WATER Earth the blue planet water covers almost

WATER

• Earth: the “blue planet” - water covers almost 75% of Earth - all living things need water to survive (makes up 65% of our body) • Water is one of Canada’s most valuable resources - Canada contains 9% of the world’s total renewable fresh water - Canadians use an average of 1, 602, 000 L of water person per year (parts of Africa/Asia = less than 10, 000 L)

• Hydrologic Cycle - Definition: The natural recycling process of water • What Happens? – In this process the water evaporates from large bodies of water (oceans) and condenses to form clouds and returns to earth as precipitation

Parts of the Hydrologic Cycle: • EVAPORATION – becomes a vapor • CONDENSATION – the vapor cools down and the water molecules begin to come together and form clouds • SOLAR RADIATION – the sun giving the earth heat and solar energy to cause evaporation to begin

Parts of the Hydrologic Cycle: • PRECIPITATION – rain, snow, sleet, fog, etc. • INFILTRATION – water filters into the ground and becomes part of the ground water

Parts of the Hydrologic Cycle: • GROUND WATER FLOW – water flows underground towards the lakes, rivers, and oceans • RUNOFF – water that flows over the ground due to heavy rainfall or spring thaw (infiltration does not happen quick enough to take care of all of the water)

Parts of the Hydrologic Cycle: • TRANSPIRATION – process in which plants give off water, mainly through pores under the leaves • WINDS – transport the moisture (clouds, vapor) to different areas

• Canada’s Water Resources - Lakes and wetlands cover 20% of Canada - Lakes store water and release water into rivers - Approx. 99% of water in the Great Lakes is “fossil water” from when the glaciers melted; rain and snow make up the other 1% every year

Drainage Basins • Canada’s water drains into the Pacific Ocean, Hudson Bay, Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico through five drainage basins • Drainage basins = area drained by major river and its tributaries (small stream or river that joins a larger river) • Watershed = area of higher land separating drainage basins • Discharge rate = amount of water that flows through drainage basin -varies based on weather and season (can cause flooding)

Ground Water Define: 1. Saturated Zone 2. Water table 3. ground water What are the advantages to using groundwater as a fresh water source?