Which features on earth make up the hydrosphere

As well as being transferred within environmental systems, energy may also be transformed from one form to another; for instance, a rock fall involves the conversion of potential energy due to gravity to kinetic energy due to movement and to thermal energy , or heat due to friction.

The transfer and transformation of energy are associated with the performance of work ; hence the sun performs work in heating the earth by its radiation, and a glacier performs work in moving sediment down-slope using the kinetic energy of its ice, water and rock. When work is carried out within the earth system, energy is transferred from one body to another, and it may also be converted from one form to another in the process.

Throughout environmental systems, as energy is transformed from one form to another in performing work, heat is released; that heat is subsequently exported from the system, usually into the atmosphere and then into space. Yet the total energy content of the earth system remains the same it is conserved , for energy cannot be created or destroyed.

It follows that the earth system is only able to continue to function because it is constantly replenished with a sufficient supply of energy mainly from the sun. The dominant flows of energy at the global scale occur as a result of the large discrepancies that occur between the amounts of solar radiation received and re-emitted at different points on the earth's surface.

Such discrepancies are most clearly apparent in the wide variations in surface temperature that exist between the equator and the poles. Those temperature variations drive the global energy circulation which acts to redistribute heat from the warm to the cold parts of the earth's surface. An overall poleward transfer of energy occurs by means of a variety of processes: the transfer of heat by winds and warm air masses; the transfer of latent heat associated with water vapour; the movement of heat in ocean currents; and the returning counter-flows of cooler air and water.

The three main processes of energy transfer at the global scale may be summarised as:. It is important to acknowledge that pronounced latitudinal variations occur in these three processes. Overall, however, these processes of energy transfer maintain a state of equilibrium in the earth system: they remove energy from areas of surplus in lower latitudes and transfer it to areas of deficit in higher latitudes.

The earth system contains several 'great cycles' in which key materials are transported through the environment. In general, cycles occur in closed systems; at the global scale, many systems may be assumed to be closed because the earth receives negligible quantities of minerals from space as a result of meteorite impacts and because only limited quantities of materials can escape the earth's atmosphere. The key materials that cycle through the major biogeochemical cycles are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorous and sulphur - all of which are essential for life.

The biogeochemical cycles operate at the global scale and involve all of the main components of the earth system; thus materials are transferred continually between the geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. However, since the biogeochemical cycles involve elements that are essential for life, organisms play a vital part in those cycles.

Water vapor is most visible as cloud s and fog. The frozen part of Earth's hydrosphere is made of ice: glacier s, ice cap s and iceberg s. The frozen part of the hydrosphere has its own name, the cryosphere.

Water moves through the hydrosphere in a cycle. Water collects in clouds, then falls to Earth in the form of rain or snow.

Some of these can be considered pollution , while others are necessary for health of ecosystems. Thus a delicate balance is needed for healthy ecosystems that surround different components of the hydrosphere. Any water storage area on the Earth that holds liquid water is considered to be a part of the hydrosphere. Because of this, there is an extensive list of formations that make up the hydrosphere. These include: [4].

In recent history humans have drastically changed the hydrosphere. Water pollution, river damming , wetland drainage, climate change , and irrigation have all changed the hydrosphere. Eutrophication caused by the release of fertilizers and sewage into water storage areas has caused aquatic environments to be artificially enriched with nutrients. The excessive algal blooms can result in harmful hypoxic conditions in the water. Acid rain from SOx and NOx emissions from fossil fuel combustion has resulted in the acidification of components of the hydrosphere, harming surrounding ecosystems.

Finally, when humans change the natural flow of water in the hydrosphere by diverting and damming rivers it harms surrounding ecosystems that rely on the water source. This can also result in the drying out of some aquatic areas and excessive amounts of sediment entering streams and rivers.

The properties and motion of the hydrosphere are important in maintaining the diverse climates that exist worldwide.