1.1.2 The Water cycle

• What are the 5 subsystems on Earth?

  • Biosphere - any plants or living organisms
  • Atmosphere - gases surrounding the planet
  • Cryosphere - frozen things
  • Hydrosphere - the water on Earth
  • Lithosphere - rocks and crust on Earth
• Cascading systems are when the output of one system becomes the input of another
• There is a fixed amount of water on the earth and in its atmosphere. The vast majority of the Earth's water is seawater - 96.5%. Only 2.5% of the Eath's water is fresh
• • Most water is stored as saline water in the ocean
  • 30% of all freshwater is stored in rocks deep below the surface, forming vast reservoirs known as aquifers
  • Aquifers are commonly found in porous rocks
• Soil is a store of water, porous sandy soil holds very little water but allows the transfer of water

  Clay soils store a huge amount of water but allow very little transfer of water
• The Cryosphere describes areas where water is in a solid form, in 5 different locations:

  • Sea ice
  • Permafrost
  • Ice caps
  • Ice sheets
  • Alpine glaciers