RESEARCH REPORT
INTRODUCTION
Water is requirement for life, and critical for the survival of all
plants and animals on the earth. Water gives life to every living
thing. It also gives us recreation, and transportation possibilities.
Erosion, the wearing away of soil and rock, also affects us.
It changes the shape of the earth, which can change our way of life.
WATER
Water molecules are made up of two hydrogen atoms, and one oxygen atom.
Water is the only substance on earth that at normal temperature can take
three forms; liquid, solid (ice and snow), or gas (water vapor).
Water is the most common substance on earth, which covers about 70% of
the earth’s surface. There are about 326 million square miles of water
on the earth’s surface. For every square mile of the 326 million,
there are over a billion gallons of water.
Only 3% of earth’s water is fresh water, more than 2% is trapped in
polar-icecaps, and 1% is below the earth’s surface. Lakes and rivers
hold only 1/15 of the earth’s surface water. The atmosphere holds .001
of the earth’s water. Water has the largest heat capacity, of any other
substance besides ammonia, and can dissolve almost anything. The
ocean is too salty for drinking, agriculture, and industry. The single
largest use of water is industry. For example it takes about
eighty gallons of water to make the Sunday newspaper. For every pound
of steel produced, it takes twenty gallons of water.
One birch tree gives off seventy gallons of water vapor a day. An acre
of corn gives off 4,000 gallons of water vapor per day.
WATER CYCLE
The water cycle plays a huge part in our lives. The heat from
the sun causes evaporation, the vapor cools, forms clouds, rains and the
cycle starts all over again. About 75% of all precipitation lands
back in the ocean. Some evaporates again immediately. In the process
of evaporation, the salt in the ocean is left behind.
WEATHER
Weather plays big part in erosion. The wind picks up sediment
and moves it from one place to another. Rain and snow also cause
erosion. Earth is not the only planet in the solar system that has
weather. Mercury and possibly Pluto are the only planets that don’t
have weather. Weather takes place in the troposphere, which is the
closest layer of atmosphere to earth. Some tools that meteorologists
use to predict weather are weather balloons, airplanes, ships, and satellites.
They also use Doppler radars to predict weather. It uses color codes
to indicate the speed and direction of storm clouds. They provide
warning for severe storms such as hurricanes.
EROSION
Erosion is the wearing away and removal of soil and rock on the surface
of the earth. Streams and rivers are the main component to erosion,
so are wind, weather, and glacial movement. Vegetation slows down
the process of erosion. Ice is the main cause of rock erosion.
When water gets in a crack of a rock, freezes, expanses, and breaks the
rock apart, and then is carried to the ocean by streams, or the weather.
GLACIERS
Glaciers are a huge mass of ice that forms in areas with cold weather,
a wet climate, and where snow from winter doesn’t melt in the summer.
The bottom layer turns to ice. It also forms where there is shelter
from the wind and the sun, manly in gullies and valleys. There are
two types of glaciers, a cold glacier and a warm glacier. Cold glaciers
require a temperature of ? 40°C. Warm glaciers move faster down
hills. Glaciers have four zones. The sub-glacial zone is the bottom,
the englacial zone is the ice. Superglacial is on the surface, and
extraglacial is at the edge. When the glacier is large enough, gravity
pulls it down hill. As the ice mass slides down hill it picks up
rocks. Then the rocks act as blades, which push more rock.
High altitude regions are called "Accumulation zones." Areas that
loose ice during the summer months are called "Abulationzones." Glaciers
cover 10% of earth’s surface, and hold 75% of earth’s fresh water.
They cover over 15,000,000 square kilometers, U.S. glaciers cover 75,000
square kilometers, most being in Alaska. If all this ice melted the
sea level would rise seventy meters all over. In Washington State
alone glaciers provide 470 billion gallons of water each summer. Glacial
movement is caused by, sliding of bottom layer ice, and rock sediment.
The pull of gravity is what causes glaciers to move down hill. Glaciers
only move less then a foot per day.
GLACIER EROSION
Glaciers are a big part of erosion. They have made many lakes
and harbors, such as the Great Lakes, and Puget Sound. Glacier erosion
takes place in the subglacial zone. When a glacier moves across the land
they pick up, and push rocks out of the way. When rocks are collected in
the glacier they wear away more rock. This process is called "abrasion."
FRICTION
Friction is the resisting force overcome when two masses rub together
which either slows down, or stops the object. Rough surfaces catch
on each other as they slide past. All surfaces are rough at the microscopic
level even though they may seem smooth to the eye.
There are many types of friction. Some are static friction,
which occurs with stationary objects. Static friction is what stops
objects from moving across a surface. It is what keeps a book from
sliding off a tilted desk. Sliding friction occurs between moving
objects. Rolling friction occurs when a ball or log rolls on a surface.
Fluid friction is the resistance the walls of a pipe or container provide
against a moving liquid or gas.
RIVERS AND STREAMS
Rivers are large bodies of water that flow down hill in a channel like
form. All rivers sooner or later end up in the ocean or a lake.
The longest river is the Nile River in Africa, which is 4,145 miles long.
The next longest is the Amazon in South America, which is 4,000 miles long.
Even though it isn’t as long as the Nile, it holds more water than the
Nile, and Mississippi Rivers.
Rivers and streams come from snow melt and rain fall. When the
snowmelt collects, it forms small streams called gullies. When gullies
meet with many other gullies it forms a river.
Rivers have been part of are lives from before the Egyptian Faeroes
to present day. Rivers give us electricity, transportation, trade,
and a source of irrigation. River systems consist of the river it
self, and the surrounding streams that supply the river with water.
SUMMARY
Erosion, the wearing away of soil
and rock, is both good and bad towards humans. Erosion is bad because it
can threaten our homes and crops. Erosion is good towards humans
because it changes the shape of the earth. Water is a requirement
to human and animal life. Water is the main component to erosion.
That is the conclusion to my research report.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Erosion" http;//www.irim.com/ssm/ssm0052.htm
"Erosion" http//www.bartlyby.com/65/er/erosin.html
"Friction" http://www.reconstuctionist.com/friction.htm
"Glaciers" http://www.-nside.colorado.edu/glaciers/quick facts.htm
"Glaciers" http://www.digistar.mb.ca/minsci/geology/gfad.htm
Lofmen, John M. "Erosion," World Book Encyclopedia, 2000.
Morgan, Joseph M. "Weather" World Book Encyclopedia, 1998
"Rivers and Streams" http://geopgraphy.about.com/library/weekly/aa031897.htm
Walker, Sally M. Water Up Water Down. Colorado: Colorado Books
inc. pp. 1-10
Wycoff, Jerome "Erosion" Encyclopedia Americana 1999 E-F 556-557
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