Mrs. Degl1 The Water Cycle and Climates Water continuously circulates between the hydrosphere (oceans), atmosphere (troposphere), and the lithosphere (land).

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The Water Cycle and Climates

Water continuously circulates between the hydrosphere (oceans), atmosphere (troposphere), and the lithosphere (land).

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When precipitation falls to the Earth, 4 things can happen to it:1. Evapotranspiration – water is returned to the atmosphere as vapor.2. Infiltration – water soaks into the ground to the water table.3. Runoff – water flows on the surface of the Earth (no infiltration).4. Storage – water is stored on the surface in the form of snow/ice.

5 factors that influence how water infiltrates into the ground:1. Slope of the land – (steepness of gradient)

2. Ground saturation – (how much water the ground is already holding)

3. Porosity of the ground – (% open space between grains in rock/ground)

4. Permeability of the ground – (speed that water infiltrates the ground)

5. Capillarity of the ground – (the upward movement of water from below)

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PorosityRound particles have more porosity than flat.

Most porous? ______

Least porous? ______

Loosely packed particles have more porosity.

More sorted particles have a higher porosity.

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Particle size does not effect porosity.

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PermeabilitySmaller particles have a low permeability. This is because there is less space between particles, which causes a lower porosity, which makes water travel slower through the ground.

CapillaritySmaller particles have a higher capillarity. This is because there is less space between the particles, which allows them to be in closer contact. Water can cling easier to particles that are in closer contact.

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The ground is divided into two zones:

1. Zone of saturation - pore spaces filled with water

2. Zone of aeration - pore spaces filled with air and some water

Water Table

The water table is the boundary between these two zones.

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A karst landscape can be associated with sinkholes. Karst topography is a landscape created by groundwater dissolving sedimentary rock such as limestone. This creates land forms such as shafts, tunnels, caves, and sinkholes.  Groundwater seeps into and through these land forms. The result is a scenic landscape which is beautiful but fragile, and vulnerable to erosion and pollution.

Florida has a lot of sinkholes.

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Runoff is measured by Stream Discharge Values, which is

Stream discharge values are influenced by 5 factors:

1. Slope of the land –

2. Volume (size) of the stream/river –

3. Amount of precipitation –

4. Seasonal snow melt (springtime) –

5. Vegetative cover -

a measure of the amount of water flowing past a given point per second.

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An entire geographic area that drains into one larger body of water.

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Water Pollution – there are 5 basic types of water pollution:

1. Human wastes (septic/sewage can carry disease bearing parasites; detergent and dry cleaning fluids can pollute the water if they are not disposed of properly; lawn fertilizer carried into steams and lakes can pollute the water).

2. Industrial wastes (oil/gas can enter the water if fuel spills in the ocean and people can also dispose of oil by dumping it; garbage and toxic waste dumps have pollutants leaking into the water; acid rain is a form of pollution caused by chemicals released in the air returning in the form of precipitation).

3. Radioactive wastes (radioactive wastes are buried underground in order to contain them. Sometimes these containers break down and leak these poisons into the water).

4. Natural Pollutants (bacteria and natural seeping oil contribute to water pollution without any human influence).

5. Thermal Pollution (water heated by humans for industrial use will drive off dissolved oxygen and promote anaerobic bacteria growth.

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Facts about water pollution:1. It costs a lot of money to clean up polluted water.

Professionals have to use other chemicals to get rid of the the pollutants.

2. It takes a very long time to clean up polluted water.3. In many cases, the water cannot be cleaned.4. As population increases, the amount of water (and other)

pollution increases.

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Climate - weather conditions over a long period of time.There are 7 factors that influence the climate of an area:1. Latitude –

2. Altitude –

3. Proximity to large bodies of water –

4. Proximity to warm/cold ocean currents –

5. Wind/Pressure belts –

6. Location in a storm track –

7. Orographic Effect -

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Orographic Effect

Windward side – Air rises, expands, cools to it’s dewpoint temperature. This causes condensation, clouds, and precipitation on this side.

Leeward side – Air sinks, contracts, and it’s temperature increases. When air sinks, it also dries. This is why the leeward of mountains are always dryer. All of the world’s deserts are on the leeward side of mountains.

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In science, climate is determined by the use of a P/Ep ratio.

P = the amount of precipitation an area receives over the year

Ep = the amount of liquid water that evaporates/transpires into water vapor throughout the year.

This is a division problem that requires a calculator.

Ratio of 1.2 or higher = Humid Climate

Ratio of 0.8 to 1.2 = Sub-humid Climate

Ratio of 0.4 to 0.8 = Semi-arid Climate

Ratio of 0.4 or less = Arid Climate

The top number goes into the calculator first!!!

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Climate Change

Climate Cooling – Ice ages have occurred Four major continental glaciations are recorded in North America.

These periods can be caused by:1. Decrease in the Sun’s energy output, indirectly related to Sunspots.2. Change is the Earth’s orbital period.3. Change in the inclination (tilt) of the Earth’s axis (Procession).4. Volcanic eruptions release ash that blocks the Sun’s rays.5. Asteroid/Meteor impacts shoot dirt into the atmosphere that block

the Sun’s rays.6. Plate Tectonics move the continents around the Earth. Each

location will have a different climate.7. During an ice age, more light gets reflected back into space and

keeps the atmosphere from heating up again.

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Climate Warming – rock layers show that this does happen.These periods can be caused by: 1. Increase in the amount of greenhouse gasses (carbon dioxide,

and water vapor) added to the atmosphere. This holds in more infrared (heat) that the Earth tries to release at night.

2. Destruction of rain forests stops the process of plants/trees removing the carbon dioxide from the air and releasing oxygen back into the air.

3. Changes in the Earth’s orbit.4. Change in the inclination (tilt) of the Earth’s axis.5. Increase in the Sun’s energy output.6. Volcanic eruptions can release a lot of carbon dioxide into the

atmosphere which will trap the heat b/c it is a greenhouse gas.7. Plate tectonics will move the continents into different

locations. 8. Urbanization

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El Nino

La Niña is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific, compared to El Niño, which is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific.

Every three to five years, driven by a reversal in the trade winds, an El Nino, a huge bulge of warm water under a blanket of tropical storms, hits the west coast of USA and South America., burying the cool Humboldt Current and dropping heavy rains and a great deal of bad weather on the west coasts of Peru and Ecuador, and Calfiornia, often around Christmas--hence the name El Nino (the boy), in honor of the Christ Child.

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