The Hydrosphere

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Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere consists of all of the water on, in and around Earth. The water in the hydrosphere is distributed among the ocean, glaciers and ice caps, groundwater, surface water and water in the atmosphere in the form of water vapor and clouds. The water is present in all three phases: solid, liquid and gas.The hydrosphere includes water that is on the surface of the planet, underground, and in the air.A planet's hydrosphere can be liquid, vapor, or ice. On Earth, liquid water exists on the surface in the form of oceans, lakes and rivers. It also exists below ground as groundwater, in wells and aquifers.

The hydrosphere is the liquid water component of the Earth. It includes the oceans, seas, lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. …show more content…

More than 71% of Earth's surface is covered with water. The total amount of water on Earth is approximately 333 million cubic miles. Only a small fraction of the total amount of water on Earth is available for drinking, washing and irrigating crops because most of it is either salty or frozen.

The global ocean along with seas and bays, accounts for 97% of all the water on Earth, about 321 million cubic miles. Ocean water is salty and is not suitable for drinking or other everyday uses. Only 3% of the water on Earth is fresh (not salty). Over two-thirds of the freshwater is in the form of ice, in glaciers, polar ice caps or permafrost. Another 30% of the freshwater is groundwater. This leaves less than 1% of the freshwater, or 0.007% of the total water on Earth, on the surface in lakes and rivers that are easily accessible.

The hydrologic cycle, also known as the water cycle, describes how all the water in the hydrosphere continually moves between oceans, lakes, rivers, land and atmosphere. During the course of the water cycle, water changes state from liquid to gas and back to liquid. The energy that drives the hydrologic cycle comes from the sun. The steps in the water cycle are evaporation, condensation, precipitation and runoff. Transpiration is an additional element in the water

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