OTHER TOPICS -----> Intro/Maps Atmosphere Climate / Hydrosphere
Biosphere / Soils Tectonics Specific Environments

CLIMATE / HYDROSPHERE CHAPTERS -----> Climates Hydrology

Hydrology

I. CHARACTERISTICS, THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE, AND DISTRIBUTION

A. Characteristics

  1. liquid , solid , gas
  2. expansion when freezes
  3. "universal solvent"
  4. surface tension (2nd video [:30])
B. Hydrologic Cycle

C. World Distribution of Water (another view)
      residence times of water

II. TIDES

A. Periodicity: High and Low Tides (or this one)

B. Gravity of Moon and Sun

C. Terminology

  1. spring tide vs. neap tide
  2. perigee vs. apogee (lunar dist.) affects tides
  3. tidal range
  4. tidal bore
III. ICE / GLACIERS

A. Locations and Characteristics

B. Terminology

  1. glacier vs. ice sheet
    vs. ice shelf (satellite view ... close up ... map)
  2. calving: iceberg (size) vs ice floe (ice floe2) (video 1) (video 2)
  3. polar ice melting away? Less snow in the northern hemisphere?
    • read closely the reports on both poles... winds and ocean currents are to blame, not CO2
    • map and article
  4. scary words vs. not reported
IV. SURFACE WATER

A. Lakes (ponds?) vs. Reservoirs

  1. What's in a name?
  2. Caspian Sea; Salton Sea
  3. Aral Sea... animated satellite view
B. Rivers and Streams
  1. Amazon (at Manaus) (satellite view)
  2. Nile --- flooding: is it always bad?
C. Swamps vs. Marshes: trees vs. grasses

V. GROUNDWATER

A. Verticle Zonation

  1. zone of aeration -- soil moisture
  2. zone of saturation (a.k.a. aquifer)
B. Aquifers (U.S. map) (Southwest map)
  1. type of aquifer: permeable material
    • porous media: sand and gravel
    • cracked or fractured rock aquifers
  2. flow, withdrawal, and recharge rates
  3. confined aquifers (zone of confined water)
    • artesian aquifers -- artesian wells
      • water table & piezometric or pressure surface
      • subartesian well
  4. stream feeding / discharging
  5. salt water intrusion
VI. WATER SAFETY & CONSERVATION?

A. Water Purity

  1. Beware of false claims about water purity
  2. Beware of *loaded* words: "healthy", "safe", "natural", "chemicals", and many others...
  3. "raw water"?? "non-GMO water"??
B. Water Conservation
  1. acre foot = 1 acre, 1 foot deep
    • = 325,000 gallons (approx. = 16 backyard swimming pools)
    • = avg annual water used by family of 4-5 (**conservation?)
  2. Lake Mead - 1,075 ft. "crisis level"
    • *1045 ft as of Jan 2023
    • lowest level usually in July (1083' in 2019... 1081' in 2020... 1067' in 2021)
  3. Phoenix Metro Population
    • 5 million... and growing
    • save 1 gal/day per person = 4.6M gal/day
      • in one year = 5100 familes worth of water
      • if those 5100 families also conserve?

CLIMATE / HYDROSPHERE CHAPTERS -----> Climates Hydrology
Next section -----------------------> Biosphere