Hydrosphere

Module course: Ecological geology

Lecture 3
Mezhibor A.M., PhD
Tomsk Polytechnic University
 Lecture contents

 1. Definition of the hydrosphere

 2. Chemical composition of water
 3. Hydrologic cycle
 4. Ocean characteristics
 5. Marine mineral deposits
 6. Anthropogenic water pollution
 Definition

 Hydrosphere is a discontinuous water shell of the Earth between

atmosphere and solid Earth crust (lithosphere), including
oceans, seas and water surface on the land.
 In broader sense the hydrosphere composition includes
subsurface waters, ice, and snow of Arctic and Antarctic as well
as atmospheric water and water contained in living organisms.
 The major part of the Earth water concentrates in seas and
oceans, the second in volume is ground water, the third is ice
and snow of Arctic and Antarctic. Surface water, atmospheric
and bio-related water amounts some percent of the whole
volume of the hydrosphere water.
Three quarters of the planet are covered with seas
and oceans, the rest is the islands
 Types of water

Types of water Name Volume, Amount with

billion km3 respect to entire
volume of the
hydrosphere, %

Sea water Sea 1370 94

Ground (except soil water) water Ground 61,4 4
Ice and snow (Arctic, Greenland, mountain Ice 24,0 2
regions, ice regions)

Surface water: lakes, reservoirs, rivers, Fresh 0,5 0,4

swamps, soil water

Atmospheric water Atmospheric 0,015 0,01

Water in living organisms Bio-related 0,00005 0,0003
 Ice distribution on the Earth
(according to Reymes, 1990)

Ice type Volume Square of distribution

t % billiob km2 %

Ice caps 2,4*1016 98,95 16,1 10,9 of land

Subsurface ice 2*1015 0,83 21 14,1 of land

Sea ice 3,5*1013 0,14 26 7,2 of ocean

Snow cover 1*1013 0,04 7264 14,2 of Earth

Glaciers 7,6*1012 0,03 63,5 18,7 of ocean,

(sporadically)

Atmospheric ice 1,7*1012 0,01 510,1 100 over the

Earth
Snow-ice cap of African mountain top of
Kilimanjaro melted during 11000 years
Arctic and Antarctic glaciers are
gradually melting

bibo.kz

eco-turizm.net
Nearly 94% of the whole water volume is concentrated
in oceans and seas; 4 % are in ground waters; about 2
% - in ice and snow (mainly in Arctic, Antarctic, and
Greenland); 0,4 % - in surface waters (rivers, lakes,
swamps).
Insignificant amount of water is contained in
atmosphere and organisms. All types of water are
transformed from one form to another in circulation
process (global cycle).
2. Chemical composition of water

Classification of
matter in sea water
(according to Horn, 1972):

 Gases
Trace elements
 Organic compounds
 Particulate matter Major constituents

Nutrients
 Chemical composition of the
hydrosphere

 Chemical composition of the hydrosphere

approximates to the average composition of sea
water, where hydrogen, oxygen, chlorine, and
sodium prevail.
 In land water carbonates prevail. Content of
mineral substances in land water (salinity)
fluctuates greatly depending on local conditions
and, first of all, climate. Usually land water is
weakly mineralized – fresh (river and fresh lake
salinity ranges from 50 to 1000 mg/kg).
 Average salinity of Oceanic water is around 35
g/kg (35 %), sea water salinity ranges from 1-2 % (Gulf
of Finland, Baltic Sea) to 41,5 % (Red Sea). The maximum
salt concentration is in salty lakes (Dead Sea up to
260 %)
Chemical composition of oceans
 ELEMENT COMPOSITION OF THE SEA WATER (Horn, 1972)
Element Concentration, mg/l Modes of occurrence Residence time in environment, years
H 108 000 H2O -
He 0,000005 He(r) -
Li 0,17 U+ 2,0*107
Be 0,0000006 - 1,5*102
B 4,6 B(OH)2; B(OH)4 -
C 28 HCO3-;H2CO3; organic compounds -
N 0,5 NO-3; NO-2; NH-4; N2(r); organic compounds -
O 857 000 H2Oж; O2(r); SO2- and other ions -
F 1,3 F- -
Ne 0,0001 Ne(r) -
Na 10 500 Na+ 2,6*108
Mg 1 350 Mg2+; VgSo4 4,5*107
Al 0,01 - 1,0*102
Si 3 Si(OH)4; Si(OH)3O- 8,0*103
P 0,07 HPO2-4; H2 PO4; PO3-4; H3 PO4 -
S 885 SO2-4 -
Cl 19 000 Cl- -
Ar 0,6 Ar (r) -
K 380 K+ 1,1*107
Ca 400 Ca2+; CaSO4 8,0*106
Sc 0,00004 - 5,6*103
Ti 0,001 - 1,6*102
V 0,002 VO2(OH)2-3 1,0*104
Cr 0,00005 - 3,5*102
Mn 0,002 Mn2+; MnSO4 1,4*103
Fe 0,01 Fe(OH)3 1,4*102
Co 0,0005 Co2+; CoSO4 1,8*104
Ni 0,002 Ni2+; NiSO4 1,8*104
Cu 0,003 Cu2+; CuSO4 5,0*104
Zn 0,01 Zn2+; ZnSO4 1,8*105
Ga 0,00003 - 1,4*103
Ge 0,00007 Ge(OH)4; Ge(OH)3O 7,0*103
As 0,003 HAsO2-4; H2 AsO-4; H3 AsO3 -
Se 0,004 SeO2+4 -
Br 65 Br -
Kr 0,0003 Kr (r) -
Rb 0,12 Rb+ 2,7*105
Sr 8 Sr2+; SrSO4 1,9*107
Y 0,0003 - 7,5*103
Zr - - -
Nb 0,00001 - 3,0*102
Mo 0,01 MoO2-4 5,0*10
 ELEMENT COMPOSITION OF THE SEA WATER (Horn, 1972)
Element Concentration, mg/l Mode of occurrence Residence time in environment, years

Tc - - -
Ru - - -
Rh - - -
Pd - - -
Ag 0,00004 AgCl-2; AgCl2-3 2,1*106
Cd 0,00011 Cd2+; CdCl2-nn; Cd (OH)2-nn 5,0*105
In <0,02 - -
Sn 0,0008 - 1,0*105
Sb 0,0005 - 3,5*105
Te - - -
I 0,06 IO-3; I- -
Xe 0,0001 Xe(r) -
Cs 0,0005 Cs+ 4,0*104
Ba 0,03 Ba2+; BaSO4 8,4*104
La 1,2*10-5 - 4,4*102
Ce 5,2*10-6 - 8,0*101
Pr 2,6*10-6 - 3,2*102
Nd 9,2*10-6 - 2,7*102
Pm - - -
Sm 1,7*10-6 - 1,8*102
Eu 4,6*10-7 - 3,0*102
Gd 2,4*10-6 - 2,6*102
Tb - - -
Dy 2,9*10-6 - 4,6*102
Ho 8,8*10-7 - 5,3*102
Er 2,4*10-6 - 6,9*102
Tm 5,2*10-7 - 1,8*103
Yb 2,0*10-6 - 5,3*102
Lu 4,8*10-7 - 4,5*102
Hf - - -
Ta - - -
W 0,0001 WO2-4 1,0*103
Re - - -
Os - - -
Ir - - -
Pt - - -
Au 0,0000004 AuCl-2 5,6*105
Hg 0,00003 HgCl-3; HgCl2-4 4,2*104
Tl <0,00001 Tl+ -
Pb 0,00003 Pb2+; PbSO4; PbCl2-nn; Pb(OH) 2-nn 2,0*103
Bi 0,00002 - 4,5*105
Po - - -
ELEMENT COMPOSITION OF THE SEA WATER (Horn, 1972)

Element Concentration, mg/l Modes of occurrence Residence time in environment, years

At - - -
Rn 0,6*10-15 Rn(r) -
Fr - - -
Ra 1,0*10-10 Ra2+; RaSO4 -
Ac - - -
Th 0,00005 - 3,5*102
Pa 2,0*10-9 - -
U 0,003 UO2(CO3)4-3 5,0*105
 Hydrologic cycle

 The components of the hydrosphere, including the

cryosphere and atmosphere, as well as the
biosphere, participate in the global hydrologic cycle.

 Annually the amount of precipitations falling on the

ground is equal to that of water evaporated in total
from the surface of land and oceans. In general cycle
of water the atmospheric water is most movable.
Global water cycle
 Matter movement in water

А. Matter is transported from land and air to the sea В. Matter is transported from sea to land or air

Precipitations – rain and Carry of dust; Water evaporation transporting not only water, but
snow, wind precipitations also NaCl etc.

Land organisms, matter in solution Wind and splashes

Undissolved sea deposits on the bottom

Solution by the Ocean Gas circulation, Gas escape at temperature and

pressure changes

Cosmic dust and gas Transition of sea organisms onto land.

Rivers carrying large amount of matter into the Ocean in Eating sea organisms by land organisms.
solutions and suspended state Human activity.

Gas absorption by sea water from atmosphere

Human activity
Volcanic eruptions (submarine, subaerial)
Carbon exchange between the ocean and the
atmosphere (in billions of metric tons)
 Salinity in the Ocean surface layer as a function of
geographic latitude

Global map of oceanic surface salinity,

by the European Space Agency (2011).

By SMOS GLOSCAL Cal/Val project - "Sea Surface Salinity.jpg" at the European Space Agency's Space in Images, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34556883
 4. Ocean characteristics
Typical profiles of sea water
temperature and salinity

 PSU - practical salinity

unit (measured by
electroconductivity)

By Dominiklenne - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11555765
Mean sea surface temperature (2009)

By Plumbago - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23016228

Earth surface temperatures (winter and summer)

www.ncdc.noaa.gov
Seasonal changes in oceanic
water composition (according
to Horn R.,1972)
Phytoplankton layer in ocean

Microscopic green
plants, called
phytoplankton, form
the lowest level of the
marine food web and
play important roles in
many geochemical
processes.
Global distribution of phytoplankton

svs.gsfc.nasa.gov
Ocean wind and waves (Young et al 2011)

Ocean wind and waves

increased substantially
over the last two and a
half decades.

I. R. Young, S. Zieger, and

A. V. Babanin. Global
Trends in Wind Speed and
Wave Height // Science 24
Mar 2011
 Surface currents

red–warm
blue–cold

By Dr. Michael Pidwirny (see http://www.physicalgeography.net) - http://blue.utb.edu/paullgj/geog3333/lectures/physgeog.html,

[http://skyblue.utb.edu/paullgj/geog3333/lectures/oceancurrents-1.gif original image], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37108971
 5. Marine mineral deposits
Approximate data on mineral production from natural mineral water
(according to Bandarenko S.S. et al., 1986)

Raw material ∑ Production Production from water,%

Sodium chloride (NaCl) 2,2*108 30-35
Potassium salts 2,6*107 5-10
Sodium carbonate 3,5*107 5-10
Sodium sulfate 4,6*106 20-30
Calcium chloride 2,7*106 20-25 + - technologies
Boron(B) 1*106 20-30 available;

Bromine(Br) 3,9*105 30-95 ++ - project designed

Magnesium (Mg) 1,1*105 25
Lithium (Li) 5,5*104 15-20
Iodine (I) 1,3*104 80-85
Iron (Fe) 4,1*106 +
Copper (Cu) 6*106 ++
Zink (Zn) 5*106 ++
Lead (Pb) 2,3*106 +
Uranium (U) 3,8*104 ++
Silver (Ag) 1*104 ++

Sea water can be estimated as a technological solution

 Sea submarine placers
Their role has increased in recent years.
They are, as a rule, delta placers or embedded marginal-marine placers.
They are at different depths and distances from coast.
Their length is sometimes up to 1600 km.

Cassiterite – Indonesia
h = 35 m, l from coast – 10-50 km.
Volume – kg/m3.

Gold – Alaska
h = 5-60 m, l from coast – 5 km.
Sand layer thickness – 6 m.

Diamonds – Western coast of Africa

h to 120 m, l from coast – 5 km.
Length 1200 km
5 carats/1 g. (in original – 0,5 carat m3)
Production ~ 300 th. carats

There is a problem of international regulation.

Black smokers

worldoceanreview.com

science.kennesaw.edu

www.earth.northwestern.edu
 Under-sea volcanic activity gives rise to high-temperature
plumes of water, containing particles of igneous rock that
give rise to the appearance of black smoke.
 The boiling point of water under the high pressures on the
ocean floor can be considerably higher than at the surface;
hence the temperatures of the volcanic plumes can be
much higher as well.
 Some species of animal life thrive on the environment of
these “black smokers”, including their very high
temperatures.
volcanocafe.wordpress.com
Current hydrothermal ore formation at the ocean
bottom

In the SPREADING zones of the Ocean bottom the numerous sites with sources of
THERMAL brines, forming thick sulfide deposits, were revealed:

GALAPAGOS region, RED SEA (Atlantis depression, Juan de Fuca range).

Atlantis: Salt thermal deposits reserves - >100 billion tons.

Content:

Fe>29% Ag-60 g/t Sr87 /Sr86= 0,7034

Zn-2-5% Au-5 g/t
Cu-3-9%

It is a modern analogue for a number of ancient stratiform depositions (Zhezqazghan,

Mount Isa (Australia), Sullivan (Canada) and other deposits of Pb, Zn, Cu)

Deposits are formed by thermal benthic-oceanic processes.

Composition of Sulfide ore in the World Ocean

Elements Mid-Atlantic East-Pacific Rise Juan-de-Fuca Galapagos ridge

ridge
Fe, % 17,6-30,2 23,1-28,7 5-24,7
Cu, % 2,01-16,25 0,61-1,89 0,06-0,61
Zn, % 1,39-4,06 2,80-5,93 11,48-28,84
Ba, % 0,05-0,09 0,07 0,03-1,37
Pb г/т 260-460 230-1160 1920-2150
Co 15,9-103,8 44-62,1 5,4-10,5
Ni 38-45 2,7-56,5 25,8
As 62-67 431-480 421-711
Cd 52 122-493 134-550
Ag 42,7-48,6 121,3-172,6 63,1-165,2
Au 1-12,85 0,18 0,13-4,42
(до 70 г/т)
Mn  0,1  0,1  0,1  0,1
 6. Anthropogenic impact
Man-induced nature transformations
(according to Reimers, 1990)
Type of impact Production, Production, Additional information
changes, release changes, release or
or size of human size, % (of natural
use in absolute quantity)
numbers
Balance disturbance - 9 Mainly due to irrigation and
reservoirs
Irreversible water 430-570 km3/year - Mostly due to water pumping from
consumption wells.
2135х106 t/year
Irreversible outflow 3560 times Data of different authors differ.
into the ocean
-
Oil pollution since the 19-th Oil film covers up to ¼ of the World
Heavy metal pollution century 10-15 times Ocean surface.
on average Sometimes geochemical
abnormalities differ from
catastrophic level by one of values
 40% of the world’s seas are heavily degraded.
Less than 4% are relatively pristine.

(Source: Ben Halpern and colleagues, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at UC, Santa Barbara)
https://www.allianz.com/en/about_us/open-knowledge/topics/environment/articles/091112-how-humans-are-killing-the-oceans.html/
 www.informaction.org

http://www.henry4school.fr/Environment/Pollution/water-pollution.htm
Waste water pollution

http://www.cpcbenvis.nic.in/water_pollution_control.html
Oil spills
History of marine oil spills

www.matthieuthery.com
 Sources of oil pollution in water

Natural and anthropogenic sources

Anthropogenic sources
 Processes of oil degradation
 Spreading of oil over the surface of the water is a relatively
rapid process. Within days, a single ton of oil could cover up to
12 square kilometers.
 Evaporation removes light petroleum products, such as
kerosene and diesel, from the marine environment, but is
much less relevant for heavy fuel oils and most crude oil.
 Dispersion describes the breakup of oil on the surface of the
water into drops or fragments that spread and sink into the
water column.
 Emulsification refers to the process whereby two
incompatible liquids become mixed.
 Dissolution occurs when the soluble compounds of the oil are
dissolved into the water. This is a relatively unimportant
process since most of the soluble compounds in oil evaporate
before they can dissolve.
 Oxidation depends on the type of oil and the availability of sunlight. However oxidation reactions which are catalyzed by sunlight
can lead to polymerization of oil molecules and lead to the formation of persistent "tar balls" which can last for a very long time
without breaking down.
 Sedimentation and Sinking of oil takes place slowly. The sedimentation can occur when the oil adheres to suspended particles or
microbes in the water and then sinks.
 Biodegradation of oil by microorganisms present in the sea is the often the slowest, but ultimately the most important, process in
the natural degradation of oil. These organisms consume the oil, converting it to simpler and less harmful compounds in the
process of metabolizing it to generate energy. The final byproducts of biodegradation are simply water and carbon dioxide.

http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org/Issues/AlaskaOilandGas/OilDegradation.html#ixzz45gibGg00
 Video on the water pollution

 Water Pollution
from EPA Ireland
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxZ4IMpM45Y

 Explore More: Water Quality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMyCcWECbNE