The Hydrosphere not only supports life on this planet but depending on its concentrations and locations can have lasting effects on our climate. The Hydrocycle is an example of a natural feedback loop that occurs on this planet. Clouds accumulating creates rain that is absorbed by the ground and sucked up by the plants who then return the water to the atmosphere. This happens through transevaporation in the form of water vapor which condenses in the atmosphere and creates another rain cloud. This is an example of a feedback loop, and when these loops are interrupted by humans and other occurances on Earth the loop can be broken and have lasting effects on the environment, climate and ecological habitats.
Oceans are the main source of evaporation and percipitation in the hydrologic cycle. At the current trend oceans are becoming more acidic as a result of the large amounts of CO2 it is absorbing. Too much CO2 can cause other disturbances like acid rain which kill fauna. When plants die there is less evapotranspiration re-admitted into the atmosphere. As the land becomes barren of plants it also absorbs more of the sun’s rays drying the soil which can result in deforestation.
Deforestation is also decreasing the amount of water vapor released by plants through evapotranspiratition. As humans eliminate large areas of vegetated land we are seeing effects to our climate and environment that could be irreversible. Plants in the Amazon rainforest store large amounts of carbon dioxide. When these forests are torn down the stored carbon is released increasing the already high carbon dioxide that stores and captures heat in the atmosphere. The heat then warms the barren land to higher temperatures creating a climate change.
Water divergence or damming is causing the few natural lakes we have on Earth to dry up. Damming water increases the surface area of water thereby increasing the evaporation rate of the once flowing water source. Downstream environments loose their nutrients, dry up, and die altering the landscape. The Aral Sea has shrunk in the last decade. An irrigation project to feed water to cotton plantations has diminished the water table from the fourth largest lake to less than 10% of its natural size. Human activities like these are altering the environment unconditionally. The area is now seeing a decrease in precipitation and increase in temperature range.
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The Aral Sea story
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These three human driving forces are interrupting the Earth’s natural feedback loops while changing and warming our climates, and destroying and depreciating our water supply. Without water there can not be life. Humans around the globe are already feeling the effects of the disruptance of the hydrological cycle and there are many more challenges ahead to be faced.
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