and the Earth’s surface in the water cycle. The water cycle is a group of processes that move the Earth’s water between different phases (solid, liquid, and gas) and between reservoirs. A reservoir is, in this case, anything that can hold water. Lakes, oceans, and clouds are all reservoirs of water.

Processes of the Water Cycle:

• Evaporation is the process in which liquid water changes into a gas. Energy from the sun causes water on the Earth’s surface to evaporate.
• Transpiration is the process in which water moves from a plant’s body to the atmosphere. The sun’s energy causes water to evaporate of plant leaves.
• Condensation is the process in which water vapor (or gaseous water) changes into a liquid. Clouds form when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses into water droplets.
• Precipitation is the release of water to the Earth’s surface in the form of rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, or hail.
• Runoff is water that moves from land into rivers and streams.
• Infiltration and percolation occur as water sinks into, and moves downward through permeable soil and collects in rocks. This water is referred to as ground-water.

Watershed Systems

A watershed is an area of land that drains rainfall and snowmelt into a particular body of water. The terrain of the land around the body of water helps define the watershed. A watershed can include many creeks, streams, and rivers. In Pennsylvania, many creeks form as runoff moves down the Appalachian Mountains. Creeks and streams can combine to form rivers. Some rivers eventually flow into lakes. Most rivers eventually flow into bays or oceans. When this happens, the freshwater from the rivers mixes with the salt water of the bay or ocean. A large part of Pennsylvania lies within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Chesapeake Bay watershed covers about 64,000 square miles of land.

Pollution anywhere in a watershed can lead to pollution in a larger body of water. When runoff (from precipitation) moves over the land, it washes soil, fertilizers, litter, toxic chemicals, and other pollutants into creeks and streams.

Agricultural runoff from farms in Pennsylvania can be carried by a system of creeks and rivers into the Chesapeake Bay. These nutrients can cause an overgrowth of algae in larger bodies of water. An overgrowth of algae in a body of water is called an algal bloom.

Freshwater Bodies

Most bodies of water in a watershed are freshwater bodies. Freshwater bodies include creeks, streams, rivers, and lakes containing little or no salt. Lakes are examples of lentic systems, because the water remains almost still. Creeks, streams, and rivers are examples of lotic systemsbecause the water moves over the land from areas of higher elevation to areas of lower elevation.

Stream ecosystems can have varying levels of biodiversity depending on the conditions in a particular stream. Biodiversity refers to the variety of organisms that live in an area. Changes in the flow rate, temperature, and water quality (pollutants) of a stream can diminish the biodiversity. Pollutants can choke or poison organisms.

Many wetlands are freshwater bodies. Wetlands are areas of land that are under water for all or part of the year. Wetlands include marshes, swamps, and bogs. Wetlands filter pollutants, excess nutrients, and sediments out of the water that flows through them, so wetlands improve water quality. Wetlands also soak up excess water, so they can help prevent flooding.

Freshwater bodies are important natural resources. People need water for drinking, cooking, bathing, and irrigating crops. Rivers are also used to transport products, produce electricity, and for recreational purposes.

Saltwater Bodies

Most of the water on the Earth is found in oceans and contains dissolved salts such as sodium chloride. Saltwater can be found in wetlands that form along ocean coasts. Salt marshes are areas of land that are flooded during high tide. Bays and estuaries are bodies of water that connect to oceans. Salt water and fresh water have different properties. The salinity of salt water is higher than freshwater. Salinity is the dissolved salt content in a body of water, usually measured in parts per million (ppm).

PROPERTY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FRESH AND SALT WATER