Water Cycle Webquest
1. What does it mean that the Earth is a closed system, like a terrarium? Gravity keeps the water in place so none of it escapes
2. How does water the water amount from millions of years ago compare to today’s water amount? It hasn't changed because the Earth is a closed system
3. Out of all the water on Earth, what percentage is usable by humans? 3%
4. Of the water usable by humans, where is the largest percentage of that water found? Lakes
5. Complete the following diagram:
6. Of the freshwater, where is most of the water tied up? In icebergs
7. Of the remaining freshwater, where is the largest majority of that water found? As groundwater
8. What percentage of freshwater is found as surface water? .3%
9. Compare the amount of freshwater to the amount of saltwater in cubic kilometers: Fresh- 10,633,450 km3
Salt- 1,386, 000,000
How Much Water Is There?
1. How much of the Earth’s surface is covered by water? 71%
2. Besides the ocean, where else does water exist? It is in the atmosphere, in the ground, in lakes, rivers, and streams. It is in glaciers and swamps as well.
3. Where does most of the water people and other life on Earth come from? Primordial Earth was an incandescent globe made of magma, but all magma contain water. Water set free by magma began to cool down the Earth's atmosphere, and eventually the environment became cool enough so water could stay on the surface as a liquid. Volcanic activity kept and still keeps introducing water into the atmosphere, thus increasing the surface-water and groundwater volume of the Earth.
4. Compare the amount of groundwater to surface water: Surface 1.2%, Ground 30.1%
5. What term is used for the storage place of groundwater? Aquifers
6. How is groundwater recharged? Through a process where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater.
7. How does groundwater recharge rivers? It helps the river continue to push its flow stream with the pressure it creates
8. In 2005, how much surface water did the United States use? 328,000 million gallons a day
9. In the same time period, how much groundwater did people use? 82,600 million gallons a day
The Water Cycle
What is another term used for the water cycle? Hydrologic cycle
Atmosphere
1. Which two processes changes liquid water into vapor which then rises into the atmosphere? Evaporation and transpiration
2. Which process produces the majority of the vapor in the atmosphere? Evaporation
3. What percentage of vapor does transpiration add to the atmosphere? About 10%
4. If all the water in the atmosphere rained down and covered the Earth, how deep would it be? About an inch
Condensation
1. Define condensation: The process by which vapor turns into liquid
2. Why is condensation an important part of the water cycle? It is responsible for the formation of clouds
3. Besides clouds, what else can happen due to condensation? Fog
Evaporation
1. Define evaporation: process where liquid turns into a gas or vapor
2. Where does most of the evaporated water come from? Oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers
3. What is necessary in order for evaporation to occur? Heat/ Energy
4. What percentage of the water evaporated from the ocean is transported over land and falls as precipitation? 10%
5. How long does an evaporated water molecule stay in the air? 10 days
Evapotranspiration
1. According to this website, define evapotranspiration: (beneath the diagram) Process by which water vapor is discharged to the atmosphere as a result of evaporation from the soil and transpiration by plants
2. Define transpiration: release of water from plant leaves
3. How much water in the atmosphere is due to transpiration: 10%
4. How does a plant transpire? The process by which moisture is carried through plants from roots to small pores on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor and is released to the atmosphere. Transpiration is essentially evaporation of water from plant leaves.
5. How much can an oak tree transpire during one day? 40,000 gallons per year
Freshwater Storage
1. What bodies of water does surface water include: Stream, river, lake, wetland, and ocean
2. What processes are included in "inflows" to surface water?
3. What processes are included in “outflows” of surface water? ____________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Groundwater Discharge
1. Describe why groundwater is an important part of the water cycle: _______________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. Where is the majority of groundwater found? ________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. When are aquifers formed? ______________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. Explain how water becomes part of the groundwater: _________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
5. What percentage of freshwater is groundwater? ____________________________________
Groundwater Storage
1. Where does most of the water in groundwater come from? _____________________________
2. Describe the difference between the saturated zone and the unsaturated zone: _____________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. What is the water table? ________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. To what level would you have to dig to find water? ___________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Ice, Snow, and Glaciers
1. What is meat by storage, in relation to the water cycle? _______________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. Where is the 90% of Earth’s ice mass found? ________________________________________
3. Where is the rest of it found? ____________________________________________________
4. What majority of freshwater is held in ice caps and glaciers? ___________________________
Infiltration
1. What is happening to water during infiltration? _______________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What happens to water that infiltrates the shallow soil layer? ____________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_ ___________________________________________________________________________
3. What happens to the water that infiltrates deeper? ____________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. What is the greatest factor affecting infiltration? ______________________________________
5. What happens to rain, once the soil is saturated? ____________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Oceans
1. What percentage of water is found in the ocean? ____________________________________
2. What percentage of evaporated water comes from the ocean? _________________________
Precipitation
1. What forms of water can precipitation take? _________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. How does most precipitation fall? _________________________________________________
3. What has to happen before water can fall as precipitation? _____________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. How do water droplets grow? ____________________________________________________
5. Draw how raindrops actually look up to 3 mm:
Snowmelt Runoff
1. In what type of climates does snowmelt runoff play a significant role in streamflow? _________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What percentage of freshwater in the western states comes from snowmelt runoff? _________
____________________________________________________________________________
Springs
1. What are springs a result of? ____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Streamflow
1. How does USGS define streamflow? ______________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What is a stream? _____________________________________________________________
3. Why do rivers exist? ___________________________________________________________
4. Where does water generally seek to flow? __________________________________________
5. What percentage of freshwater is found in rivers? ____________________________________
Sublimation
1. What is sublimation? ___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What is sublimation, in relation to the water cycle? ____________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. When does sublimation occur? ___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. Where on Earth does sublimation happen a lot? _____________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
5. What is a Chinook Wind and where do they occur? __________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Surface Runoff
1. What is surface runoff? It is water, from rain, melted snow, or other sources, that flows over the land, and is a major component of the water cycle
2. When does runoff occur? When it cannot be absorbed into the ground
2. How does water the water amount from millions of years ago compare to today’s water amount? It hasn't changed because the Earth is a closed system
3. Out of all the water on Earth, what percentage is usable by humans? 3%
4. Of the water usable by humans, where is the largest percentage of that water found? Lakes
5. Complete the following diagram:
6. Of the freshwater, where is most of the water tied up? In icebergs
7. Of the remaining freshwater, where is the largest majority of that water found? As groundwater
8. What percentage of freshwater is found as surface water? .3%
9. Compare the amount of freshwater to the amount of saltwater in cubic kilometers: Fresh- 10,633,450 km3
Salt- 1,386, 000,000
How Much Water Is There?
1. How much of the Earth’s surface is covered by water? 71%
2. Besides the ocean, where else does water exist? It is in the atmosphere, in the ground, in lakes, rivers, and streams. It is in glaciers and swamps as well.
3. Where does most of the water people and other life on Earth come from? Primordial Earth was an incandescent globe made of magma, but all magma contain water. Water set free by magma began to cool down the Earth's atmosphere, and eventually the environment became cool enough so water could stay on the surface as a liquid. Volcanic activity kept and still keeps introducing water into the atmosphere, thus increasing the surface-water and groundwater volume of the Earth.
4. Compare the amount of groundwater to surface water: Surface 1.2%, Ground 30.1%
5. What term is used for the storage place of groundwater? Aquifers
6. How is groundwater recharged? Through a process where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater.
7. How does groundwater recharge rivers? It helps the river continue to push its flow stream with the pressure it creates
8. In 2005, how much surface water did the United States use? 328,000 million gallons a day
9. In the same time period, how much groundwater did people use? 82,600 million gallons a day
The Water Cycle
What is another term used for the water cycle? Hydrologic cycle
Atmosphere
1. Which two processes changes liquid water into vapor which then rises into the atmosphere? Evaporation and transpiration
2. Which process produces the majority of the vapor in the atmosphere? Evaporation
3. What percentage of vapor does transpiration add to the atmosphere? About 10%
4. If all the water in the atmosphere rained down and covered the Earth, how deep would it be? About an inch
Condensation
1. Define condensation: The process by which vapor turns into liquid
2. Why is condensation an important part of the water cycle? It is responsible for the formation of clouds
3. Besides clouds, what else can happen due to condensation? Fog
Evaporation
1. Define evaporation: process where liquid turns into a gas or vapor
2. Where does most of the evaporated water come from? Oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers
3. What is necessary in order for evaporation to occur? Heat/ Energy
4. What percentage of the water evaporated from the ocean is transported over land and falls as precipitation? 10%
5. How long does an evaporated water molecule stay in the air? 10 days
Evapotranspiration
1. According to this website, define evapotranspiration: (beneath the diagram) Process by which water vapor is discharged to the atmosphere as a result of evaporation from the soil and transpiration by plants
2. Define transpiration: release of water from plant leaves
3. How much water in the atmosphere is due to transpiration: 10%
4. How does a plant transpire? The process by which moisture is carried through plants from roots to small pores on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor and is released to the atmosphere. Transpiration is essentially evaporation of water from plant leaves.
5. How much can an oak tree transpire during one day? 40,000 gallons per year
Freshwater Storage
1. What bodies of water does surface water include: Stream, river, lake, wetland, and ocean
2. What processes are included in "inflows" to surface water?
3. What processes are included in “outflows” of surface water? ____________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Groundwater Discharge
1. Describe why groundwater is an important part of the water cycle: _______________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. Where is the majority of groundwater found? ________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. When are aquifers formed? ______________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. Explain how water becomes part of the groundwater: _________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
5. What percentage of freshwater is groundwater? ____________________________________
Groundwater Storage
1. Where does most of the water in groundwater come from? _____________________________
2. Describe the difference between the saturated zone and the unsaturated zone: _____________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. What is the water table? ________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. To what level would you have to dig to find water? ___________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Ice, Snow, and Glaciers
1. What is meat by storage, in relation to the water cycle? _______________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. Where is the 90% of Earth’s ice mass found? ________________________________________
3. Where is the rest of it found? ____________________________________________________
4. What majority of freshwater is held in ice caps and glaciers? ___________________________
Infiltration
1. What is happening to water during infiltration? _______________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What happens to water that infiltrates the shallow soil layer? ____________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_ ___________________________________________________________________________
3. What happens to the water that infiltrates deeper? ____________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. What is the greatest factor affecting infiltration? ______________________________________
5. What happens to rain, once the soil is saturated? ____________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Oceans
1. What percentage of water is found in the ocean? ____________________________________
2. What percentage of evaporated water comes from the ocean? _________________________
Precipitation
1. What forms of water can precipitation take? _________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. How does most precipitation fall? _________________________________________________
3. What has to happen before water can fall as precipitation? _____________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. How do water droplets grow? ____________________________________________________
5. Draw how raindrops actually look up to 3 mm:
Snowmelt Runoff
1. In what type of climates does snowmelt runoff play a significant role in streamflow? _________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What percentage of freshwater in the western states comes from snowmelt runoff? _________
____________________________________________________________________________
Springs
1. What are springs a result of? ____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Streamflow
1. How does USGS define streamflow? ______________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What is a stream? _____________________________________________________________
3. Why do rivers exist? ___________________________________________________________
4. Where does water generally seek to flow? __________________________________________
5. What percentage of freshwater is found in rivers? ____________________________________
Sublimation
1. What is sublimation? ___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. What is sublimation, in relation to the water cycle? ____________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. When does sublimation occur? ___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. Where on Earth does sublimation happen a lot? _____________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
5. What is a Chinook Wind and where do they occur? __________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Surface Runoff
1. What is surface runoff? It is water, from rain, melted snow, or other sources, that flows over the land, and is a major component of the water cycle
2. When does runoff occur? When it cannot be absorbed into the ground
Water Notes
Solute- substance dissolved in a solvent to form a solution
Solvent- fluid that dissolves solutes
Iced tea- water is the solvent and the tea and sugar are the solutes
Cohesion- when water molecules are attracted to other water molecules because of polar properties
Adhesion- water attracted to other materials
Surface tension- water is pulled together creating the smallest surface area possible , relies on cohesion
Capillary Action- water has both adhesive and cohesive properties, capillary action is present....water's adhesive property is the cause of capillary action. Water is attracted to some other material and then through cohesion, other water molecules move too as a result of the original adhesion
High Heat Capacity- to heat the water molecules it takes a lot of energy , air is easier to heat than water
Density- Water is less dense as a solid! Each molecule of water is bound to four of its neighbors , making it more stable
Oceans moderates moderates coastal temperatures, Salinity ( total amount of solid material dissolved in water)
Processes that decrease seawater salinity- precipitation, runoff, icebergs melting, sea ice melting
Processes that increase seawater salinity- sea ice forming, evaporation
Factors affecting seawater density:
Temp. increases, density decreases
Salinity increases, density increases
Pressure increases, density increases
Surface Water- lakes, ponds, and streams, ALL water above ground, most urban areas rely on surface water, supply resources and allow for trade/ trade
Ground Water- water that seeps below ground, some is taken up and used by plants, large amounts found in underground rock formations called aquifers
Runoff- water flowing down slope along Earth's surface or seep into the ground...runoff speed determined by slope if the hill
Ends up in a stream or lake, evaporate, or accumulate in puddles
Certain characteristics will determine whether or not the water in seep or become runoff
- Vegetation- seep
- Rate of precipitation-runoff for heavy, seep for light
- Soil Composition- effects the water holding capacity...sand,silt, and clay
- Slopes- steeper, more runoff
Formation of Stream Systems
Runoff, surface water flows in thin sheets and eventually collects in small channels. Runoffs increases, channels widen and become deeper and longer, channels fill up again each time with rain, channels becomes a stream
Water Sheds- areas that all drain to the same place, drainage basin , land where all water drains into
Divide- high land area that separates where water goes
Stream Load- all the materials that the stream carries
Solution- material that has been dissolved
Suspension- small particles held up by the turbulence of stream, depends on volume and velocity of water
Bed Load- turbulence of water pushed heavy things
Floodplain- broad flat area of land that extends out from streams for excess flooding
Characteristics of a Freshwater Ecosystem
- Slow moving waters
- low dissolved salt
- Plant and animal life depends on depth of water, rate of flow, and amounts of nutrients, sunlight, and oxygen
Rivers- start in mountainous regions, cold, shallow beds, highly oxygenated
Wetlands- covered in water for at least part of the year, trap and fix carbon, control flooding and absorb extra water when other bodies overflow, produce commercial products like seafood and berries
Watersheds and River Basins Activity
1. What is a watershed? Area of land where all of the water that falls into it and drains off it goes to a common outlet
2. Watersheds can vary in size. True/False True
3. What type of watershed is shown in the map? The Chesapeake Bay Watershed
4. The word watershed is sometimes used interchangeably with Drainage Basin or Catchment
5. Ridges and hills that separate two watersheds are called the Drainage Divide
6. What does watershed consist of? Surface Water and underlying ground water
7. Larger watersheds contain many small watersheds. It all depends on the outflow point.
8. What is the outflow point? All of the land that drains water to the outflow point is the watershed for that outflow location
9. Why are watersheds important? The streamflow and the water quality of a river are affected by things happening in the land area “above” the river flow point
A Watershed is a precipitation collector:
1. Name 6 factors that determine how much of the streamflow will flow by the monitoring site? Precipitation, infiltration, evaporation, transpiration, storage, water use by people
2. What is the greatest factor controlling streamflow? Precipitation
3. The amount of water that will infiltrate (soak in over time) depends on which four characteristics? Soil Characteristics, Soil saturation, Land Cover, Slope of land
4. Water from rainfall returns to the atmosphere largely through Evaporation
5. The root systems of plants absorb water from the surrounding soil in various amounts through the process of Transpiration
6. Reservoirs store water and increase the amount of water that evaporates and infiltrates.
White Oak River Basin
- Has a total of 320 miles
- Forest and Wetlands cover almost half of the basin
- Has the highest population of carnivorous plants
- 2nd largest habitat of endangered red-cockaded wood-pecker
- Has some of the highest quality longleaf Pine and Pocosin
- Home of the leather-back sea turtle
- 129 miles of coastline
- 1,382 square miles
- Population: 336, 210
- Contains 6 counties
2. Watersheds can vary in size. True/False True
3. What type of watershed is shown in the map? The Chesapeake Bay Watershed
4. The word watershed is sometimes used interchangeably with Drainage Basin or Catchment
5. Ridges and hills that separate two watersheds are called the Drainage Divide
6. What does watershed consist of? Surface Water and underlying ground water
7. Larger watersheds contain many small watersheds. It all depends on the outflow point.
8. What is the outflow point? All of the land that drains water to the outflow point is the watershed for that outflow location
9. Why are watersheds important? The streamflow and the water quality of a river are affected by things happening in the land area “above” the river flow point
A Watershed is a precipitation collector:
1. Name 6 factors that determine how much of the streamflow will flow by the monitoring site? Precipitation, infiltration, evaporation, transpiration, storage, water use by people
2. What is the greatest factor controlling streamflow? Precipitation
3. The amount of water that will infiltrate (soak in over time) depends on which four characteristics? Soil Characteristics, Soil saturation, Land Cover, Slope of land
4. Water from rainfall returns to the atmosphere largely through Evaporation
5. The root systems of plants absorb water from the surrounding soil in various amounts through the process of Transpiration
6. Reservoirs store water and increase the amount of water that evaporates and infiltrates.
White Oak River Basin
- Has a total of 320 miles
- Forest and Wetlands cover almost half of the basin
- Has the highest population of carnivorous plants
- 2nd largest habitat of endangered red-cockaded wood-pecker
- Has some of the highest quality longleaf Pine and Pocosin
- Home of the leather-back sea turtle
- 129 miles of coastline
- 1,382 square miles
- Population: 336, 210
- Contains 6 counties
Ground Water Notes
As water fills ALL of the spaces in sediment and rock, it hits the zone of saturation. Zone of saturation is the area where water fill all the open spaces in sediment and rock,. Ground water is the water within this zone. Water table is the upper level of the saturation zone of ground water. Ground water moves by twisting and turning through interconnected small openings. Moves more slowly as opening s get smaller. Aquifers are permeable rock layers or sediments that transmit groundwater freely. A spring forms whenever the water table intersects the ground surface. A well is a hole into the zone of saturation. An artesian well is any formation in which groundwater rises on its own under pressure. Pumping can cause a drawdown (lowering) of the water table. Pumping can form a cone of depression in the water table. Overuse and contamination threatens groundwater supplies in some areas, treating it as a non-renewable resource, land subsidence caused by its withdrawal, contamination. Cavern is a naturally formed underground chamber. Erosion forms most caverns at or below the water table in the zone of saturation. Karst Topography, formed by dissolving at , or near, Earth's surface., such as sinkholes.
Measuring Water Quality
Scientist measure measure water quality with water samples, aerial photography, and aquatic life forms. The health of a water body can be determined by analyzing physical, chemical and biological factors. Chemical factors are used to measure water quality are dissolved oxygen......................................Nutrients (NPK), too many can stimulate algae growth- eutrophication,. Toxins are another one, such as metals, pesticides, oils, etc. Some physical factors used to measure quality are temperature, (dictates what life forms are in there, correlated to the amount of direct sunlight, warmer ......................................substrate on bottom, large sediments stir up more water,increasing DO, Turbidity (clearness). Biological factor- pathogens ( viruses and bacteria), bioindicators ( living things that provide information about water quality, fish, plants, and macroinvertrbrates (snail, worms, larvae)