11th Grade

Water
resources
part II

DNA in Biology
 Groundwater
Groundwater is considered the largest reservoir of
freshwater that is readily available to humans. It occupies the
pore spaces in sediment and rock in a zone beneath the
surface called the zone of saturation. The upper limit of this
zone ig called the water table. Above the water table is the
zone of aeration where the soil, sediment, and rock are not
saturated.
 Porosity and Permeability

The two properties of rock that controlled the flow of groundwater

are porosity and permeability. Porosity refers to the volume of open
space in rock while permeability is the ability to transmit fluid
through interconnected pore spaces. Clay is a type of soil with very
small pore spaces that hinder or prevent groundwater movement.
POROSITY

Permeability
 Porosity and Permeability
A water-saturated sediment or rock with low permeability
is called aqcuitard. It is usually adjacent to an aquifer and
may serve as storage of water underground. Aquifer is
consists of materials with larger pore spaces (such as sand)
that are permeable and transmit groundwater freely. The
impermeable body of rock or layer of sediment that acts as
a barrier to the flow or groundwater is known as aquiclude.
HIGH POROSITY BUT LOW PEREABILITY
HIGH POROSITY and HIGH PEREABILITY
 Porosity and Permeability
The area on the surface of the Earth where the water table intersects
the surface and water flows out of the ground is known as spring. It
occurs when an impermeable rock (aquiclude) intersects permeable
rock that contains groundwater (aquifer). A well is human-made hole
that is dug or drilled deep enough to intersect the water table. It is
usually used as a source for groundwater. Artesian system is a type of
well that is made from a confined aquifer containing groundwater
under positive pressure.
 Groundwater Erosion and Deposition

1. Water is the main agent of chemical weathering and can leach ions
from rock. Carbonate rocks like limestone which are located
underground are naturally dissolved by groundwater creating cavities
that can become caves or caverns. Inside the cave, water can percolate
and precipitate minerals forming structures such as stalactite,
stalagmite, dripstones, and flowstones.
 Groundwater Erosion and Deposition
1. The calcium salt that is deposited by dripping water and
precipitated on the roof of the cave is known as stalactite. The
mound or tapering column of deposited calcium salts on the
floor of the cave is known as stalagmites. A cave deposit
formed by precipitation of calcium carbonate from
groundwater entering an underground cavern is known as
dripstone.Flowstone is composed of sheet like deposits of
calcite formed where water flows down the walls or along the
floors of a cave
 Groundwater Erosion and Deposition
If the roof of a cave or cavern collapses, this results in a
sinkhole. Sinkhole is a cavity caused by water erosion in the
ground which is made of limestone bedrock. A highly irregular
terrain due the formation of caves and sinkholes is called Karst
Topography.
 Hotspring and Geysers
When groundwater circulates at great depths or near the
subterranean volcanic activity, it becomes heated. If this
warm water rises, it may emerge as a hot spring. When the
natural hot spring ejects a column of water and steam into
the air it forms geysers. The source of heat for most hot
springs and geysers is hot igneous rock.
 Water
resources
Rivers
Rivers are narrow bodies of water that
move along a certain path. The source is
where the river begins which is usually
in higher area such as mountains.
Streams are small and shallow bodies of
water. When various streams meet they
form a large river. A dam is built on a
large river to control the flow of water
and generate electricity. Table 2.6 shows
the list of earth's five largest rivers.
 Earth five largest Rivers
River Continent Length in Miles
Nile Africa 4,160
Amazon South America 3,900
Mississippi/Missouri North America 3,890
0b Asia 3,200
Yangtze/Kiang Asia 3,100
Lakes
Lakes are bodies of fresh water
surrounded by land. It contributes a
small percentage of the earth’s total
water and it does not flow along a
certain path. Lakes are larger than
ponds and they were formed many
thousands of years ago by glaciers.
During the early time, huge glaciers
covered the earth and when the glaciers
melted, some of the water became
lakes.
Lakes
There were other ways by which lakes were formed such as man-
made lakes, natural dams, and craters formed in great volcanic
explosions. Lakes will become smallerif they get filled up with
silt or other material. Some lakes become dry up if they are not
replenished with water through rainfall. Other lakes get deeper
and bigger because of rainfall and underground water which
cause for the expansion of the lake. Table 2.7 shows the earth’s
five biggest lakes.
 Earth’s five biggest lakes

Lake Continent Area (square miles)

Caspian Sea Asia-Europe 143,244
Superior North America 31,700
Victoria Africa 26,828
Aral Sea Asia 24,904
Huron North America 23,000
oceans Oceans are the largest bodies of water on
the earth. It is salt water that covers about
70% of the Earth’s surface. Tidal power,
wave power and ocean thermal energy
conversion can be a source of
hydroelectric energy. The tides in the
oceans occur primarily because of the
gravitational force of the Moon. As Earth
rotates, the ocean water moves and creates
tides twice a day. The kinetic energy from
tides is converted into electric energy.
 oceans
Ocean waves are caused primarily by interaction of winds
with the ocean surface. Unlike tidal energy, wave energy is
an irregular energy source. The temperature difference on
the surface (warm) and deep (cold) part of the ocean (cold)
can be utilized to generate electricity. Table 2.8 shows the
comparison of the different oceans.
 Comparisons of the different oceans

Ocean Area in Square Miles Average Depth in feet

Pacific 64.186,300 12,925
Atlantic 33,420,000 11,730
Indian 28,350,500 12,598
Arctic 5,105,700 3,407
Other bodies of
water
 Other Bodies of Water
Sea is a body of water that is slightly smaller than an ocean
(example: Dead Sea Jordan Rift Valley).

Sound or seaway is a narrow body of water separating an island

from the mainland (example: Puget Sound in the U.S. state of
Washington and Canada Province of British Columbia).

Strait is a narrow body of water between two large bodies of

water (example: The Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia).
 Other Bodies of Water
Gulf is a part of an ocean extending into the
land (example: The Gulf of Mexico, a part of
the Atlantic Ocean by the southern United
States and Mexico).

Bay is a part of an ocean or lake extending

into the land (example: San Francisco Bay in
North America). It is similar to a gulf but
usually smaller.
A cove is a small sheltered inlet or small bay
(example: Lulworth Cove on the Jurassic
Coast in Dorset, England).
 Other Bodies of Water

Waterfall or falls is the steep descent or

falling of the water of a river or stream
(example: Angel Falls in Venezuela).

Dam is a barrier that holds water back

and sometimes forms lakes (example:
Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River
in China).
Characteristics of
ocean water
 Characteristics of ocean water
Temperature. The temperature in the ocean is not
uniform. The surface layer of the ocean has warm
temperature. Due to the exposure to solar energy. The next
layer is thermocline which is characterized by rapid
temperature change. And the last layer is the deep water
where water temperature decreases slowly as depth
increases.
 Characteristics of ocean water

Salinity. It refers to the proportion of dissolved salts to pure

water which is usually expressed in parts per thousand (0/%).
The average salinity in the open ocean ranges from 35%0 to
37%0. The principal elements that contribute to the ocean’s
salinity are chlorine and sodium.
 Characteristics of ocean water

The primary sources of ocean salinity are chemical weathering

of rocks on the continents and outgassing. The salinity changes
with increasing depth which corresponds to the general three
layered temperature structure of the ocean water. Surface zone
has higher salinity. The layer characterized by rapid decreasing
salinity is called the halocline. Below the halocline, there are
slight changes in salinity
 Ocean Floor Topography

Devices such as echo sounders and multibeam sonars can

determine the depth of the ocean through sonic signals that
bounce off the ocean floor. Ocean depths are plotted to
produce ocean floor profiles. Mapping of ocean floor
features can also be done through the use of satellite which
can provide data regarding the shape of the ocean surface.
 Continental Margin.
It is the zone of the ocean floor that separates the thin oceanic
crust from thick continental crust. Passive continental margin is
characterized by a firm connection between continental and
oceanic crust. Little volcanic activity occurs in this boundary. It
contains continental shelf, continental slope, and continental rise.
Continental shelf is the gently sloping, submerged surface
extending from the shoreline toward the deep-ocean basin.
 Continental Margin.
Continental slope is the true edge of the continent which
has a steep slope that leads from the continental shelf into
deep water. Continental rise is a steep continental slope
found between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain.
  
  Submarine canyons
Submarine canyons are deep,
steep-sided valleys that originate
on the continental slope.
Submarine fan, also known as
abyssal fan is characterized by
the accumulation of land-derived
sediment on the seafloor.
 Active continental margin
 
Active continental margin is characterized by the subduction of
an oceanic lithospheric plate beneath a continental plate. An
active continental margin generally has a narrow continental shelf
which grades into a deep-ocean trench. It is located primarily
around the Pacific Ocean in areas where the leading edge of a
continent is overrunning oceanic lithosphere. Accretionary wedge
is a body of sediments that has been scraped off the surface of the
oceanic lithosphere as it moves downwards beneath a continent.
 Mid Oceanic Ridge.
Mid Oceanic Ridge. It is a submarine mountain chain that
extends through the entire ocean basin. It is the site for seafloor
spreading which is found in all major oceans. It characterized by
an elevated position, extensive faulting, and volcanic structures
that have developed on newly formed oceanic crust. Rift valley is
a narrow region on the ridge crest where magma from the
asthenosphere moves upward to create new slivers of oceanic
crust.
 Ocean Basin.
The ocean basin floor lies between the continental margin and the
mid-oceanic ridge system. The features found on the ocean basin
floor include deep-ocean trenches, abyssal plains and seamounts.
 Trench
Trench is considered the deepest part of the ocean, where
moving crustal plates descend into the mantle.
Abyssal plain
Abyssal plain is the most level of
places on Earth consisting of thick
accumulations of Sediments that were
deposited by turbidity currents. The
isolated volcanic peaks on the ocean
floor that originate near oceanic ridges
or in association with volcanic hot
spots are called seamount.
Guyot
Guyot is the flat-topped seamount of volcanic origin rising more
than 1 km above ocean floor.
 Ocean floor sediments
There are three broad categories of ocean floor sediments:
terrigenous, biogenous and hydrogenous sediments.

Terrigenous sediment consists of mineral grains from the

weathering of continental rocks which are transported to the
ocean.
 Ocean floor sediments
Biogenous sediment consists of
shells and skeletons of marine
animals and plants.

Hydrogenous sediment includes

minerals from crystallized seawater.
Ocean floor sediments also contain
remains of organisms that once
lived near the sea surface.
 reefs
Three criteria are frequently used for organizing the habitats of
marine life: availability of light, distance from the shore, and
water depth.

Reefs are wave-resistant structures and composed of animal

skeletons particularly corals. They are found in warm, sunlit
waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans which are from the
skeletal remains and secretions of corals and certain algae. The
three types of reef are atoll, fringing reef and barrier reef.
reefs

Atoll is form from corals that grow on the flanks of sinking

volcanic islands. An example of this is the Coral reef where
the corals continue to build the reef complex upward as the
island sinks. Fringing reef lies close to the shore of an
island or continent. It has a rough, table-like surface which
is about 1km wide.
Barrier reef is similar to fringing reef, except that they are
separated from the mainland by lagoon.
 Importance of Ocean
 
The ocean is important in removing carbon from the atmosphere
and providing oxygen. It plays a significant role in the world’s
climate due to its capacity to collect, drive and mix water, heat, and
carbon dioxide. The temperature of the ocean controls the climate
in the lower part of the atmosphere. Ocean can hold and circulate
more water,heat and carbon dioxide than the atmosphere although
the components of the Earth’s climate are constantly exchanged.
 Importance of Ocean

The oceans have been the important part of world fisheries

which is important to the economy of communities. Aside
from fish, the ocean is also an important source of
biomedical organisms such as horseshoe crab. The blood of
horseshoe crab is used by the pharmaceutical and medical
industries in determining any bacterial contamination.
 Group activity
A. Give at least five activities that affect the quality and
availability of water.
Explain each activity.

B. What should people do in order to minimize the effects

of these activities?

C. How can you prevent these effects from occurring?