Water Properties
What Are The Properties of Water?
-is the solvent of life -Solute-substance dissolved in a solvent to form a solution -Solvent- fluid that dissolves solutes Properties of Water -Cohesion=water liking water -Adhesion=water attracted to other substances -Surface Tension= water is pulled together creating the smallest surface area possible -Capillary Action -because water has both adhesive and cohesive properties, capillary action is present -Capillary Action= waters 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. Ex: Think water in a straw Ex: Water moves through trees this way Heat High Capicity -In order to raise the temperature of water, the average molecular speed has to increase. -It takes much more energy to raise the temperature of water compared to other solvents because hydrogen bonds hold the water molecules together! -Water has a high heat capacity. -“The specific heat is the amount of heat per unit mass required to raise the temperature by one degree Celsius.” Density -Water is less dense as a solid! This is because the hydrogen bonds are stable in ice – each molecule of water is bound to four of its neighbors. -Solid – water molecules are bonded together – space between fixed -Liquid – water molecules are constantly bonding and rebonding – space is always changing |
The ocean moderates coastal temperatures
-Water has high heat capacity, so it can absorb (or release) large quantities of heat without changing temperature -Moderates coastal temperatures Salinity -Salinity = total amount of solid material dissolved in water -Can be determined by measuring water conductivity -Typically expressed in parts per thousand (‰) Constituents of ocean salinity -Average seawater salinity = 35‰ -Main constituents of ocean salinity: -Chloride (Cl–) -Sodium (Na+) -Sulfate (SO42–) -Magnesium (Mg2+) Processes affecting seawater salinity -Processes that decrease seawater salinity: -Precipitation -Runoff -Icebergs melting -Sea ice melting -Processes that increase seawater salinity: -Sea ice forming -Evaporation Surface salinity variation -Pattern of surface salinity: -Lowest in high latitudes -Highest in the tropics -Dips at the Equator -Surface processes help explain pattern -High latitudes have low surface salinity -High precipitation and runoff -Low evaporation -Tropics have high surface salinity -High evaporation -Low precipitation -Equator has a dip in surface salinity -High precipitation partially offsets high evaporation Seawater density -Factors affecting seawater density: -Temperature ↑, Density ↓ (inverse relationship) -Salinity ↑, Density ↑ -Pressure ↑, Density ↑ -Temperature has the greatest influence on surface seawater density |
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
Aquatic System Notes
Fate of water: Run off or Seep
-Certain characteristics will determine whether not water will either seep into or become runoff -1) Vegetation –Vegetation allows for loose soil – Loose soil allows water to enter ground – Gardeners do not pack their soil -2) Rate of precipitation –Heavy: -soil clumps together closing pores -Fills up ground to quickly and water becomes runoff –Light: -allows water to gently slide through -Less erosion -3) Soil Composition –Effects the waters holding capacity –Decayed organic matter (humus) -Creates the pores in soil – Increases retain ability –Minerals -Clay – fine mineral which clump together -Few Spaces -Sand – large pores -4) Slopes –Steep: allows for high runoff & little absorption –Little: low runoff and high absorption Water sheds: - drainage basin -Land where all water drains into -Divide -High land area that separates watersheds |
Floods
-Water fills over the sides of a stream banks -Floodplain: broad flat area of land that extends out from streams for excess flooding What are thr types Aquatic Ecosystems? Freshwater Ecosystems -Organisms are grouped by location and adaptations: –Plankton – float near the surface of the water -Phytoplankton – microscopic plants -Zooplankton – microscopic animals –Nekton – free-swimming (fish, turtles, whales) –Benthos – bottom-dwellers (mussels, worms, barnacles) Lakes And Ponds -Littoral zone –nutrient-rich area near shore –variety of plant and animal life -Benthic zone –Bottom of a pond or lake –Inhabited by decomposers, insect larvae, and clams -Eutrophication – –more nutrients = more plants = more decomposers using oxygen = less oxygen for other organisms –Can be caused by runoff of sewage, fertilizers, animal waste Wetlands -Marshes (Ex: The Everglades) –Contain non-woody plants (reeds, rushes, cattails) -Swamps (Ex: Louisiana swamps) –Contain woody plants or water-loving trees -Trap sediments, nutrients, and pollutants, keeping them from lakes, reservoirs, and oceans -Buffer shorelines against erosion -Protect against flooding -Provide spawning grounds and habitats -Recreational areas (fishing, bird-watching, hiking, canoeing, photography) |
Rivers
-Swift-moving -Home to strong swimming fish and organisms with adaptations to cling to rocks -Polluted by –human sewage and garbage –runoff from the land -Drained by industries Marine Ecosystems -Mainly in coastal areas and the open ocean Coastal Wetlands -Coastal areas covered by salt water at least part of the time -Estuaries – where fresh river water and salty ocean water mix -Constant source of fresh nutrients supplied by the river -Nutrients fall to the bottom (“nutrient trap”) -Provide harbors protected from open ocean – site of major ports -May be used as dumping sites for sewage, industrial waste, and agricultural runoff -Salt marshes –Develop in estuaries –Found along the Gulf Coast -Mangrove swamps –Found along the coast in tropical and subtropical zones –Dominated by mangrove trees -Rocky and sandy shores –Rocky shores have more plants and animals (Why?) –Barrier islands run parallel to the shore and protect the mainland and coastal wetlands. |
Coral Reefs
-Limestone ridges made of the skeletons of animals called coral polyps -Found in shallow, tropical seas with clear, warm salt water and lots of light -Disappearing coral reefs: –Damaged by oil spills, sewage, and runoff –Overfishing –Damaged by anchors, divers, shipwrecks Oceans -Threats to the ocean: –Pollution from land activities –Overfishing -Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems: –Nearly all food in the arctic ecosystem comes from the ocean; land is frozen, so plants don’t grow well. How does Arctic Water get nutrients? the currents |
Facts about White Oak River Basin
1. It contains the city of Jacksonville and the U.S. Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune.
2. Gets its name from the White Oak River, a remote, scenic, 48-mile river that spills into Bogue Sound past the picturesque town of Swansboro.
3. Forest and wetlands cover almost half the basin.
4. . It hosts the largest population of carnivorous plants of any national forest and is the second largest habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.
5. Its saltwater paddle trail circles more than 100 miles of tidal marshes and flats and unique coastal forests.
6. Its home to rare and unusual insect-eating plants like the legally protected Venus flytrap, pitcher plants, bladderworts, butterworts and sundews.
7. Includes an area known as the Onslow Bight that stretches from the lower Northeast Cape Fear River to the Pamlico River.
8. Camp Lejeune, which is located within the Onslow Bight, harbors some of the highest quality longleaf pine and pocosin habitats remaining in North Carolina.
9. Has aesthetic, cultural, biological and recreational attributes that qualify it for designation as a National Wild and Scenic River.
10. Several rare and endangered animals are found in the White Oak River Basin, including the leatherback sea turtle.
2. Gets its name from the White Oak River, a remote, scenic, 48-mile river that spills into Bogue Sound past the picturesque town of Swansboro.
3. Forest and wetlands cover almost half the basin.
4. . It hosts the largest population of carnivorous plants of any national forest and is the second largest habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.
5. Its saltwater paddle trail circles more than 100 miles of tidal marshes and flats and unique coastal forests.
6. Its home to rare and unusual insect-eating plants like the legally protected Venus flytrap, pitcher plants, bladderworts, butterworts and sundews.
7. Includes an area known as the Onslow Bight that stretches from the lower Northeast Cape Fear River to the Pamlico River.
8. Camp Lejeune, which is located within the Onslow Bight, harbors some of the highest quality longleaf pine and pocosin habitats remaining in North Carolina.
9. Has aesthetic, cultural, biological and recreational attributes that qualify it for designation as a National Wild and Scenic River.
10. Several rare and endangered animals are found in the White Oak River Basin, including the leatherback sea turtle.
Groundwater Notes
What is Groundwater?
- Much of the water in soil seeps downward until it reaches the zone of saturation -The zone of saturation is the area where water fills all of the open spaces in sediment and rock. - Groundwater is the water within this zone. -The water table is the upper level of the saturation zone of groundwater -Groundwater moves by twisting and turning through interconnected small openings -The groundwater moves more slowly when the pore spaces are smaller. -Aquifers are permeable rock layers or sediments that transmit groundwater freely What is a Spring? -A spring forms whenever the water table intersects the ground surface -Hot Springs -Water is 6–9ºC warmer than the mean air temperature of the locality. -Water is heated by cooling of igneous rock -Geysers -Intermittent hot springs -Water turns to steam and erupts |
How do we Use Groundwater?
-A well is a hole bored 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 nonrenewable resource -Land subsidence caused by its withdrawal -Contamination What else can Form Underground because of Groundwater? -Caverns -A cavern is a naturally formed underground chamber -Erosion forms most caverns at or below the water table in the zone of saturation -Travertine is a form of limestone that is deposited by hot springs or as a cave deposit. -Characteristics of features found within caverns -Formed in the zone of aeration -Composed of dripstone -Formed from calcite deposited as dripping water evaporates -Common features include stalactites (hanging from the ceiling) and stalagmites (growing upward from the floor). Karst Topography -Formed by dissolving rock at, or near, Earth's surface -Common features -Sinkholes—surface depressions -Sinkholes form when bedrock dissolves and caverns collapse. -Caves and caverns -Area lacks good surface drainage. |