2.2 Hidrosfera-EN

Topic 2.
2 Hydrosphere
Questions
Answer in your notebook
● What is the hydrosphere?
● Which water is more important sea water and continental waters?

Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere, like the atmosphere, is always in motion. Some of the motion
of the oceans and seas can be seen easily, while large-scale motions that move
water great distances, such as between the tropics and the poles or between
continents, are more difficult to see. These types of movements occur in the
form of currents that move warm water from the tropics toward the poles and
cooler water from the polar regions toward the tropics.
Oceanic Waters
An ocean is a body of saline water that makes up much of a planet's

hydrosphere. A sea is a body of saline water partially or totally enclosed by land.
The ocean has two main purposes in the climate system. First of all, it is a large
reserve of chemical substances that can contribute to the greenhouse effect in
the atmosphere and absorb energy to 90% of the solar radiation that falls on the
surface. This reservoir changes very slowly, which limits how quickly the climate
can change. Second, it works with the atmosphere to redistribute the energy
received from the sun so that heat at the tops, where a lot of energy is received
from the sun, is transferred toward the poles.
Ocean Currents
Ocean water is in motion, affecting your climate, your local ecosystem, and the
shellfish you eat. Ocean currents, abiotic features of the environment, are
continuous, directed movements of ocean water. These currents are on the
surface of the ocean and in its depths, flowing both locally and globally.
Winds, water density, and tides drive ocean currents. Coastal and seafloor
features influence its location, direction, and speed. The rotation of the Earth
results in the Coriolis effect which also influences ocean currents. This
phenomenon causes ocean currents in the northern hemisphere to shift to the
right and in the southern hemisphere to the left.
The characteristics of the ocean that affect its movement are its temperature
and salinity. Warm water is less dense or lighter and therefore tends to move to
the surface, while cooler water is denser or heavier and therefore tends to sink to
the bottom. The combination of temperature and salinity of the water determines
whether it rises to the surface, sinks to the bottom, or stays somewhere in
between.
El Niño & La Niña
During an El Niño event, the surface of the tropical Pacific Ocean warms more
than usual, especially at the equator and along the coasts of South and Central
America. The warm oceans give rise to low pressure systems in the atmosphere,
which in turn causes a lot of rain on the western coasts of America.
The other phenomenon is generally called "La Niña". It's basically the opposite of
El Niño: ocean temperatures along the eastern half of the tropical Pacific cool
down, and that part of the world dries up. The heat and rain belt is shifting across
the ocean, meaning Australia, Indonesia and Southeast Asia are wetter and
warmer than usual. La Niña episodes tend to be established for longer than El
Niño, lasting between nine months and two years
Activity
Geography Journal
Answer Activity 4
Continental Waters
Continental waters are all those masses of water in a liquid state that are found
in the continental regions of the planet. Generally, inland waters are made up of
fresh water.
Freshwater ecosystems can be divided into lentic ecosystems (not flowing

water) and lotic ecosystems (water that has flow)
. Fresh water is used for human consumption, irrigation, industry, recreation,
fisheries, and as a source of biodiversity. These services are essential for the
health and survival of human beings and their deterioration is generally
irreplaceable or expensive. Unfortunately, most of the services that ecosystems
provide become valuable when they become scarce due to deterioration or
over-exploitation.
The determination of the water quality parameters must be carried out based on
physical, chemical and biological criteria, which consider the dynamics of the
processes and elements that affect them, as well as the capacity of the resource
or the ecosystem to withstand pressures.
Parameters monitored in surface water: pH, EC, DO, BOD5, COD, Sulfates,
Calcium, Magnesium, Chlorides, Alkalinity, Total Dissolved Solids, Suspended
Solids, Total Solids, Total Coliforms, Fecal Coliforms, Salmonella and
Pseudomonas
Aquatic ecosystems have many components, insects are one of them. Within the
water, the larvae or nymphs and some adults of aquatic insects can be found in a
wide variety of habitats. Therefore, they are considered important primary and
secondary consumers in the food chains of rivers and lakes. Aquatic insects
respond rapidly to changes in the physical chemistry of the environment in which
they live. Species composition in rivers is frequently used as an indicator of
negative changes in water quality. Different species of aquatic insects have
different habitat requirements and abiotic conditions.

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Topic 2.

Answer in your notebook

● What is the hydrosphere?

● Which water is more important sea water and continental waters?

An ocean is a body of saline water that makes up much of a planet's

Freshwater ecosystems can be divided into lentic ecosystems (not ﬂowing

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