GEOL105 Lecture 10: Water Cycle and Rivers
13 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
Surface processes: solar energy: drives weather, climate and water cycle, gravity: drives landslides, direction of water flow. Water: can exist in three states (forms) on earth, solid, liquid, gas, universal solvent, more compounds dissolve in water than any other substance. It has a high heat capacity: solid is less dense than liquid, ice floats, when water freezes, it expands. Important for erosion and landslides: physically and chemically breaks down rock, transfers heat as part of the ocean circulation, climate system and everyday weather. Continual transfer of water between oceans, the atmosphere, surface water on land and ground water: part of many surface geological processes, part of weather processes, influenced by climate. Transfers by evaporation from water storage in oceans to water storage in the atmosphere and then transfer by precipitation to be stored in snow packs, glaciers, lakes (storage on land), streams and oceans (complete cycle).
