13 Questions
What drives the hydrologic cycle?
Solar energy
Where is about 97% of the total water on Earth located?
In oceans
What percentage of water on Earth is in the atmosphere?
0.001%
What is the primary source of water for moving chemicals, sculpting landscape, and providing water resources?
Water on land and in the atmosphere
What are the main components of the hydrologic cycle?
Evaporation, precipitation, transpiration, and runoff
Why are the rates of transfer of water from land to the ocean relatively low?
Because most of the water evaporated from land falls back into the ocean
What percentage of precipitation on land evaporates back to the atmosphere each year?
60%
In ecological research and biological conservation, what term is used to evaluate the hydrology of an area?
Watershed
What is the fundamental hydrologic unit of the landscape at regional and local levels?
Watershed
How is a first-order watershed characterized?
Drained by a single small stream
What area contributes surface runoff to a particular stream or river?
Watershed
At what levels are watersheds best categorized by drainage basin area?
Regional and local levels
What term is used to describe the distribution of water being far from uniform on land?
Drainage basin
Study Notes
- The hydrologic cycle is the transfer of water from oceans to the atmosphere, to land, and back to the oceans.
- Approximately 97% of Earth's water is in oceans, 2% in glaciers and ice caps, 0.76% in shallow groundwater, 0.013% in lakes and rivers, and only 0.001% in the atmosphere.
- Solar energy drives the hydrologic cycle by evaporating water from various sources.
- About 60% of precipitation on land evaporates back to the atmosphere each year, and the rest (40%) returns to the ocean as surface and subsurface runoff.
- The distribution of water is not uniform on land, leading to various environmental and ecological effects.
- The fundamental hydrologic unit of the landscape is the drainage basin, which is the area that contributes surface runoff to a particular stream or river.
- Watersheds can be categorized by drainage basin area and the number of streams that flow into the main channel.
- Watersheds vary greatly in size, from less than a hectare to millions of square kilometers.
- Watersheds are named for their main stream or river.
- A watershed is important in evaluating the hydrology of an area and in ecological research and biological conservation.
Learn about the transfer of water from oceans to the atmosphere to the land and back to the oceans, including processes like evaporation, precipitation, transpiration, and runoff. Understand how solar energy drives the hydrologic cycle.
Make Your Own Quizzes and Flashcards
Convert your notes into interactive study material.
Get started for free
