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10: The Hydrosphere

  • Page ID
    15193
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    title_hydrosphere_rain_shaft_man-of-war-bay_mvey0355_NOAA.jpg
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): A rain shaft pierces a tropical sunset as seen from Man-of-War Bay, Tobago, Caribbean Sea . Most of the water evaporated from the ocean is directly returned by precipitation. (Courtesy NOAA)

    Water is a critical element that sustains life and drives a variety of environmental processes acting within the Earth system. Though the hydrosphere includes all the water in the earth system, water flows between all the other subsystems of the Earth. In this chapter we'll explore how water is cycled through and its impact on the Earth system.

    Learning Objectives

    By the end of the chapter you should be able to:

    • List the major "stores" of water in the Earth system.
    • Construct a simple diagram of the hydrologic cycle and describe each of the element.
    • Describe the nature of subsurface water.
    • Describe the nature of surface water.
    • Draw and label a diagram that illustrates the conditions that create aquifers and springs.
    • Draw and label the elements of a stream hydrograph.
    • Construct a diagram of, and calculate a soil water budget


    This page titled 10: The Hydrosphere is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Michael E. Ritter (The Physical Environment) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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