Hydrosphere-the water in the earth's atmosphere and on the ground Infiltration-water seeps into the ground and goes through rocks and spaces Percolation-water passes through a filter/something strains water (like coffee) Transpiration-evaporation from plants Wetland-land that water does not drain well through because it has too much soil (swamp) Estuary-an area where salt water and fresh water mix ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle)-a vehicle that is worked by a controller above water and helps a person see what the vehicle sees Scuba-a device that helps divers breathe oxygen in a tank so they can dive deep SONAR-a device that uses sound waves to find objects Submersible-a device people use to explore underwater EPA-The Environmental Protection Agency; an agency controlled by the government to make rules that protect our environment
Ocean Zones and Vocab
Pressure-how much force is put on an object
Light-the brightness in an area from the sun
Salinity-the amount of salt in water
Temperature-how warm or cold an area is
Upwelling-the nutrients from the bottom water rises to the top of the water where it is colder and has less nutrients
Nekton-organisms that can swim though currents in the ocean
Benthos-the bottom dwellers in the ocean
Phytoplankton-plankton that use photosynthesis to create food
Zooplankton-plankton that don't use photosynthesis and eat phytoplankton for food
Kelp forest-an ecosystem that is made up of kelp and provides shelter for fish to lay eggs
Coral reef-an ecosystem of coral that provides protection for fish
Autotroph-an organism that uses photosynthesis to make its own food
Intertidal Zone-located in the areas of land that are seen above the water in low tide and to be covered in high tide. The intertidal zone includes tide pools, mangrove forests, estuaries, and other coastal areas. There are four sub-zones in the intertidal zone: Spray Zone-it's mostly located above the water, but can get splashed Upper Intertidal-It gets covered by water during high tide but is mostly dry Mid-Intertidal-It gets exposed to the air in low tide but is mostly always covered in water Low Intertidal-It is always underwater
Neritic Zone-the ocean zone that is home to small fish, shrimp, and others. It is where you can find kelp forests and coral reefs. It's sunlight varies from place to place making it a good habitat for bottom dwellers and aquatic plants. Salinity, pressure and temperature are consistent.
Open Ocean Zone-Also known as pelagic, is home to whales, dolphins, sharks, fish, and so on. The twilight zone is a part of the open ocean zone.
Twilight Zone-A dark part of the open ocean where sunlight can not reach it because it is more than 200 feet from the surface. You can find anglerfish, and squid here. The animals have big eyes and glow because they have harsh environment.
Benthic Zone-This is the bottom of the ocean and all the benthos live here. some benthos includes worms, shrimp, crabs and so on.
Hydrothermal Vents-breaks in the earth's surface at the bottom of the ocean that heat comes out of to make a small ecosystem. Some animals in the ecosystem are worms, fish, shrimps and so on.
The Process of Eutrophication
The process of eutrophication is when extra nutrients run off into a body of water making the aquatic plants increase in growth and aquatic animals die. The increase of growth of aquatic plants is an algal bloom. The algal blooms make it harder for aquatic animals to live because the plants use up all the dissolved oxygen. This causes the animals to not have enough dissolved oxygen to live, so they die off.
Properties of Water
Adhesion-Water molecules stick to different molecules
Buoyancy-Water pushes up on the object and the object pushes down on water making it float.
Capillary Action-Adhesion between the water and the inside of the stem makes water go to the tops of plants avoiding gravity
Cohesion-Water molecules stick to other water molecules
Insoluble-Not able to be solved
Polarity-Two opposite charges even each other out (positive and negative) making a molecule polar
Soluble-Able to be dissolved
Specific Heat-How much heat is required for a substance to be raised a degree in temperature
Surface Tension-Water creating a thin elastic film due to cohesion
Universal Solvent- A substance or liquid that dissolves a big amount of substances
I live in Charlotte, North Carolina and I live in the Catawba watershed. A watershed is an area of land where all the water in the area drains off into a body of water. In Charlotte, our watershed is also a river basin. A river basin is an area of land where all the water ends up in a major river. The Catawba river is our major river and body of water making is a watershed and river basin. The water that drains into the Catawba river consists of runoff from when it rains, tributaries which are small rivers and creeks that flow into a major river, and groundwater which consists of water underground in aquifers.
Water Around the World
Around the world, 96.5% of our water is saltwater and most of it is found in our oceans. The other 2.5% is freshwater which can be found in many places. Of our freshwater, 68.7% is stuck in glaciers and can't be accessed! 30.1% is ground water and the last 1.2% is found in surface water and other freshwater places.. Of the surface water, 3% is in the atmosphere, 0.26% is in living things, 0.49% is in rivers, 2.6% is in swamps and marshes, 3.8% is in soil moisture, and 20.9% is in lakes. The water that is found inside the ground, is usually found in aquifers. Aquifers are accessed when people make wells. The rock and soil around aquifers is permeable which allows precipitation to drip down into aquifers.