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lIllIIIllIlIIlIlIIllIllIIl
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Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable?
#9549443 - 01/05/09 04:50 AM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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There are a lot of chemical reactions that destroy water. For example, during photosynthesis the reducing agent is water. Water is actually broken down to form O2 and sugars. This means that plants do in fact destroy small amounts of water when they perform photosynthesis.
Another example is concrete. If you look at the chemical equations of the reactions that harden concrete you will notice there is H2O on one side and no H2O on the other side. In other words the water was consumed during the reaction.
Then there is water vapour lost to space... not sure how much of an issue that is though.
On the water producing end, well I'm not too sure. What reactions produce water?
So is the water level decreasing do you think? Or is there something that replenishes water lost to chemical reactions? Or maybe the two balance each other out?
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Minstrel
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When autotrophs use water to make sugars, it's basically a full circle, since the same organism (or a different organism) will use that sugar for cellular respiration (produces water). So water is conserved.
Earth is basically a closed system with respect to water. Concrete does consume water, but how much of it we use compared with the available water on the planet is negligible. High enough temperatures might still be able to liberate that water from concrete, though.
Edited by Minstrel (01/05/09 08:28 AM)
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lIllIIIllIlIIlIlIIllIllIIl
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: Minstrel]
#9550118 - 01/05/09 09:30 AM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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Some of it gets sequestered as oil and coal though, right?
What about water vapor being lost to space?
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ChuangTzu
starvingphysicist
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Quote:
adjust said: What about water vapor being lost to space?
Most likely negligible. Water is heavy.
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero
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> What about water vapor being lost to space?
We have a nice magnetic field that keeps water in place. Without a nice strong magnetic field, solar wind is thought to blast water vapor out of the upper atmosphere of planets.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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ChuangTzu
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: Seuss]
#9550536 - 01/05/09 11:14 AM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Seuss said: > What about water vapor being lost to space?
We have a nice magnetic field that keeps water in place. Without a nice strong magnetic field, solar wind is thought to blast water vapor out of the upper atmosphere of planets.
Selectively?
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RoosterCogburn
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: ChuangTzu]
#9550551 - 01/05/09 11:16 AM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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Even if we are "losing water" somehow, isn't there an obnoxious amount of water to begin with?
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Annom
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: RoosterCogburn]
#9550597 - 01/05/09 11:25 AM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
RoosterCogburn said: Even if we are "losing water" somehow, isn't there an obnoxious amount of water to begin with?
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zouden
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: Annom]
#9551642 - 01/05/09 03:01 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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That's a bit of a strange diagram. The earth is two-thirds covered by water. I think that classifies as "a lot".
-------------------- I know... that just the smallest part of the world belongs to me You know... I'm not a blind man but truth is the hardest thing to see
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Seuss
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: zouden]
#9551837 - 01/05/09 03:42 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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> The earth is two-thirds covered by water. I think that classifies as "a lot".
An apple is 100% covered by apple skin, but if you peel the apple, there isn't a lot of skin compared to apple. (The surface of the earth is very thin, much like the skin of an apple).
> Selectively?
Any gasses that venture up high enough... water vapor being one of them.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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Minstrel
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: Annom]
#9551986 - 01/05/09 04:14 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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Thats a really cool pic
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Annom
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: zouden]
#9552415 - 01/05/09 05:17 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
zouden said: That's a bit of a strange diagram. The earth is two-thirds covered by water. I think that classifies as "a lot".
1.4 billion cubic km is a lot yes, from a human perspective. I also found the source again: http://web.archive.org/web/20050321070537/www.adamnieman.co.uk/writing/How+much+water,+how+much+air.pdf
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DieCommie
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: Annom]
#9552485 - 01/05/09 05:27 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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I think there is some moon out there that has more water than the earth if I remember correctly. Kind of negates the whole plot of "V".
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maggotz
Registered: 06/24/06
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: DieCommie]
#9552719 - 01/05/09 05:59 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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which one would that be? europa?
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Annom
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: Seuss]
#9552756 - 01/05/09 06:04 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Seuss said: We have a nice magnetic field that keeps water in place. Without a nice strong magnetic field, solar wind is thought to blast water vapor out of the upper atmosphere of planets.
Here is a detailed description of different ways for particles to escape.
Quote:
I think there is some moon out there that has more water than the earth if I remember correctly.
Europa, moon of Jupiter, has twice as much water as Earth. That is a rough estimate though.
Enceladus is an icy moon of Saturn. It's much smaller, but what a beauty it is: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/EN011_Color_mosaic.jpg
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SheerTerror
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The planet would be better off with a lot less water especially if polar ice caps continue to melt.
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DieCommie
Registered: 12/11/03
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: SheerTerror]
#9553836 - 01/05/09 08:31 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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Tell that to the fish.
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ChuangTzu
starvingphysicist
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: Annom]
#9553888 - 01/05/09 08:37 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Annom said: Here is a detailed description of different ways for particles to escape.
I was basing my statement above on my very sparse understanding of atmospheric science, but I now see that it corresponds qualitatively to Jeans equation, since for water I get a Phi_J value of about 10^-51 cm^-2*s^-1 (someone please check that number if you feel like it, it's kind of unbelievable that the value would be that much smaller than for hydrogen). As opposed to hydrogen's value of 6x10^7 cm^-2*s^-1. Hydrogen does leave the atmosphere readily, but since Jean escape depends heavily on mass, the amount of water leaving thermally is negligible.
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SheerTerror
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: DieCommie]
#9554043 - 01/05/09 09:02 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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that has happened in less than 30 years. if the ice caps and sheets continue to melt we are gonna lose a lot of land mass. We gotta find out a way to destroy and or get rid of at least 20% of the worlds water if global warming continues.
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DieCommie
Registered: 12/11/03
Posts: 29,258
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Re: Is the water content of earth increasing or decreasing? Or is it stable? [Re: SheerTerror]
#9554077 - 01/05/09 09:07 PM (15 years, 2 months ago) |
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Dude, if your so worried about pollution, dont pollute the thread with global warming hysteria.
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