Our Environment and its

Components UNIT 4 THE HYDROSPHERE

Structure
4.1 Introduction
Objectives
4.2 Structure and Properties of the Water Molecule
Structure of Water
Thermal Properties
Cohesive Property and Surface Tension
Adhesive Property and Capillary Action
Density and Freezing Property
4.3 The Hydrologic Cycle
Evaporation and Evapo-transpiration
Precipitation
Surface Run-off
4.4 Composition of Hydrosphere
4.5 Freshwater Environment
Ground Water
Surface Waters
Characteristics of Lentic Habitats
Characteristics of Lotic Habitats
4.6 Estuaries
Types of Estuaries
Classification of Estuaries Based on Salinity
Important Abiotic Characteristics of Estuaries
4.7 The Oceans
Properties of Ocean Water
Features of the Ocean Basin
Oceanic Depth Zones
Movement of Water in the Ocean
Sea Ice
4.8 Summary
4.9 Terminal Questions

4.1 INTRODUCTION
In Unit 3 you have learnt about the atmosphere and the various processes that take
place in it, which make life possible on our planet. In this unit we will discuss the
hydrosphere, which is the discontinuous layer of water at or near the Earth’s surface.
It includes all liquid and frozen surface waters, groundwater held in soil and rock, and
atmospheric water vapour.
We focus on various aspects of the components of the hydrosphere, and begin with an
overview of the properties of water. The structure of the water molecule and its
specific properties has created surprising physical and chemical conditions, which
have made it essential for the existence of life.
When you learn about the composition of the hydrosphere, you will find that our Earth
contains an immense amount of water, covering 71% of its surface up to about an
average depth of 3800 metres. Out of this large amount of water, only about 0.25%
could be used for human consumption. Over 97% of this water is deposited in the
oceans.
All water on the planet is constantly recycled, by a system known as the hydrologic
cycle driven by solar energy. It involves the movement of water through the
environment in its three phases – as liquid, as vapour and as solid snow and ice. These
movements integrate the environmental systems of atmosphere, lithosphere and
biosphere and strongly influence the rates, patterns and processes within them.
Understanding the processes and reservoirs of the hydrological cycle is fundamental
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to dealing with a number of issues related to the use of water, pollution and global The Hydrosphere
climate change.
We will describe the various aquatic habitats. You will learn that the habitats in the
freshwater environment frequently integrate with one another, and they are divided
into two categories: the standing water bodies which comprise lakes and ponds etc.
and the running water bodies that include streams and rivers.
The physical structure of the above water bodies is determined by the distribution of
factors such as light, heat and currents, which vary by day and season. The chemical
structure results from the uneven distribution of chemicals.
Where freshwater and seawater meet and mix, partially enclosed coastal embayment –
estuaries form. Most of the characteristics of the estuaries result from the flow of
freshwater and seawater. Tides add additional complexity to the circulation pattern
and salinity gradients, within the estuaries.
The estuaries discharge their contents into the Oceans, which are large interconnected
bodies of water that are constantly in motion, mixed and moved by winds, waves and
currents.
Objectives
After studying this unit you should be able to:

• relate the special properties of water to its molecular structure;

• give an account of the composition of the hydrosphere;
• describe the main processes, that drive the hydrologic cycle;
• list the major types of freshwater habitats in the world;
• describe the zonation because of light and stratification due to temperature in
tropical and temperate lakes;
• describe the physical and chemical characteristics of lentic habitats;
• explain the nature of the different zones of a river that originates from a high
mountain;
• give a concise account on the type of estuaries classified according to the geology,
geomorphology and salinity gradient;
• describe the features of the ocean basin; and
• describe the formation of waves and the patterns of current in the world oceans.

4.2 STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF THE WATER

MOLECULE
Water is probably the most important natural resource on the earth. It is a vital
chemical constituent of living cells and a habitat for large number of organisms. In
fact, 60% of our body is made up of water. It is worthwhile then, to look at its
structure and some of its resultant physical and chemical properties.

4.2.1 Structure of Water

Water has the chemical formula H2O, and it exists as a liquid, solid and as vapour.
This simple molecule has many surprising properties, which are biologically
important, and many of them result from its molecular structure.
A covalent bond is
A molecule of water results, from the formation of two single covalent bonds between formed by sharing a pair
an oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms (Fig. 4.1a). The oxygen atom has a greater of electrons between two
power in attracting electrons than that of the hydrogen atoms. As a result, the oxygen atoms
atom acquires a partial negative charge, and each hydrogen atom a partial positive
charge. Molecules such as water, that exhibit charge separation are termed polar
molecules and they have a marked affinity for each other. This molecular polarity

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Our Environment and its causes water to be a powerful solvent with the ability to dissolve more substances than
Components
any other liquid.
The charge separation has resulted in an arrangement of a tetrahedron for the water
molecule and a bond angle of 104.5 degrees. It also allows the oxygen molecule to
form weak hydrogen bonds with the oppositely charged hydrogen atom of another
molecule. This allows water molecules to combine together in an uninterrupted net
work (Fig. 4.1b), which is responsible for its cohesive nature and many of its unusual
properties such as high surface tension, specific heat and heat of vaporization.

(a) (b)

Fig.4.1: a) The unique arrangement of H and O atoms in a molecule of water causes one side of the
molecule to have a positive charge and the opposite side to have a negative charge. The
resulting polarity causes molecules of water to be attracted to each other forming strong
molecular bonds, b) Lattice of Hydrogen bonds

4.2.2 Thermal Properties

Specific heat of water is the
amount of heat (4.2 KJ)
required to raise the
Water has a high heat capacity. It can absorb large amounts of heat with only a small
temperature of 1 kg water by increase in temperature. This is because much of the energy is used in breaking the
1°C. hydrogen bonds. High specific heat capacity of water enables aquatic organisms to
survive even the intense solar radiation at the equator as water provides a very
constant environment therefore, biochemical processes that operate only over a small
Latent heat of fusion is the temperature range and proceed at more constant rates are less likely to be inhibited by
amount of heat gained or lost extremes of temperature in aquatic environments. Water also stores a lot of heat per
per unit mass of a substance, unit volume and large volumes of water can therefore alter climate.
changing from a solid to a
liquid, or liquid to a solid High latent heat of fusion of water helps to maintain the temperature at a critical
phase, without an
point (at 0°C), before freezing. This prevents sudden freezing of water and melting of
accompanying rise or fall in the
temperature. For 1 Kg of water ice in temperate lakes, which make the transition between seasons less abrupt,
at 0oC to freeze, a large amount enabling organisms to adjust gradually to the changing climate. In addition, it prevents
of heat (3.34 × 105 J) must be the formation of ice in the tissues of organisms when the body is freezing (ice crystals
released. Conversely when ice are particularly damaging if they develop inside cells). Also this property inhibits
at 0°C melts to water at 0oC, an large scale freezing of oceans.
equal amount of heat must be
absorbed.
Water has a high latent heat of evaporation. Latent heat of evaporation is the
amount of energy that is required when liquid water changes into vapour, or vapour
Water absorbs harmful into liquid water, at 100oC. As a large amount of energy is required to break the
infrared radiation of the sun. hydrogen bonds between the molecules (so that they can escape as a gas), water has
Large amount of the incoming an unusually high boiling point. This character of water causes most of it to exist in
solar radiation is dissipated in
liquid form at atmospheric temperature.
the evaporation of water from
the ecosystems of the world. It
is this dissipation of energy
The energy needed by water molecules to vaporize, results in the loss of energy from
that moderates the climate and their surroundings. This results in a cooling effect. Sweating and panting by mammals
makes it pleasant for life to brings down their body temperatures. The evaporation of sweat and saliva allows loss
exist on the Earth. of large amounts of body heat with a minimal loss of water from the body. For
instance, every gram of water that evaporates from the human body removes 586
calories of heat from the body.
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This high latent heat of evaporation of water is also important in reducing the The Hydrosphere
evaporation of water from lakes and seas and moderating sea surface temperatures by
transferring large quantities of heat to the atmosphere through evaporation.
Water conducts heat more easily than any liquid except mercury. This fact causes
large bodies of liquid water like lakes and oceans to have essentially a uniform
vertical temperature profile

4.2.3 Cohesive Property and Surface Tension

Water molecules being very polar themselves, are attracted to each other and also to
other polar molecules. When this attraction is between each other, it is referred to as
cohesion.
It is because of this cohesive property, that water can form a lattice of hydrogen
bonds, which allows it to remain as a liquid, at normal atmospheric temperatures. At
the air/water boundary they stick together so thoroughly, resulting in high surface
tension that will support lightweight substances if they are spread out over a larger
area. For example, a floating leaf with a large surface area, or an insect like a water
strider, that distributes its weight over a larger area (by spreading its long legs), can
float on water. The surface tension decreases with increasing temperature, salinity and
addition of organic surfactants produced by plants and animals.

4.2.4 Adhesive Property and Capillary Action

The attraction between a water molecule and a polar molecule of a different substance
is called adhesion. Water is adhesive to any substance with which it can form
hydrogen bonds. This is why certain things get “wet” when they are dipped in water,
and why waxy substances composed of non polar molecules do not get wet.
The adhesion of water to substances with surface electrical charges is responsible for
capillary action (rising of water and watery substances in narrow tubes). This ability
helps to pull water up through conducting tissues, in trees as tall as 100m, and water
to creep up through minute spaces in soil making it available to the roots of plants. It
is also responsible for the uptake of water (imbibition) by seeds of plants, to permit
germination.

4.2.5 Density and Freezing Property

The density or specific gravity of pure ice at 0oC is 0.9168. It is about 8.5 % lighter
than liquid water at 0oC (0.99987) and that is why ice floats on water. Solid ice has a
regular molecular structure with slight gaps between the molecules (Fig. 4.2a). As ice
melts, the regular structure breaks up and the gaps fill up (Fig. 4.2b). The density
therefore increases. This effect continues until 3.98°C (~ −4°C), so water at this
temperature has the highest density. Above 4°C, the density decreases, as molecular
expansion takes place.

(a) (b)

Fig.4.2: a) Lattice structure of solid water, b) Liquid water

Source: http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals

The difference in density of hot and cold water is responsible for the great resistance
to mixing of water masses. The rate of change of water density is not constant with
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Our Environment and its change in temperature: the density decreases more rapidly at high temperatures.
Components
Density of water increases with increasing concentrations of dissolved salts in a linear
fashion. These variations may be small, but they cannot be ignored.
Now let us consider how these density differences enable animals in water to survive
during ordinary winters.
We just said that fresh water is most dense at 4oC, and will sink by convection as it
cools to that temperature, and if it becomes colder it will rise instead. This reversal
will cause deep water to remain warmer than shallower freezing water, so that ice in a
body of water will form first at the surface and progress downward, while the majority
of the water underneath will hold a constant 4°C. This effectively insulates a lake
floor from the cold and prevents the total freezing of the water body and animals can
live under the ice cover until winter is over.
The density of water is 775 times greater than that of air at standard temperatures and
pressure (0oC, 760 mm Hg). Due to this high density, water makes aquatic organisms
buoyant against gravitational pull and reduces the energy required for an organism to
maintain its position. In most fresh water animals the supporting tissues are reduced
(e.g. most of the plankton, benefit by just floating passively in the water column, as
buoyancy supports their weight). These adaptations are conspicuous even among
aquatic vascular plants.

SAQ 1
State the physical properties of water that are important, in the biological processes
given below.
1. Prevent formation of ice in the vascular tissues of plants and in animal tissues.
-------------------------------------
2. Help in cooling the bodies of animals. ------------------------------------
3. Moderate daily and seasonal temperature variations and stable body temperature
of organisms. ----------------------------------------
4. Causes ice to float and inhibits complete freezing of large bodies of water. ---------
-----------------------------
5. Enhance a variety of chemical reactions.----------------------------------
6. Allow aquatic animals to survive in ordinary winters.------------------
7. Allow water striders to skate on the surface water.---------------------------

4.3 THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

The total amount of water in the world remains constant. What changes is its state and
availability. Water is constantly being recycled in all its forms, (ice, liquid and
vapour), by a system known as the hydrologic cycle which is driven by solar energy
(Fig. 4.3). It involves the continuous recycling of water between the atmosphere, land
and oceans by several processes. In this cycle, water is lost to the atmosphere as
vapour from the earth, and in turn is precipitated back in the form of rain, snow, frost
etc. This precipitation and evaporation continues forever and there by maintains the
amount of water in the air, land and ocean. Within the atmosphere vertical and
horizontal air movements including winds transfer moisture from place to place. The
streams, rivers and glaciers transfer water from land to the ocean where large-scale
currents transfer water within the oceans.

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 The Hydrosphere

Fig.4.3: The hydrologic cycle

The three major processes involved in the hydrologic cycle are: evaporation and
evapo-transpiration, precipitation and surface run off.
Atmospheric water, surface water and ground water are all part of the hydrologic
cycle. Let us consider how water re-cycles within and between these realms by the
above-mentioned processes.

4.3.1 Evaporation and Evapo-transpiration

The hydrologic cycle can be crudely visualized as starting with the evaporation of
water from the oceans, seas, lakes and rivers. A significant quantity of water that
reaches the earth (soil) is lost into the atmosphere by evaporation. Some of it is lost
through plants by transpiration from their leaves. During the above process, water is
transferred through the soil by capillary action, then from the soil through the roots of
plants by osmosis and then to their leaves. Due to the fact that the process of
evaporation and transpiration are difficult to separate, evapo-transpiration is generally
used to describe the combined process. This water that undergoes evaporation and
evapo-transpiration becomes a part of the atmospheric store of water vapour, which
condenses and creates clouds.

4.3.2 Precipitation
Precipitation is process by which water returns to land. There are four major types of
precipitation, namely drizzle, rain, snow and hail. With the exception of high latitude
and high altitude regions, rain tends to be the most important form of precipitation.
During winter in some temperate latitudes, however, snow can be more important than
rain, and when it melts suddenly it releases large volumes of water.
The rate at which, groundwater resources (aquifers) are replenished, is basically
dependent upon the quantity of precipitation.

4.3.3 Surface Run-off

Water falling on land, as precipitation will either accumulate on the surface soil and
eventually returns to the atmosphere by evaporation, or will infiltrate the surface
layer. Subsequently this water percolates to deep levels and reaches the water table to
form ground water. These waters are discharged either directly or indirectly to rivers
and seas by way of seepage and springs (Fig. 4.3).
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Our Environment and its If the rainfall intensity is much greater than the infiltration capacity of the soil, excess
Components
water moves in surface channels as surface runoff into streams, rivers and lakes and
later empties into the ocean.
We will read more about the various reservoirs and components of the water cycle in
later sections in this unit and in Block III of this course.

4.4 COMPOSITION OF HYDROSPHERE

The total volume of water in the global water cycle is estimated at about 1.384 million
km2. Depending on the salt concentration or salinity, this water could be categorized
into fresh water, and salt or saline water. [Salinity is a measure of the total
concentration of all salts (principally sodium and chloride). The salt concentration is
usually given the symbol %o (parts per thousand)]. In the seawater, the salinity varies
from, 33%o − 37%o. The mean salinity of seawater is 35%o. For freshwater the
salinity is always less than 0.5%o.
At any point in time, around 97.6% of the world’s water is saline or in other words,
saltwater. Most of the water is found in the oceans, which clearly play an important
role in the global water cycle. The remainder of the saltwater makes up the salt lakes.
This means that only 2.5% of the volume of water in the world is actually fresh water.
Some 75% of this fresh water is locked up as polar ice caps and glaciers with a further
24% located underground as groundwater. This means that less than 1% of the total
freshwater is found in lakes, rivers and the soil.
Nearly 0.01% of the world water budget is present in lakes and rivers, another 0.01%
is present as soil moisture, which is unavailable to human supply. So while there
appears to be lots of water in the world, there is in reality very little, which is readily
available for the maintenance of terrestrial life on Earth (Table. 4.1).
Table 4.1: Major global reservoirs of water

Storage component Volume (km3 × 103) Total percentage of water

Oceans 1 350 400 97.6
Saline lakes and inland 105 0.008
seas
Ice caps and glaciers 26000 1.9
Groundwater 7000 0.5
Soil moisture 150 0.01
Lakes 125 0.009
Freshwater rivers 2 0.0001
Atmosphere 13 0.0009
Total 1384000
All figures are approximate estimates and rounded off

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 The Hydrosphere

Box 4.1: Fresh water resources

You would realize that all human settlements are near rivers, lakes or other freshwater
bodies, demonstrating the dependency of civilization on an adequate supply of fresh
water. We are already familiar with the personal uses of water. It is also essential for
agriculture, transportation, power generation and the manufacture of many consumer
goods. Our concerns about water focus on the availability and distribution of water
resources. The global supply of fresh water is essentially fixed. As the population is
increasing, per capita availability of fresh water is decreasing. Already water scarcity is
looming large in the urban centres and even as the demand for fresh water continues to
rise we are degrading the quality of many freshwater sources, thereby, creating even
greater problems of supply and demand. Whatever resources we have are rapidly
becoming polluted and unfit for human consumption and water scarcity is often
becoming the cause of conflict among nations and states sharing this essential resource.
The per capita availability of freshwater is fast declining all over the world. If the present
consumption pattern continued, two out of every three persons on earth will live in water
stressed conditions − moderate or severe water shortages − by the year 2025 A.D.

In India, the per capita average annual freshwater availability has reduced from 5177
cubic metres from 1951 to about 1869 cubic metres in 2001 and is estimated to further
come down to 1341 cubic metres in 2025 and 1140 cubic metres in 2050.

SAQ 2
1. The percentages of water in different natural reservoirs in the hydrologic cycle are
given in Fig. 4.4. Identify the storage basin with the help of Table 4.1. The largest
storage basin is already identified.
0.5 % + 0.01 %

0.0009 %

Oceans 97.6 % 2.5 %

0.009 % + 0.0001 %

1.9 %

Fig.4.4: Distribution of water on Earth

2. Take a map of India and identify the largest lake in the country. Also find out the
where saline lakes are located.

Now you are aware of the various types of reservoirs in the world that store global
water. In the next section you will learn about the different fresh waters reservoirs on
Earth. After that we shall briefly review the estuaries, which are the brackish water
reservoirs. Finally you will learn about the oceans that contain saline water, which
comprise the largest portion of the global water.

4.5 FRESHWATER ENVIRONMENT

One part of the hydrologic cycle that is essential to all life on Earth is the large
amounts of freshwater stored in the ground and the freshwater existing on the land
surface. It is important to be acquainted with the terms associated with ground water

61
Our Environment and its and surface waters for understanding many environmental issues, problems and their
Components
solutions. See Box 4.1 also.

4.5.1 Ground Water

Water that falls as precipitation can percolate into and through rocks that are porous,
where it accumulates as ground water. The layer of rock through which it percolates
is known as aquifer and the water can be extracted for use by drilling wells. Ground
water can be found in two layers of the soil, the zone of aeration, where gaps in the
soil are filled both with air and water and further down, the zone of saturation where
the gaps are filled completely with water (Fig. 4.5). The water table is the boundary
between the saturated zone and the unsaturated zone in the rock and rises and falls as
the amount of ground water increases or decreases. Wherever the aquifer outcrops at
the ground level, springs appear. You should remember that though ground water
accounts for a small percentage of all the Earth’s water it represents a significant
percentage of the world’s fresh water and is fairly well distributed throughout the
world. It provides a reasonably constant supply, which is not likely to dry up under
natural conditions, as surface sources may do.

Fig.4.5: The water table is the top of the zone of saturation and intersects the land surface at
streams and lakes. The zone of aeration lies on top of the water table.
Source: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov

4.5.2 Surface Waters

The surface waters include the streams, ponds lakes reservoirs and canals (man-made
lakes and streams) and freshwater wetlands. As part of the water cycle the surface
water bodies are generally considered renewable resources though they are very
dependent on other parts of the water cycle. Surface waters are categorized into lentic
habitats or standing water bodies of various sizes and types, and lotic habitats or
running water bodies including streams waterfalls and rivers.

SAQ 3
Give examples of:
a) A temporary lentic habitat that lasts only for a few days.------------------
Lake Baikal
b) An artificial lentic habitat.----------------------------
You will be surprised to learn
that Lake Baikal in Siberia c) A torrential habitat ------------------------------
contains one fifth of the
world’s freshwater. It is the d) Horizontal lotic habitat with a laminar flow --------------------------
largest lake in the world.

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 Let us first consider a natural lake, in order to study the characteristics of lentic The Hydrosphere
habitats.

4.5.3 Characteristics of Lentic Habitats

If you look at Table 4.1 again, you will find that the lakes store more water than
rivers. About two thirds of all the fresh surface water on earth is stored in about 250
large lakes which are not distributed evenly over the world.
The various types of lakes on Earth have originated mainly from:

• Rock basins formed by the depression of the landscape as a result of volcanic

eruptions; melting of glaciers; movement of the earth’s crust; solution of bedrock
and meteoric impacts.

• Barrier basins by imposition of a barrier across a previously open channel and

• Organic basins created by the action of living organisms. For example, animals
like beavers construct dams across the main streams and cut out a pond from it, or
humans also build dams and submerging once exposed areas.
Lakes and other standing water bodies can be described using their physical and
chemical characteristics.
Physical Characteristics
When light strikes the surface of water, a certain amount is reflected. The portion that
enters the water column is subjected to further reduction by absorption and scattering
due to various suspended particles in the water.
You know from Unit 3 that sunlight is composed of radiation, which include all the
visible colours ranging from very short ultraviolet to very long infrared (wavelengths
from about 400 to 700 nm). As these wavelengths enter clear water, the violet and red
light is absorbed within the first few metres (Fig. 4.6). The green and blue components
are absorbed less rapidly, and a fraction of blue light penetrates to more than 100 m in
transparent water. Hence waters appear blue in colour, as the smallest particles present
in the water scatter blue light. In less transparent lakes, dissolved and particulate
matter normally obscure back scattering of blue light. These lakes will appear green in
colour. If there is a large quantity of dissolved material, especially organic matter the
lake appears yellow or brown.

0-

50-
Depth (m)

100-

150-

200-
Fig.4.6: Penetration of different wavelengths through the water

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Our Environment and its From the transmitted light that passes through the water column 53% is absorbed (on
Components
cloudless days) and converted to heat, and the temperature of the water body rises.
The rest of the light is available for photosynthesis and used by algae.
Lentic habitats contain regions of different light intensity. The well-lit surface waters
comprise the euphotic zone. In this region there is enough light for the net growth of
plankton. The lower limit of this zone is the compensation level. This is the region
where only 1% of the light at the surface remains. At this level the energy harnessed
by photosynthesis will only equal to the respiratory requirements of plants. Below
this level is called the profundal zone, where the plants cannot photosynthesize and
grow (Fig. 4.7).

Fig.4.7: The zonation of a lake according to light penetration

The precise depth of the compensation level varies with seasons and changes in
watercolour and cloudiness (turbidity). In a clear water lake the euphotic zone may
extend down to 20 m or more but in tropical lakes it is often about 3-5 m or even as
little as 0.5 m deep as there are suspending particles.

• The temperature of a water body changes with time and with depth.
• Temperature in lakes can vary daily as well as seasonally.
In tropical countries the daily variation of temperature in surface waters is very
prominent. It fluctuates between 1°C − 6°C and the highest temperature can be
recorded between 1-3 pm. However, the bottom strata of the lake remain cooler than
the surface layer and do not show much change (Fig. 4.8).
40

Water temperature
35
5cm below surface
Air temperature

30

25

20
06.00 12.00 18.00 24.00 Time of day (hours)

Fig.4.8: Daily temperature change in air and water in a small tropical lake

The water temperature in temperate water bodies follows the air temperature closely
as in tropical countries but the variation is small.
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As you know, a water body gets heated due to sunlight and this heat penetrates to The Hydrosphere
deeper layers by conduction and mixing. Conduction is a very slow process and if
there is no wind (calm day) water does not mix and it will take a long time for heat to
penetrate down. In shallow waters, sediments can absorb significant quantities of solar
radiation.
Globally, a situation is developed where there is a marked difference in temperature
between the waters of upper layers and deep layers. This type of thermal discontinuity
is known as the thermal stratification. In such a situation there is also a density
difference along the water column between the upper and deep layers. The warm
upper layers of a thermally stratified lake are called the epilimnion. The cool deeper
layer of a lake that is not heated by the sun and is too deep to be circulated directly by
the wind is termed the hypolimnion. The transitional zone between the epilimnion
and the hypolimnion is termed as the metalimnion. In this there is a region where a
sharp temperature gradient is present. This region is called the thermocline (Fig. 4.9a
and b). The direction of the current may be different in the epilimnion and the
hypolimnion, as the density of water in these two regions differs very much.

Temperature (°C)
0 5 10 15

Fig.4.9: a) Temperature variation with depth during summer in a temperate lake; b) Different
zones of a stratified lake. Epilimnion contains less dense water, which is usually well
oxygenated. Thermocline is the layer that shows rapid temperature changes and may
change its position accordingly during day/night. Hypocline is the colder layer of water
usually low in oxygen and density

Thermal stratification is the most important physical event in a lake’s annual cycle
and dominates most aspects of the lake’s structure. In shallow ponds and tanks the
typical thermal stratification may not be seen. Although there is some form of
temperature discontinuity. In such water bodies temporary thermocline may be present
between two to three metres during the daytime that disappears in the night.
In tropical deep-water bodies, thermal stratification is present throughout the year and
in temperate water bodies thermal stratification is seen only during summer.
Lakes around the world can be classified according to the types of thermal
stratification patterns, mixing and the formation of the hypolimnion. Several types of
such lakes are given in Table 4.2.
The seasonal temperature variation of a shallow body of water in a tropical country
is not prominent. However, the water bodies of temperate countries show clear
seasonal variations.
The beginning of the annual stratification cycle in temperate lakes is considered to be
in mid winter. As the temperature continues to drop, water at the top of the lake
freezes and seals the water body. The presence of a layer of ice on the surface can
result in the development of an inverse stratification between 0oC water at the surface
and 4oC water at the hypolimnion (Fig. 4.10).
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Our Environment and its
Components Table 4.2: Thermal classification of lakes
Type of lake Description
Holomictic lakes In these lakes, circulation occurs throughout the entire water
column.
Meromictic lakes These lakes do not undergo complete circulation, and the primary
water mass does not mix with the lower portion The deeper stratum
of these lakes are separated from the upper stratum by a steep
salinity gradient called the chemocline.
Dimictic lakes These lakes mix twice a year, once in the autumn and once in the
spring. They are covered with ice in winter and may show inverse
stratification.
Monomictic lakes These lakes do not freeze as the temperature does not fall below
4°C. They are stratified in summer.
Polymictic lakes These lakes are shallow. They mix every few days or even daily all
year round.
Amictic lakes These lakes have year round ice cover and never mix and limited to
Antarctica.

Fig.4.10: a) Temperature variation during the four seasons in a temperate lake, b) Graphs showing
the variation of temperature with depth

As spring approaches, the upper layers receive more heat than can be returned,
resulting in an increase of the surface temperature. When the surface temperature
reaches 4oC and becomes same as that of the hypolimnion the thermal and density
distribution becomes more uniform. At this stage the resistance to vertical mixing is at
its lowest level and even a small wind can achieve partial or complete vertical mixing
and circulation. This type of wide circulation is called the overturn.
During late spring and early summer, the temperature of the surface waters increases,
while colder heavier water remains near the hypolimnion. This leads to direct thermal
stratification.
In late summer, and during autumn (fall) the surface temperature begins to decrease.
66 Due to continuous heat loss, during late fall and early winter, the surface temperature
drops again and reaches a point where it is essentially the same as the hypolimnion. The Hydrosphere
This results in another overturn and the cycle begins again.
In this way, the complete annual cycle consists of two stratification periods (in winter
and in summer) and two turnovers (in spring and in fall). You have to remember that
this does not occur in tropical countries.
The flow of the water can be laminar or turbulent depending on the bottom
topography of the water body.
Laminar flow is the smooth slipping of water molecules, past each other or an
obstruction and has little drag on moving objects.
In contrast, turbulent current is the random, chaotic tumbling of the water molecules
around each other, or any object passing through the water. There is no strong
continual unidirectional current in lentic habitats as in lotic habitats. Wind is the
primary force moving the water at all depths of a water body. Temperature, density
differences and gravity are also important factors that cause water movements.
In lentic habitats the stillness of the waters results in a heterogeneous stable bottom.
The substratum is widely composed of sand, clay, mud and detritus that will tend to
increase the nutrient content, thus supporting aquatic plant and animal life.
At the bottom region, due to the action of aerobic bacteria on detritus, low oxygen
concentration is present.
Due to anaerobic conditions in the bottom anaerobic bacteria come into function thus
forming gases such as hydrogen sulphide, ammonia and carbon dioxide.
Now that you have studied the physical characteristics of freshwater bodies, let us
discuss the chemical characteristics.
Chemical Characteristics
The amount of dissolved oxygen in water is one of the most important factors of lakes
and other water bodies aside from water itself. The main sources of dissolved oxygen
are from the atmosphere and the photosynthetic processes of the green plants. The
turbulence and mixing of water, increase in pressure and cold temperatures increase
the amount of oxygen dissolving in water.
Oxygen levels often show marked daily cycles as plants release oxygen during
daylight, sometimes supersaturating (i.e. greater than 100 per cent saturation) the
euphotic zone, then respire at night causing a deficit. Acidity, the ability of water
to neutralize alkalinity is
Oxygen is transferred to deeper waters by either diffusion or circulation of surface normally determined by pH,
waters. If circulation in a water body is less, and diffusion is the only means to get a measure of the
concentration of hydrogen
oxygen to deep levels, anoxic conditions may prevail at the bottom layers of lakes. In ions in solution (H+). Water
addition, bacteria present at the bottom layers, involved in the decay of organic matter is said to be alkaline when
use oxygen for respiration resulting anoxic conditions. the concentration of the
hydroxyl ions exceeds the
The pH of most natural waters falls in the range of 4.0-9.0, many being in the range of hydrogen ions
6.0-8.0. The majority of natural waters have a somewhat alkaline pH, because of the
presence of carbonate and bicarbonate ions.
In stratified lakes pH may drop with depth, and the bottom, pH remains very low or
acidic. This condition is common in deep-water bodies in tropics. In temperate water
bodies this condition is experienced in summer, but during the overturn the pH is
constant from surface to bottom.
pH in the epilimnetic region of lakes fluctuates daily due to the fluctuations of CO2
concentration, resulting from the dissolved atmospheric CO2, photosynthesis and
respiration by plants. In the hypolimnion, CO2 is formed due to the decomposition of
organic matter.
67
Our Environment and its Surface waters become acidic towards the later part of the night and early morning
Components
due to the accumulation of CO2, resulting from respiration coupled with inhibition of
photosynthesis.
Carbon dioxide combines chemically with water to form undissociated carbonic acid
(H2CO3), which dissociates partly to produce hydrogen and bicarbonate ions. The
latter decompose further forming more hydrogen and carbonate ions.
All these reactions are reversible and the whole system reaches equilibrium, so that
natural waters will contain various proportions of CO2, HCO3− and CO3− − .
In acidic waters where pH is low the above reaction will move backwards, while
under alkaline conditions it will move forward and HCO3− and CO3− − become more
common (Fig. 4.11).

Fig.4.11: Variation of pH with different forms of carbon dioxide in water

Both temporary and permanent The presence of metal ions like calcium magnesium and iron determines whether the
hardness make lathering with water in a freshwater lake is hard or soft. When water with bicarbonate salts of
ordinary soap difficult. The
result is the formation of scum calcium, magnesium and iron [e.g., (Ca (HCO3)2)] is boiled above 70oC, carbonate
that, float on the surface of salts of the metals are precipitated in kettles. Such water is known to exhibit
washing water. temporary or carbonate hardness, because the carbonate salts (e.g. calcium
carbonate) are largely insoluble and on heating are removed from the water and
deposited as scales.
When calcium, magnesium and iron, are present as chloride or sulphate salts (e.g.
CaCl2) the hardness is called permanent or non carbonate hardness. Although this
type of hardness also contributes to scaling, in this case the precipitate is due to the
decreased solubility of these metal salts at higher temperatures and not due to the
formation of new insoluble compounds.
Dissolved solids include mainly nitrogen salts, phosphorus salts, magnesium and
calcium salts and trace elements such as manganese, copper, zinc cobalt etc.
Nitrogen and phosphorus are very important for the growth of aquatic plants and
phytoplankton. You will learn more about nutrient cycling in the third block of this
course.
The terms oligotrophic and eutrophic are widely used to describe lakes with respect to
their nutrient conditions. An oligotrophic lake is one with low nutrient levels.
Phytoplankton production in these lakes is low and therefore water clarity is high.
Decomposition in the hypolimnion uses up oxygen more slowly than it can be
replaced by mixing from the surface, so the water remains well oxygenated.
A eutrophic lake has high nutrient levels and therefore has high rates of phytoplankton
production. High densities of algal cells reduce water clarity. Decomposition of
detritus in the hypolimnion uses up oxygen more rapidly than it can be replaced. This
may lead to anoxic conditions at the bottom.

68
 The Hydrosphere
SAQ 4
Fill in the blanks:
a) A lake where water mixes continuously all year around is called --------------------
b) The materials that are brought into a lake from outside are referred to as ------------
c) The upper layer of a stratified water body above the thermocline is the--------------
d) The trophic condition of a water body with high nutrient content is called ----------
e) The region of a lake where a rapid change of temperature takes place is referred to
as ------------------------------.
f) The depth of a water body at which the processes of photosynthesis and
respiration are equal is called --------------------------------------.
g) Typical oxygen distribution curve that could be expected in a productive lake is
termed as ------------------------------------------.
h) The visible colour of the spectrum that penetrates deep into the water is -----------.
i) Scales form at the bottom of kettles when boiling ------------------------------ water.

So far you have studied various characteristics of lentic water habitats. Let us now
study the nature of lotic water habitats.

4.5.4 Characteristics of Lotic Habitats

Lotic habitats are best described by flow, erosion, deposition and channel form. They
vary form raging torrents and waterfalls to rivers, whose flow is so smooth as to be
almost unnoticeable. The characteristics of any river vary greatly along its length, as it
changes from a tiny trickle present at the head waters, to its full size at the lower
reaches (Fig. 4.12).

(a) (b)

Fig.4.12: a) Pathway of a river along its length; b) fast flowing Ganga river in the lower reaches

Now let us consider various regions along a river, in order to study the characteristics
of a lotic system. To make our study convenient, we will consider an idealized river
system, which can be divided into three zones (Fig. 4.12).

• Erosion zone
• Sediment transfer zone
• Sediment deposition zone 69
 Our Environment and its Erosion zone
Components
This zone comprises of drainage basins (Fig.4.13) and headwater streams. The most
important component governing the physical, chemical and biological structure of this
zone is the flow rate. Rivers with current velocities >0.3 ms−1 are classified as erosive,
while rivers with velocities < 0.3 ms−1are classified as depositing.
The environments from which water drains into a lake or river is the drainage basin or
the catchment. The term ‘watershed’ may also be used in Europe though this tends to
mean the dividing line between neighbouring catchments rather than the catchment’s
drainage area itself. Drainage basins are open systems through which water and
sediments are transported. The head water streams, found in this zone are low order
Fig.4.13: Drainage
basins
streams (mainly first order).
Natural river channels are never homogenous in form, but contain a variety of
structural features. Among these, torrential habitats such as water falls, cascades, and
alternating patterns of riffles and pools may be found. A major feature of the riffle is
Stream orders are numbers that it is wider and shallower and water flows through or over stones or gravel beds
assigned to each river stretch,
which indicate the relative
(Fig. 4.14a &b). Stones with sunlit riffles are often covered with algae and mosses. In
size of the river in the contrast, the pools are narrow deep sections, which usually cover several times the
drainage basin. First order area of the riffles, contain different less dense biota living among a mixture of stones
streams have no tributaries; and fine grain sediments. A characteristic feature of pools is the accumulation of
they are fed by springs decaying terrestrial debris.
ground water and run-off.
When two first order streams
join they form the second
order and so on.

Fig.4.14: Riffle pool sequence. a) Longitudinal profile, b) Plan view

The streams in the erosion zone are small and often have steep gradients. Since trees
shade most of them, which considerably reduce solar heating, the water tends to be
cool. The most distinctive feature of this zone is the shear force exerted by the fast
flowing water, which has a great erosive power. Due to this eroding nature of water,
the sediments, detritus and mud do not accumulate in a flowing stream, except in
sheltered areas. Instead the substratum is often composed of cobbles and boulders,
which are rounded and smoothed by water. Occasionally the stream may be eroded to
the bedrock.
The shear force and rate of water movement tend to be quite different on top of a rock
fragment, between rock fragment and beneath rock fragments. Different species can
exploit these differences in microhabitats. For instance the regions near rocks where
no movement of water is present are called dead zones. These are important micro-
habitats for benthic organisms.
Due to turbulence, and the aeration caused by splashing of water on rocks, the amount
of oxygen incorporated into water is very high. Also it prevents thermal stratification.
Plankton if present, are found in the sheltered areas. There are fewer micro-organisms
accompanying detritus. Aquatic plants usually do not grow in the erosion zone of a
stream, except few species which are often confined to the banks, as everything that is
70
not attached or weighted is swept away by the current, including organisms and The Hydrosphere
sediment particles.
Sediment transfer zone
This zone is the region in which the river gradient is reduced so that water and
sediment are transported without net loss or gain. The rivers are much wider. Flood
plain may be present. A flood plain is a flat valley bottom of loose sediments which
are deposited during river flooding (Fig. 4.15a).

(a)

(b)

Fig.4.15: a) Formation of flood plains in a meandering stream; b) Erosion and depositing areas of a
meander. Erosion occurs by undercutting on the outsides of the bend as flow velocity is
greatest there and deposition occurs to compensate this on the inside of the bend, as
velocity is the least here

Deep rivers generally have a small gradient and the shear stress on the bed is low.
This condition produces muddy debris laden sediments and riffles are absent. The
average current, as well as discharge becomes greater as the overall size increases so
that river waters move faster than streams, despite their lesser slope.
When the river flows further down it normally follows a sinuous course. A meander is
a winding sinuous course. The gentle flow of the river normally erodes the valley
from side to side nibbling away its banks, so flattening and boarding the valley floor.
Highest turbulence occurs on the concave side of the stream (Fig. 4.14b) thus eroding
into the outer banks of bends. Deposition starts at the slower and less turbulent waters
on the concave side. This side becomes partially sedimented.
Although stratification is unusual in rivers, given their turbulence, movement and
relative shallowness thermal conditions do vary.
Seasonal and diurnal changes occur, and thermal regimes vary along the length of a
river with topography and volume.
Sediment deposition zone
The deposition zone is where the river deposits its sediments load, typically as it
Fig.4.16: Godavari
approaches the sea and develops a delta (Fig. 4.16) or an estuary. The flow tends to be delta
laminar. The substrate is dominated by fine silt. This part of the river is usually found (Source: NASA)
71
Our Environment and its on flat land and has a low gradient. Flood plains are generally present, especially in
Components
rivers, which flood regularly.
The debris moved by the river, its load plus suspended algae make the water in this
region of the river turbid. Other nutrients, dissolved ions and pH influences rivers and
streams as much as they do in lakes and ponds. Since various ions are accumulated
along the path of the river the conductivity shows higher values than the other regions.
This zone of the river is subjected to more pollution than upstream.

SAQ 5
Fill in the table by giving the nature of the physical and chemical characteristics in
each of the habitats given below:

Habitat Type of Nature of Temperature Oxygen at Turbidity

current substrate the bottom
Water fall

First order
mountain
stream
Flood plain

Riffle

Concave
side of a
meandering
river

4.6 ESTUARIES
Estuaries are semi enclosed coastal embayment where freshwater rivers meet the sea.
Here fresh water and sea water mix, creating a unique and complex ecosystem where
there are various types of habitats namely, mangrove habitat (Fig. 4.17) sea grass
beds and salt marshes.

Fig.4.17: Mangroves in the estuary in South India

Estuaries are found along the coastlines of the world, but most are evident in wetter
climates of temperate and tropical latitudes. In such areas, land drainage (river water)
provides the necessary freshwater input at the head of the estuary, which water. The
salinity of brackish water is below those of adjacent open ocean waters and range
between 0.5%o to 35%o.

72
In this section, we outline the characteristics of estuaries without studying the habitats The Hydrosphere
mentioned above. However, when you study the biotic component of the aquatic
systems in unit 7, of Block 2, you will come to know most of the characteristics of
these habitats.

4.6.1 Types of Estuaries

Depending on the geomorphology of an estuary, the geological history of the area, and
the prevailing climatic conditions, there may be different estuarine types, each
displaying somewhat different physical and chemical conditions. These may be
grouped as follows (Fig. 4.18).

• Coastal plain estuary

• Tectonic estuary
• Bar built estuary or lagoon
• Fjord

Fig.4.18: Types of estuaries. a) Coastal plain estuary, b) Bar built estuary, c) Fjord

Coastal Plain Estuary

At the end of the last ice age, the earth became warmer and the ice melted and water
was released. As a result of this water, sea level rose as much as 400 m relative to the
level of the land. The rising sea level invaded low lying coastal river valleys thus
forming coastal plain estuaries which are the most common type (Fig. 4.18a).
73
 Our Environment and its Tectonic Estuary
Components
In this type of estuary, the sea reinvades the land due to subsidence (large earth
movements may cause a depression in the earth crust), of the land.
Bar Built Estuary or Lagoon
The off-shore barriers such as sand pits form parallel to the coastline and partially cut
off the waters behind them from the sea forming bar built estuaries. Some of these
estuaries merge with coastal water bodies and form lagoons behind the sand bars
which collect the freshwater discharge from the land. The water in such lagoons varies
in salinity depending on the climatic conditions (Fig. 4.18b).
Fjord
These are valleys that have been deepened by glacial action and are then invaded by
the sea. They are characterized by a shallow sill at the mouth that greatly restricts
water interchange between the deeper waters of the fjord and the sea. Often, these
deeper waters are stagnant because of lack of circulation (Fig. 4.18c).

4.6.2 Classification of Estuaries Based on Salinity

Estuaries may also be classified on the basis of the relative distribution of salt water
and fresh water and the degree to which they mix. In most estuaries there is a gradient
in salinity from being fully saline (33%o-37 %o – parts per thousand) at the mouth to
fresh water (0.5%o-3%o) at the landward end. The position of the gradient also moves
up and down the estuary with the tidal cycle.
Three fundamental types of estuaries can be identified based on salinity.

• Positive estuary or salt wedge estuary

• Negative estuary
• Neutral estuary
Positive Estuary or Salt Wedge Estuary
In these estuaries, salt water enters from the bottom. A substantial amount of out
going fresh water tends to float on the seawater because of its low density. There is a
salinity gradient from surface to bottom as well as from head to mouth. Mixing occurs
where the two waters come in contact, but this does not take place completely. Along
any vertical line in the estuary, salinity will be highest at the bottom and lowest on the
surface. This type of estuaries is found in temperate countries where there is little
evaporation from the surface waters (Fig. 4.19).
Fig.4.19: A positive estuary in
temperate zone Negative Estuary
A negative estuary results in tropical climate, where the amount of fresh water input to
the estuary is small and the rate of evaporation is high. In this estuary, the incoming
Since estuaries are energy rich, salt water enters at the surface and is somewhat diluted by partial mixing with the
nutrient rich ecosystems they
are the most biologically small amount of fresh water. The high evaporation rate however, causes this surface
productive ecosystems on earth. water to become hyper saline. Hyper saline water is denser than seawater, sinks to the
The tidal action concentrates bottom, and moves out of the estuary as a bottom current. A salinity profile of such an
the nutrients that are brought to estuary is the reverse of the positive estuary, with highest values at the bottom and
the estuary from the riverside
and the seaside. It takes much
lowest at the top.
longer, for a nutrient particle to
traverse an estuary than to pass The isohalines in this estuary extend in the direction of the sea.
through a similar length of even Neutral Estuary
the most slowly flowing river.
Thus the estuary acts as a In these estuaries the river flows are small but tides and tidal currents are large. The
nutrient trap.
water may be mixed almost completely from top to bottom. Salinity remains constant
from surface to the bottom of the estuary.
74
 The Hydrosphere
4.6.3 Important Abiotic Characteristics of Estuaries
Tide and salinity are the two important factors that have a major effect on the
estuarine systems.
In a freshwater aquatic system the change in the water level is due to rain and
evaporation. But in the seas and estuaries, it is mainly due to the tidal action, which is
actually the periodic rise and fall of the water level, due to the attraction of the sun
and moon. Tides are ocean surface phenomena, familiar to anyone who has spent time
on seashore. When the water level rises it is called the high tide and when it lowers it
is called the low tide. During high tide, seawater flows into the estuary and the salinity
increases. During low tide, fresh water flows into it and the salinity decreases
correspondingly. Due to these fluctuations the habitat along the margin of the
estuaries is covered at high tide and exposed at low tide. This is a prominent feature in
estuaries.
Tidal changes are less noticeable in the estuaries located close to the equator. But in
countries like Australia there are estuaries with a tidal fluctuation of about 8m.We
shall discuss the causes and types of tides in the next section.
The dominant feature of the estuarine environment is the fluctuation in salinity.
Normally a salinity gradient exists at sometime in an estuary. We have already
discussed the pattern of salinity distribution in different types of estuaries. There are,
however other factors that alter salinity patterns. They are the tides, Coriolis effect and
the seasonal changes.
Since estuaries are shallow water bodies, the light penetrates to the bottom. This
increases the decaying process of detritus by numerous bacteria found in estuaries.
This activity increases the organic food in the estuaries.
Water temperatures in estuaries are more variable than in the nearby coastal waters.
Rivers in the temperate regions are colder in winter and warmer in summer than
adjacent seawater. When this fresh water enters the estuary and mix with the seawater
they alter the temperature.
The regular flux of fresh and saltwater into the estuary, coupled with the shallowness,
turbulence, and wind mixing, usually means there is an ample supply of oxygen in the
water column. However, oxygen is severely depleted in the substrate, as the high
organic content and high bacterial populations of the sediments exert a large oxygen
demand on the interstitial water.

SAQ 6
a) Among the four basic types of estuaries, what is the most common type?
________________________________________________
b) Name the estuary, which is formed due to subsidence of land. ________________
c) Name the estuary that is formed due to the action of glaciers._________________
d) Name the estuaries, (categorized according to the salinity gradient) that have
isohalines of the following types:
Oceans are critically
important components of
i) extend up stream at the bottom. the environmental
ii) extend down stream at the bottom. systems. They influence
iii) straight from top to bottom. strongly the climate; play
a significant role in
e) Oxygen concentration in the substrate of the estuaries is low due to ___________. biogeochemical cycles,
global water cycle; are
important repositories of
4.7 THE OCEANS the sediments washed
down by rivers and are
important habitats for
The oceans are the vast expanse of saline water that cover more than 70% of the wildlife.
Earth’s surface. However, they are not equally distributed over the earth. Oceans
cover more than 80% of the Southern hemisphere but only 61% of the Northern
Hemisphere, where most of the Earth’s land mass occurs (Fig. 4.20). 75
Our Environment and its The oceans have been separated for convenience into three major divisions: Pacific,
Components
Atlantic and Indian. They are connected to each other, on their southern end by
Antarctic Ocean. There is the Arctic Ocean too, which is usually considered to be a
marginal sea, connected to the Atlantic.
The Pacific Ocean is the deepest and largest basin, occupying more than one-third of
Earth’s surface. The Atlantic is a relatively narrow basin connecting the Arctic and
Antarctic Oceans. It is also relatively shallow, and has wide continental margins.
The Indian Ocean lies primarily in the Southern Hemisphere. It is the smallest of the
three major ocean basins. Three of the world’s largest rivers (Ganges, Brahmaputra,
and Indus) discharge into the northern Indian Ocean. This region has an abundance of
both fresh water and sediment from the discharge of these rivers. Thus, the northern
Indian Ocean is the most affected by nearby lands.
The northern Indian Ocean also has two major sources of warm saline water. They are
the red sea and the Arabian Gulf, which produce warm saline subsurface waters that
can be traced for hundreds of kilometres below the surface of the Indian Ocean.
Projecting from, or partially cut off from, these larger oceans are smaller marginal
seas, such as the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Baltic, Bering, China Sea and Okhotsk
(Fig. 4.20).

Fig.4.20: Major oceans and the seas of the world

4.7.1 Properties of Ocean Water

Salinity and temperature are the two most important properties of ocean water that
determine its suitability for the kinds of organisms present in the ocean ecosystem and
for human use.
Seawater is saline because of the dissolved salts that enter it due to the weathering and
erosion of continental rocks as well as materials from natural fires volcanic eruptions
and air pollution. Recall from section 4.4 that salinity is expressed as dissolved salts in
parts per thousand parts of water or as parts per million (ppm) and salinity in open
seas varies from 33 %o-37%o (35,000 ppm − 37,000 ppm).
The bulk of the dissolved salts is sodium chloride and to a lesser amount salts
containing magnesium, calcium and trace amounts of potassium (see Table 4.3).

76
 Table 4.3: Composition of salts within sea water The Hydrosphere

Elements Percent
Sodium chloride 77.8
Magnesium chloride 9.7
Magnesium sulphate 5.7
Calcium sulphate 3.7
Potassium chloride 1.7
Calcium carbonate .3
Other 1.1

The temperature of seawater varies with depth, season and from place to place.
Surface temperature decreases with increasing latitude, from an average of 26 °C in
the tropics to −1.4°C, which is the freezing point of seawater at the poles.
Temperature of seawater varies much less according to seasons in comparison to land.

4.7.2 Features of the Ocean Basin

The average depth of the ocean floor is more than 3,650 m below sea level and the
topography of the ocean floor is far from uniform. Two boundaries can be recognized,
in the ocean basin.

• Continental margin
• Deep ocean basin
Continental margin
The principal boundary between any continent and ocean basin is the submerged area
called the continental margin, which consists of a continental shelf, a continental slope
and a continental rise (Fig. 4.21).
Continental shelf is the gently sloping seabed that extends beyond the shore. It is
mostly shallow and is generally 200 m deep at its outer edge. It ranges in width from
less than 1 km to more than 1300 km off the North shore of Alaska and Siberia.
Continental shelf is the basic source of nutrients for ocean plants. Most biologically
productive waters in the ocean overlie the continental shelf.
Continental slopes are the edges of continental shelf. It is the zone of steeply sloped
sea floor, leading from the continental shelf towards the ocean bottom. It extends
down to depths of 2-3 km. at the base of the continental slope, the steepness
disappears and the bottom begins to slope gently again.
Continental rise separates the continental slope from the ocean bottom. This area is
usually divided into an upper and lower part, with the slope being different in the two.
It marks the real boundary between the continents and the oceans. Sediment washed
down from the shelf and the slope accumulates in the rise.
Deep Ocean Basin
The main feature of the deep ocean basin is the abyssal plain. It is among the flattest
parts of earth’s surface (Fig. 4.21). Most abyssal plains appear to be covered with
thick deposits of sediments that are likely to have come from nearby lands. These
deposits include lithogenous particles (rock origins) carried from the continental shelf
by ocean currents and winds and biogenous particles (of biological origin).
There are some characteristics features in the abyssal plain. These include,
Mid ocean ridges, Rift valley, Sea mounts, Trenches, and Volcanoes.

77
Our Environment and its The long underwater mountain ranges are called mid-ocean ridges. They are the most
Components
distinctive world wide oceanic features. One ridge stretches the entire length of the
Atlantic Ocean. It continues through the Indian Ocean along the east side of the
Pacific Ocean. Small earthquakes occur frequently on the crest of mid ocean ridges
and most points on the ridges are far below the sea level. Most prominent feature of
this ridge is, its steep sided central valley called rift valley.

The deepest ocean trench is the A rift valley is 1 km to 2 km deep and 25-50 km wide. It is bordered by rugged
Marianas Trench in the Pacific mountains whose tallest peaks come to within 2 km of the sea surface.
Ocean, which is 11,033m
below sea level. This is 2000 m Thousands of mountains are scattered across the ocean basin called seamounts. Many
deeper than Mt Everest is high! seamounts were formed as volcanoes or volcanic peaks, which are especially common
along the mid-ocean ridges. Volcanic peaks that have been flattened because of wave
erosion before subsiding beneath the ocean surface are called table mounts or guyots.
Their flattened tops are more than 200 m below sea level. As you see each guyot is an
old seamount whose top was once close to sea level.
The deepest places in the oceans are called trenches (Fig. 4.21). They are relatively
narrow cannels and 3 to 4 km deeper than the surrounding floor. Most trenches occur
in the Pacific, especially the western Pacific. There are also trenches in the South
Atlantic (south sandwich trench) and in the Indian Ocean (Java trenches). Trenches
are associated with active volcanoes and earthquakes.
Volcanoes and volcanic islands are common in the ocean. They usually stand 1 km or
more above the surrounding Ocean floor. Most volcanic eruptions occur quietly and
usually go unnoticed on mid ocean ridges. Oceanic eruption that occurs in shallow
waters can be quite violent.

Fig.4.21: Diagrammatic cross section of the ocean basin

4.7.3 Oceanic Depth Zones

Now we consider the ocean’s vertical structure. There are three principal depth zones:
surface zone, pycnocline, and deep zone (Fig. 4.22).
The surface zone is 100 to 500 metres thick and contains about 2 percent of the ocean
volume. It is intimately linked with the overlying atmosphere. For instance, water
temperatures and salinities in the surface zone change seasonally because of variation
in precipitation, evaporation, cooling and heating. This zone contains the warmest and
least dense waters in the oceans. Average surface-water temperature is 17.5oC
(Fig 4.22a).

78
 The Hydrosphere

Fig.4.22: a) Oceanic depth zones, b) Marked variation in temperature, salinity and density with
depth

Near-surface waters are well mixed by winds, waves and cooling or heating of the
surface. For this reason, the surface zone is also called the mixed layer, because the
waters there move vertically very easily. These vertical motions are mainly wind-
driven.

The pycnocline is where water density changes markedly with depth. The exact
depth of the pycnocline is controlled by those factors, which influences the density of
seawater, namely temperature and salinity.

Where the seawater density is controlled primarily by changes in temperature, the

pycnocline coincides with a zone of marked temperature change; called a thermocline
(Fig. 4.22b). The zone where seawater density is controlled by marked changes in
salinity is referred to as a halocline. Because temperature changes are more important
in the open ocean, where salinity changes little, the depth of the pycnocline, is
controlled by a thermocline. In coastal ocean areas where salinity changes dominate
and temperature changes are less important, halocline controls the depth of
pycnocline.

Below the pycnocline is the deep zone, which contains about 80 percent of the
ocean’s volume. Except in the high latitudes the deep zone is separated from the
atmosphere. This isolation of the deep zone prevents interactions with the atmosphere
and warming of the deep ocean water by solar heating. Thus, deep zone retains its low
water temperature −3.5oC – characteristic of the surface waters in the Polar Regions.
Since the temperature and salinity of deep-ocean waters are unaffected by surface
processes, temperature and salinity are conservative properties.

Oceans are also divided into vertical zones according to the availability of light
(Fig. 4.23).

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Our Environment and its
Components

Fig.4.23: Photic zones in the ocean

SAQ 7
Select the correct word from the list and fill in the blanks.
[Continental shelf, Abyssal plain, trenches, Pycnocline, Halocline]
a) The zone where seawater density is controlled by marked changes in salinity is
referred to as _______________________.
b) The vertical movements of waters in the surface zone and seasonal changes in
their temperature or salinity do not penetrate the ____________________ as this
zone has a great stability.
c) A large portion of the deep ocean consists of flat, sediment covered areas called
______________________.
d) The deepest areas of the ocean are called ____________________.
e) The relatively smooth underwater extension of the edge of the continental shelf
and the deep ocean basin.

4.7.4 Movement of Water in the Ocean

Ocean waves and currents and tides are large-scale water movements, which occur
everywhere in the ocean. They are formed due to various causes, mainly the
prevailing wind system (waves and currents) and the gravitational pull of the moon
and the sun (tides).
Waves
Waves are rhythmic movements generated by winds blowing across the ocean surface.
They may also be generated by earthquakes, volcanic explosions and underwater
landslides. Ocean waves are mechanical because they transmit energy through the
water without moving the water itself. Waves don’t move sideways, only up and
down. Wave direction in the open seas depends on the wind direction, while ocean
topography significantly affects the wave direction in shallower waters. Waves range
in size from ripples only a few centimetres in height to storm waves, which may tower
as high as 30m. Tsunamis, huge waves caused due to volcanic activity or earthquakes
under the sea have been recorded to be more than 100 m high (see Box 4.2). Ripples
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form first and then grow into larger waves as winds continue to put energy into the The Hydrosphere
water surface. Longer waves travel faster than short ones. Most ocean waves are less
than 6 metres high. Waves are altered when they enter shallow water. They change
direction by refraction, moving most slowly in shallow water and fastest in deep
water. As the waters get shallower, waves eventually become unstable and break,
forming breakers.

Box 4.2: Tsunamis

Tsunamis are giant waves generated by submarine volcanic eruptions or earthquakes and
move across the ocean at speeds of more than 700 km per hour and cause wide spread
damage when they reach the coast. The word tsunami is Japanese for “harbour wave”. In
open sea the waves have long wavelength and short height but on reaching shallow waters
near the coast the wave gathers energy as it slows down and a powerful high wave is
formed that can cause widespread destruction with great loss of life as was seen in the
tsunami generated by the 26th December 2004 earthquake in the Indian Ocean north of
Simeulue Island off the coast of Northern Sumatra Islands. The resulting tsunami wave
devastated the shores of Indonesia, Thailand Sri Lanka and South India, and reached as far
as Port Elizabeth − 8000 km away in South Africa.

Currents
A current is a distinctive flow of a body of water that moves in a definite direction in Gyres play an important role
the ocean. Like atmospheric currents, oceanic currents also flow at different depths in in redistributing heat across
the water and can vary in speed and direction. Major current systems flow through all the Earth’s surface. This
affects the surface
the oceans redistributing ocean water and transferring heat from low latitudes to high temperature across the
latitudes and modifying regional climates (see Box 4.3). continents and patterns of
precipitation.
Surface ocean currents are mainly caused by pressure differences in the atmosphere
and winds or by density differences. The direction of a current is determined not only
by the wind system but also by the landmasses. There is another force that affects the
direction and that is the Coriolis force. This force causes the ocean current to deflect
into roughly circular gyres that move clockwise in the northern hemisphere and
counter clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
There are two entirely different ocean current systems. They are the horizontal and
vertical currents. We are more familiar with the horizontal currents or surface
currents. Vertical currents, referred to as subsurface currents, are driven by chilled
waters sinking in the polar and subpolar oceans and upwelling processes.
Sinking
Seawater sinks when the density increases. The physical processes that increase
seawater density are strictly surface features. This dense seawater, which is from the
surface and is usually highly oxygenated, transports dissolved oxygen to deep areas of
the ocean basins. The chief areas of sinking are located in the colder latitudes where
sea surface temperatures are low.
Upwelling
Subsurface water is carried to the photic zone by several processes, which are
collectively termed upwelling. These waters are rich in nutrients.
Upwelling is especially conspicuous on the eastern margin of ocean basins, for
example, the wind driven surface currents along the continental margins flow toward
the equator. At the same time, the Coriolis Effect tends to push these surface waters
offshore. This water is then replaced by deeper water transported vertically along
sloping surfaces to the surface (Fig. 4.24a). Similarly along the equator the two
equatorial currents flowing east are deflected away to the right north of the equator
and left to the south of the equator. To replace this water, subsurface water upwells to
the surface (Fig.4.24b). Such wind-induced upwelling is limited to the upper 200 m of
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Our Environment and its the water column near coasts (near capes or other irregularities in the coastline) and
Components
equator (e.g., Peru and Chile).

Fig.4.24: a) Coastal upwelling in the Northern Hemisphere, b) Equatorial upwelling

Box 4.3: Types of currents in the ocean

Basically there are three types of ocean currents

• Drift currents that are broad and slow.

• Stream currents that are narrow and fast moving.
• Upwelling currents that bring cold nutrient rich waters from the ocean
bottoms.

Ocean currents can be

• warm currents that bring in waters from warmer to cooler latitudes that is
from the equator to the poles, and
• cold currents that flow from higher to lower latitudes that is, from the poles to
the equator.

Tides
The surface of all oceans, gulfs and estuary waters rises and falls periodically due to
the effect of the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun on the Earth and its
waters. The result of this gravitational attraction is the formation of lunar and solar
tides respectively. Lunar tides are stronger than solar tides as the Moon is much closer
to the Earth than the Sun. There are usually two high tides and two low tides a day
with successive high and low tide of roughly the same height. Tidal cycles affect
many coastal, estuarine and near shore ecosystems, which are alternately flooded
during high tide and exposed during low tide.

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 The Hydrosphere
4.7.5 Sea Ice
Sea ice forms where sea water cools below its initial freezing point. Each winter, sea
ice covers the entire Arctic Ocean and completely surrounds Antarctica. It also forms
in bays and along the coast of Alaska, the western coast of Canada, and the Atlantic
coast of North America as far south as Virginia. In spring much of the ice melts but
large areas in the polar oceans remain ice-covered throughout the year. The annual
expansion of ice-covered ocean areas and the retreat of the ice in local summer affect
climate worldwide. In this section, we discuss how and why sea ice forms.
When seawater chills to its temperature of initial freezing, clouds of tiny needle like
particles form, making the water surface slightly turbid. The ocean surface dulls and
no longer reflects the sky. As ice particles grow, they form hexagonal spicules 1 to 2
centimetres long. The needles and spicules of newly formed ice are called frazil ice.
When the surface is stirred by winds and waves, the ice forms a soupy-looking layer
known as grease ice.
As sea ice continues to form, ice crystals eventually form a blanket over the water
surface. When the surface is calm, an elastic layer of ice forms. It is only a few
centimetres thick. Waves and especially winds break these ice sheets into large pieces
called floes.
Since salt is excluded from ice, the remaining water becomes more saline and its
freezing point is lowered. Some brine pockets remain trapped in the ice. Salinities of
newly formed ice are typically 7 to 14, but this value depends on temperature. The
more slowly the ice forms, the easier it is for brines to escape, resulting in lower ice
salinities. Conversely, at very low temperatures, ice forms rapidly, and the salty brines
cannot easily escape. This quick freeze results in higher ice salinities. Salinity of sea
ice is always lower than that of the surrounding waters. As sea ice ages the brines are
expelled. Thus, multiyear ice typically has salinities around zero at the top and around
four at the bottom.
Snow accumulates on top of, and freezes to, the ice surface. Thus, sea ice grows from
both top and bottom. First year ice is flat and usually snow-covered. During a single
winter, new sea ice can reach a thickness of two metres. Where sea ice never
completely melts, multiyear ice continues to grow, and older ice has a rough hilly
surface. In the central Arctic, multiyear ice reaches thickness of three to four metres.
Ice melts during the summer, down to about two metres in the central Arctic. The
fresh water released by melting ice forms a thin layer of low-salinity surface water.
Currents and winds move large pieces of sea ice together, forming mounds called
hummocks or pressure ridges that are the ice pack’s most conspicuous features. At
these pressure ridges, the ice is deformed and thickened, up to 20 metres thick. These
ridges can extend many tens of metres below the ice and are hazards to submarines
moving under the ice.
When floes move apart, they expose open waters in areas called leads. Leads range
from few centimetres to many hundreds of metres wide and can extend for many
kilometres. Ships moving through sea ice utilize leads where possible to avoid having
to break ice. Mammals stay near the leads and near holes in the ice. This permits them
to catch fish and other food in the underlying waters.
Oceans are the world’s most important resources that are common to all nations. And
as is the case with all common resources they are over exploited and subjected to
unsustainable use. Many of its uses such as fishing and oil exploration conflict with
one another and ocean waters near industrial countries are polluted and suffer from
over use. It is therefore, important to realize that rational management and allocation
of the ocean resources are important for its use in sustainable ways.

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Our Environment and its
Components
SAQ 8
Select the correct statement and mark them with a tick (√):
a) As waves enter shallow water and begin to encounter the bottom effects, they
slow their forward motion and the wave length decreases.
b) The Coriolis effect is the result of the rotation of the Earth on its axis.
c) The western boundary currents are very slow.
d) The direction of the ocean currents is not affected by the continents.
e) Due to vertical currents, nutrients at the bottom layers are brought to the surface.
f) Sea ice contains a high percentage of salt.

4.8 SUMMARY
In this unit you have studied that

• Water is a common, yet very remarkable, substance on the earth’s surface. While
abundant in its liquid form, large quantities of water also exist as a gas in the
atmosphere and as a solid in the form of ice and snow. The asymmetrical shape of
a water molecule creates an electrical charge separation that initiates hydrogen
bonding which in turn, affects water’s thermal properties such as, heat capacity,
latent heat of fusion and vaporization, and other basic properties such as surface
tension, density-temperature relationships, solvent capability, etc.

• All water on the planet is constantly recycled, by a system known as the

hydrological cycle driven by the solar energy. In this cycle, water is lost to the
atmosphere as vapour from the earth, which is in turn precipitated back in the
form of rain, snow, frost, etc. This precipitation and evaporation continues forever
and thereby maintain a balance between the two.

• There is an immense amount of water on the earth’s surface. Out of this, large
quantity, only a little percentage; (about 0.25) could be used for human
consumption. Over 97% of water is deposited in the ocean depression.

• Freshwater habitats are categorized as lentic or standing water and lotic or running
water. In lentic habitats or lakes there is no unidirectional current and the water
movement is mainly due to wind. The surface waters are clearly lit throughout the
day and temperatures fluctuate widely, daily and annually. Thermal stratification
is present and a sharp temperature gradient zone or thermocline may be formed in
deep lakes.

• Different zones can be identified in a river. The upper region or the head waters of
a stream consist of clear cool water flowing over a substrate composed of cobbles
and gravel. The most distinctive feature of this zone is the shear force exerted by
the fast flowing current, which affects most of the physical and chemical
characteristics of the zone. The next region is the sediment-transferring zone,
which is comparatively wider and has an average flow rate. The lowest region is
the sediment-depositing zone, which is larger, deeper and muddier with a laminar
flow, which encourages deposition of sediments.

• Estuaries are partially enclosed coastal embayment where fresh water and
seawater meet. Based on geology and geomorphology, there are four basic
estuarine types: coastal plain, tectonic, bar build estuary and fjord. Based on
salinity gradients, there are three groups of estuaries. They are the positive,
negative and neutral estuaries.
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 The Hydrosphere
• The dominant feature of the estuarine environment is the fluctuation in salinity,
which is mainly affected by, tidal regime, Coriolis effect, and seasonal changes in
evaporation, freshwater flow or both. Most estuaries have soft, muddy substrates,
with large amounts of particulate organic matter, which serve as food for estuarine
organisms. Oxygen is usually in ample supply in the water column but is severely
depleted in the substrate.

• There are three major oceans in the world and they are connected to each other.
These oceans are connected to the continents by shallow extensions of the
continents called continental shelves. Most of the ocean basins are flat abyssal
plains, but these plains are cut by deep trenches in some places, and have
volcanoes, sea mounts etc. in the other areas.

• The open ocean has a three-layer structure: surface zone, pycnocline and deep
zone. The surface zone responds quickly to changes in the overlying atmosphere.
The pycnocline inhibits exchanges between atmosphere and deep zone. The deep
zone is exposed to the atmosphere only in high latitudes, which causes its waters
to be cold.

• The oceanic water is constantly in motion. It is mixed and moved by winds, waves
and currents, sinking water masses, and upwelling.

• Sea ice is a major feature of the ocean. Its freezing in winter and melting in
summer dominates surface waters in the polar oceans. Sea ice also influences the
deep- ocean circulation. The coldest and densest water masses form in the polar
oceans. Freezing sea ice expels salt, and this excess salt in the remaining liquid
water increases the density of water masses, which is especially important near
Antarctica.

4.9 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. The diagram given below shows the stratification cycle of a temperate lake,
showing zones of mixing and temperature profile with depth during different
times of the year.
Answer the questions given below, which are based on the diagrams a to d.
Temp eratu re
0
Dep th

a
Therm ocli ne

Ice

a) Which one of the diagrams shows an inverse stratification? __________________

b) Complete circulation is shown in ________________.
c) The situation in autumn (fall) is shown in _________________.
d) Give one difference between the temperature variation between spring and
autumn.
e) According to thermal stratification of lakes to which category does this lake
belong? _______________________ 85
Our Environment and its 2. The major processes of the hydrologic cycle are given below. Briefly explain the
Components
involvement of each process in the hydrological cycle.
Precipitation -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evapo-transpiration ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Surface run off ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Vertical distribution of some of the chemical and physical characteristics in a lake
is shown in the diagram.
i) Answer the questions given below, which are based on the diagram.

Carbon dioxide
Temperature

Organic matter
Oxygen
Light

Depth
ii) Explain the changes in the vertical distribution of temperature.
iii) Explain why Oxygen concentration at the bottom is lower than that of carbon
dioxide?
iv) Explain the processes that influence absorption of oxygen at the epilimnion.
v) State whether this lake is stratified or not. Give reasons for your answer.
4. Explain the formation of the different estuaries. Collect information about the
different types of estuaries present in India.

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