Theme 1:Introduction to Environmental Studies

Key Points

01 What are global water resources and use?

02 What is the composition of soil?

03 How to conserve the soil?

04 What is the rock cycle?

 Global Water Resources, Soil and Soil Dynamics
What are global water resources?
What is meant by the soil dynamics ?
What is the composition of soil?
How soil can be conserved?
What is the rock cycle ?
Global Water Resources:
Resources include: Oceans, ice caps, glaciers, lakes, swamps and rivers.

Freshwater has low concentrations of dissolved salts (less than 100 mg per liter)
Only 3% of Earth's water is freshwater (2/3 is frozen)
Ex: lakes, rivers, ponds, groundwater, glaciers, and ice caps.

Saltwater has large concentrations of dissolved salts.

97% of Earth's water is saltwater.
Saltwater mostly refers to oceans.
Ocean circulation is the large scale movement of waters in the ocean basins. Winds drive
surface circulation, and the cooling and sinking of waters in the polar regions drive deep
circulation.

Surface circulation carries the warm upper waters poleward from the tropics. Heat is disbursed
along the way from the waters to the atmosphere. At the poles, the water is further cooled during
winter, and sinks to the deep ocean.
This is especially true in the North Atlantic and along Antarctica. Deep ocean water gradually
returns to the surface nearly everywhere in the ocean. Once at the surface it is carried back to the
tropics, and the cycle begins again. The more efficient the cycle, the more heat is transferred, and
the warmer the climate.
Water isn't just used to support marine life, it also has 
agricultural, industrial, and domestic uses. It's 
estimated that 70% of worldwide water is used for irrigation, 
22% for industrial uses, and 8% for domestic.

8%

Irrigation
22%
Industrial
Domestic
70%
Surface water is exposed to many different contaminants, such as animal wastes, pesticides, insecticides,
industrial wastes, algae and many other organic materials. Even surface water found in what seems like
pristine mountain streams can be contaminated by wild animal waste, dead animals upstream or other decay.
Groundwater is water contained in or by a subsurface layer of soil or rock. There are many sources
recharging the supply of groundwater, including rain that soaks into the ground, rivers that disappear
underground and melting snow. Because of the many sources of recharge, groundwater may contain any or
all of the contaminants found in surface water as well as the dissolved minerals it picks up underground
Soil is a thin layer on
top of most of Earth’s
land surface and It is a
basic natural resource.
Composition of Soil

University of Illinois, 2010

https://blog.agrihomegh.com/soil-problems-solutions/
The rock cycle is an illustration that is
used to explain how the three rock types
are related to each other and how Earth
processes change a rock from one type to
another through geologic time. Plate
tectonic movement is responsible for the
recycling of rock materials and is the
driving force of the rock cycle.
The three different types of rocks are
sedimentary rocks, metamorphic rocks and
igneous rocks. Sedimentary rocks are
formed on the surface of the earth in
oceans, rivers, lakes and deserts.
The Metamorphic rocks are formed when
igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks change
under intense heat and pressure
The Metamorphic rocks melt and become
magma when they are subjected to very
high temperature. When magma cools and
solidifies igneous rocks are formed.
The rock cycle is the continual process in
which rock changes from one type to
another.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v