Explain hydrosphere. What is the importance of hydrosphere?
Answers
Answer:
The major significance of the hydrosphere is that water sustains various life forms. Further, it plays an essential role in ecosystems and regulates the atmosphere. ... It consists of saltwater, freshwater, and frozen water along with groundwater and water in the lower levels of the atmosphere
Answer: Hydrosphere is the combined mass of water found on, under, and above the surface of a planet, minor planet, or natural satellite.
Importance
1. A Component of Living Cells
Each cell in a living organism is composed of at least 75% water. This promotes the normal functioning of the cell. Most of the chemical reactions that occur in living organisms involve materials that are dissolved in water. No cell would survive or be able to carry its normal functions without water.
2. Habitat for Many Life Forms
The hydrosphere provides an important place for a wide range of plants and animals to live. Many nutrients such as nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium ions, as well as gases such as carbon dioxide and oxygen are dissolved in water. These compounds play an integral role in the existence of life in water.
3. Climate Regulation
One of water’s exceptional features is its high specific heat. Namely, water takes not only a long time to heat up but also a long time to cool down. You know what’s the significance of this?
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It plays a significant role in regulating temperatures on earth, ensuring temperatures remain within a range that is suitable for the existence of life. Ocean currents also play a critical role in heat dispersion.
4. Existence of Atmosphere
Hydrosphere has a significant contribution to the existence of the atmosphere in its present form. When the earth was formed it comprised only a very thin atmosphere. This atmosphere was packed with helium and hydrogen similar to Mercury’s current atmosphere.