Hydrosphere Meaning, Diagram, Importance, Components, Impact

Hydrosphere

The hydrosphere includes all the water on Earth’s surface and connects with other parts of the Earth system, like the geosphere, biosphere (life), and anthroposphere (human activity). The hydrosphere is the water that covers the Earth’s surface, making up about 71% of it, or 361740000 square kilometers. It includes all oceans, lakes, rivers, and groundwater. The hydrosphere is important because it helps regulate the climate and affects where plants and animals live. It mainly includes the water cycle and various components of water on Earth.

Hydrosphere Hydrological Cycle

The Hydrological Cycle or water cycle is the journey of water as it moves from the ground to the sky and back again. The sun heats up water in oceans and lakes, causing it to evaporate into the air. Plants also release water into the air, a process called transpiration. This water vapour cools and forms tiny droplets in clouds. When the clouds meet cool air over land, they release precipitation, which can be in the form of rain, sleet, or snow. This water then falls back to the ground or sea. Some of it soaks into the ground and becomes groundwater, while most flows downhill as runoff, returning back to the sea.

Hydrosphere Components

Any area on Earth that stores liquid water is part of the hydrosphere. This means the hydrosphere includes many different types of water sources. There are four main parts of the water cycle:

• Oceans,
• Freshwater,
• Glacial water
• Atmospheric water vapour (Surface water, Groundwater)

1. Oceans

Most of the water on Earth is saltwater, and most of that is found in the oceans. Oceans are deep and spread out, making them hard to separate from each other. Geographers recognize five main oceans:

• the Indian Ocean,
• Pacific Ocean,
• Arctic Ocean,
• Atlantic Ocean, and
• Southern Ocean.

2. Freshwater

Freshwater is any natural liquid or frozen water that has low levels of dissolved salts. It does not include seawater or brackish water, but it does include mineral-rich waters like chalybeate springs. Freshwater is much rarer than saltwater and can be found in places like lakes, rivers, and streams.

3. Glacial Water

Glacial water is the water that comes from melting glaciers. It usually forms at the bottom of the glacier but can also appear on, inside, or under the glacier. As the Earth’s temperature rises, glaciers are melting faster, which increases the amount of freshwater flowing into glacial lakes.

4. Atmospheric Water Vapour

Under normal conditions, water vapor is made by evaporation and removed by condensation. It is lighter than most air and creates convection currents that can form clouds. Water exists in two forms:

• Surface Water: This is any water found on the Earth’s surface, including saltwater in oceans and freshwater in rivers, streams, and lakes.
• Groundwater: This is water that seeps into the soil and is stored in large aquifers underground. People can access it using wells and pumps.

Hydrosphere Significance

The hydrosphere is of immense importance in the following ways:

1. An Important Component of Living Cells

A living organism’s cells are made up of at least 75% water. This promotes the cell’s normal functioning. The majority of chemical reactions occurring in living things involve substances dissolved in water. Without water, no cell can survive or perform its normal functions.

2. Water Provides Habitat to Flora and Fauna

The hydrosphere provides a habitat for a variety of plants and animals. Water dissolves many gases and ions, including CO2, O2, nutrients like ammonium and nitrite (NO-2) and other ions. The presence of these substances is important for the existence of life in water.

3. Existence of Earth’s Atmosphere

When Earth was first created, its atmosphere was very thin and mainly made up of helium and hydrogen, similar to what is found on Mercury. Over time, these gases escaped into space. As Earth cooled down, the gases and water vapor that formed created the atmosphere we have today. Volcanoes also released more gases and water vapor into the atmosphere.

4. Fulfils Basic Human Needs

Humans use water in many ways. It is used mostly for drinking, but we also use it for washing and cleaning at home. In industries, water is important too. Additionally, we use water to make electricity through hydropower.

5. Impact on the Earth’s Climate

One important feature of water is its **specific heat**, which means it heats up and cools down slowly. This helps keep temperatures on Earth stable, making it possible for life to exist.

Hydrosphere Anthropogenic Impact

• Irresponsible human activities are the main cause of water depletion and pollution in the hydrosphere.
• Deforestation harms the environment and contributes to global warming, affecting the natural water cycle.
• Industrial waste, toxic chemicals, pesticides, and plastics harm freshwater systems and aquatic life.
• Burning fossil fuels releases harmful greenhouse gases, leading to acid rain.
• Acid rain makes water in the hydrosphere more acidic, which is harmful to fish and decreases their populations.
• As the population grows, the demand for water increases, but our freshwater sources are shrinking, leading to future water scarcity.

Hydrosphere UPSC

• Over time, the amount of water on the Earth’s surface remains constant. This means that the amount of water on Earth today is the same as it was when dinosaurs roamed the planet.
• Permanent snow contains 68.7% of the world’s freshwater.
• The oceans contain approximately 71% of the water on Earth.
• The total amount of water on the planet is approximately 333 million cubic miles (1,386 million cubic kilometres).
• This topic holds importance for the UPSC exam when it comes to geography and an aspirant must be well versed with Hydrosphere, its components and the Hydrological cycle.

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