GEO 1111 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Hydrosphere, Plate Tectonics, Geosphere

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Geology
• Course: GEO 1111
• Professor: Mark Charette

Document Summary

Water is moving constantly along the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere and biosphere. Infiltration; precipitation falls on land soaks into ground. Runoff; flows over surface when precipitation occurs. (streams) Transpiration; water soaks into the ground then absorbed by plants then later being released into the atmosphere: evaporation and transpiration are called evapotranspiration, more water falls on land then is lost by evapotranspiration. Excess carried back to oceans by streams. Not all precipitation directly flows into rivers, it first soaks into the ground, and flows gradually to underground river channels. Ground water provides form of storage which sustains flows of streams during storms and droughts. When precipitation falls in cold highly elevated areas it becomes a part of the snow field or glacier. Glaciers store large quantities of water if present day glacier were to melt, release all stored water and ocean waters would elevate causing heavily populated areas near coast to submerge underwater.