Aquatic Environment and Water Cycle Quiz

Aquatic Environment

• Over 97% of Earth's water is in the ocean.
• The average ocean depth is approximately 4000 meters.
• The Mariana Trench is 11,022 meters deep.
• Earth's total water volume is 1.4 billion cubic kilometers.
• 97% of Earth's water is saltwater; 2% is frozen water in polar ice caps and glaciers; and 0.3% is groundwater.

The Water Cycle

• Processes include evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation.
• Other processes include deposition, surface flow, infiltration, groundwater flow, and snowmelt runoff.
• Water continuously cycles between the atmosphere, land, and bodies of water.

Global Water Cycle

• Water is stored in the atmosphere, ice and snow, oceans, and groundwater.
• Processes like precipitation, sublimation, transpiration, evaporation, and interception loss contribute to the cycle.
• Water moves between these storages via various pathways.

Distribution of Earth's Water

• Earth's freshwater accounts for 3%, and the rest is saltwater.
• Ice caps and glaciers comprise the largest portion of freshwater (68.7%).
• Groundwater storage is significant (30.1%).
• Lakes, swamps, and rivers constitute a smaller portion of freshwater.

Average Annual Precipitation (2014)

• Precipitation varies geographically, with varying degrees of precipitation.

Water Properties:

• Water is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.
• Water molecules are highly cohesive, demonstrating strong attraction to each other.
• Water's specific heat is high, meaning it can absorb a lot of heat without a large change in temperature.
• Water has a high latent heat of fusion and vaporization, making it require significant input or release of heat during phase transitions.

Density of Water

• Water's density varies with temperature, peaking at 4°C.
• Ice is less dense than liquid water.

Light Transmission in Water

• Light penetration in water varies with wavelength (color).
• Longer wavelengths (red) are absorbed more quickly than shorter wavelengths (blue).
• The depth to which light penetrates strongly influences aquatic ecosystems.
• Light availability impacts photosynthesis in aquatic organisms.

Water Stratification (Layers)

• Epilimnion is the warm, upper layer of a lake or ocean.
• The thermocline is the zone of rapid temperature change between the epilimnion and hypolimnion.
• Hypolimnion is the cold, dense, deeper layer.

Pelagic and Benthic Provinces

• The pelagic province describes different depths and zones in oceans and lakes, considering various light levels.
• The benthic province corresponds to the bottom environments of bodies of water.

Freshwater Ecosystem Structure

• The littoral zone is the shallow, nearshore region with submerged and emerged plants.
• The limnetic zone is the open water portion of a lake.
• The benthic zone is the bottom portion of a lake.
• Euphotic zone is the surface layer where sunlight penetrates and photosynthesis occurs.

Water as a Solvent

• Water dissolves most minerals present in aquatic environments.
• Concentrations of dissolved minerals in rivers and lakes are relatively low (0.01-0.02%).
• The solubility of certain elements varies.
• In seawater, sodium and chlorine are the most abundant dissolved ions.

Solubility of Gases in Water

• Oxygen diffuses into surface water.
• The solubility of gases depends on factors like temperature, salinity, and pressure.
• Carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic acid.
• A carbon dioxide-carbonic acid-bicarbonate system is in equilibrium in aquatic environments.

Water Movement in Aquatic Environments

• Currents in rivers and waves in the open ocean and shorelines.
• Velocity of water flow (streams) can be affected by factors like channel shape, width, depth, rainfall, and sediments.
• Waves' properties change depending on depth and wave characteristics (e.g. as they touch the seabed or shore).

Tides

• Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon.
• Spring tides occur when the Sun and Moon are aligned, leading to a greater tidal range.
• Neap tides occur when the Sun and Moon are at right angles, leading to a smaller tidal range.

Terrestrial Environment

• Soil is a complex mixture of living and non-living materials.
• Most terrestrial life depends on soil.

Weathering Types

• Physical weathering involves mechanical processes (e.g., freeze-thaw, pressure release, salt hydration) breaking down rocks.
• Chemical weathering involves chemical reactions changing the composition of minerals (e.g., carbonation, oxidation, hydrolysis).
• Biological weathering includes processes involving living organisms such as plants, fungi, and moss impacting the breakdown of rock and soil.

Soil Profile

• Soil profiles are categorized into distinct layers (horizons).
• The O horizon contains organic matter.
• The A horizon includes mineral material and organic matter.
• The B horizon is characterized by deposited minerals.
• The C horizon comprises weathered parent material.
• The R horizon (rock bed) represents the underlying bedrock.

Soil Types

• Specific soil types (e.g., Entisol, Mollisol, Alfisol, Andisol, Aridisol, Histosol, Vertisol, Oxisol, Spodosol) have various properties (e.g., development, drainage condition, climate, mineral content).
• Different soil types are associated with specific environmental conditions (e.g., climate, vegetation, and parent material).

Major Soil Types in the Philippines

• Soil types are distributed unevenly.
• Each type is associated with distinctive characteristics, climate, and ecosystems.

Global Soil Regions

• Geographic distribution of soil types across the globe.
• Different combinations of soil types occur in various regions.

Light

• Light is the ultimate energy source for many ecosystems (including terrestrial and aquatic).
• The timing and patterns of light influence daily and seasonal rhythms in plants and animals.
• Light is a critical resource for photosynthesis.
• Light quality (wavelength), intensity (energy), and duration are major factors influencing organisms in an ecosystem.

Fire

• Fire has a significant effect on ecosystems.
• Fire influences the distribution, composition, and characteristics of flora and fauna.

Wind

• Wind is created by temperature gradients.
• Wind has a direct impact on organisms by increasing heat loss and influencing environmental conditions.
• Wind aids in pollination, seed dispersal, and interacts with plants and other factors.

pH

• pH affects organism survival and ecosystem functioning.
• Different organisms can tolerate a limited pH range.
• Acid rain is one result of altered pH.

Limiting Factors in Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments

• Limiting factors vary between aquatic and terrestrial environments.
• Light and water are often limiting factors in one or both environments.