THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

The Earth

 Earth is the only planet in the

universe that is known to supports
life. Earth is the third planet of our
solar system and is located between
Venus and Mars. The mass of
5.972 ൈ 1024 kg makes Earth the 5th
largest planet of the solar system.
 Earth has an Equatorial diameterof
12,756 km and polar diameter or
median of 12,714 kms.
 Surface area of earth is approximately510 million km2.
 Earth has a dense core made up of magnetic material. Scientists theorise this material to
be metallic in all probability. The radius of the Earth’s core is estimated to be 3485 km.
 Approximately the outer 2/3rd part of the core is liquid.
 Core is covered by a thick shell or mantle of dense rock. This mantle is divided into three
parts; lower mantle, upper mantle and asthenosphere.
 Upper mantle is covered by a section of mantle known as asthenosphere.
 Asthenosphere is plastic like in nature and in presence of slow steady pressure it acts like
a liquid.
 Mantle is covered by a thin crust. This crust acts as a base of continents and oceans.
 The temperature increases as we go below the earth’s surface. The temperature increase is
approximately 1°F for every 30m to 60m increase in depth in the upper 100km of the
Earth.

Definition of Time

 Earth rotates around its axis and revolves around the

Sun.
 A sundial thus measures apparent solar time. This
length of time varies, but an average determines the
mean solar day of 24 hours.
 Earth’s revolution around the Sun makes Sun appear to
move across the sky from East to West.
 The rotation of earth on its axis gives rise to day and
night. One complete rotation around the Sun is known
as one true solar day. On an average a solar day is
equal to 24 hours.
 The mean solar time can be around 14
minutes ahead or 16 minutes behind
the apparent solar time. Mean solar
time is calculated by correcting the
apparent solar time for the equation of
time.
 Sidereal time is the measure of time
 defined by the diurnal motion of the vernal equinox and is determined from rotation of
earth relative to the equinox. The mean sidereal day is 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4,091
seconds of mean solar time.

 The time taken by Earth for completing one absolute revolution of the sun is called
sidereal year.
 Sidereal year was equal to 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes, and 9.5 seconds of mean solar
time (approximately 24 hours per day) in 1900.
 The value of sidereal year is increasing 0.0001 second per year.
 The Gregorian Calendar is based on the concept of tropical year. Tropical year is defined
as the time between 2 consecutive returns of the sun to the vernal equinox.In 1900, the
tropical year was equivalent to 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds.
 Tropical year is reducing by 0.530 seconds per century.
 The calendar year starts at 12 O’clock midnight precisely, local clock time, on the night
of Dec 31 – Jan 1.
 Every subsequent day and month start precisely at the midnight.
 On Jan 1, 1972, the Bureau International des Poids et Measures in Paris introduced
International Atomic Time (TAI),
 International Atomic Time is regarded as the most precisely determined time scale for
astronomical usage.
 Second is the fundamental
unit of TAI. A second is
defined as ,192,631,770
periods of the radiation
corresponding to the
transition between 2
hyperfine levels of the
ground state of the cesium
133 atom.
LATITUDE & LONGITUDE

 Imaginary lines known and meridians are drawn

across the globe for helping with the
positioning.
 Meridians are the artificial lines that are drawn
through the polies. These artificial lines are
used for determining the longitudinal position.
 The meridian running through Greenwich in
England has been denoted as prime meridian of
longitude. All the other longitudes are measured
as East or West of this prime meridian.
 Parallels are artificial lines that run parallel to the equator.Parallels are used for
determining the latitudinal position.Equator is regarded as a prime latitude. All the other
latitudes are measured as South or North of this.The degree of longitude varies as the
cosine of latitude. At the equator one degree is equal to statute 69.171 miles. The size of
degree reduces as we move towards the poles. The value of longitude degree at the pole is
zero.
 The length of the degree of latitude at the equator is 68.708 statute miles. At the poles the
length of the degree of latitude is 69.403 statute miles

Poles of Earth THE ZONES & SEASONS

 The geographic or rotational poles or
points of Earth’s axis are not
absolutely fixed in the body of Earth.
 The movement of the location of the
poles follow two major motions:
 The first is the annual change that is
due to different seasonal factors like
barometric pressure, load of ice and
snow on surface etc.
 The second is the change due to shape
and constitutions of earth. This period
is approximately of 14 months.
 The movement of the location of the
poles is also affected by other minor
factors whose affects are
unpredictable and irregular.
Rotation of Earth
 Earth’s surface is divided into five zones.
 Torrid zone is located between the Tropics of
Cancer and Capricorn.
 The N Template Zone is located between the
Tropics of Cancer and the Arctic.
 The S Template Zone is located between the
Tropics of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle.
 There are two Frigid zones located between Polar
Circles and the Poles.
 The seasons are caused due to the tilt in Earth’s
Axis.
 There would have been no seasons on Earth if
Earth’s axis was perpendicular to the plane of Earth’s
orbit around the sun.
 Equinoxes are points at which the sun crosses the
equator.
 Length of day and night are almost equal on
equinoxes.
 Solstices are points on which Sun is at maximum
distance from the equator.
 The difference between day and night is most
pronounced on solstices.
 At the equator the length of day and night are
equal throughout the year.
 In the N Template Zone spring starts at the vernal
equinox, summer at the summer solstice, autumn at
the autumnal equinox, and winter at the winter
solstice.
 In the S Template Zone, spring starts at the
autumnal equinox, summer at the winter solstice etc.
 If Earth’s axis were perpendicular to the plane of
Earth’s orbit around the sun, there would be no change
 The speed of rotation of Earth on its axis is not fixed but rather varies.These variations
can be:
Secular:Variation in the speed due to tidal frictions. These frictions reduce the speed of
rotation and increase the length of the day.
Irregular. Scientists are not aware of the exact cause of these speed variations but say
that they are probably due to changes within the Earth.
These changes cause the speed of rotation to increase for a number of years (5 to 10)
followed by a period of decrease.
Periodic. Seasonal variations happen over the period of half year and year. The annual
variations are primarily due to the seasonal wind changes in the northern and southern
hemispheres. The semi-annual variations are cause by the tidal action of the Sun.

Atmosphere of Earth

 Earth is covered by a layer of

gases called atmosphere. MAGNETIC POLES
 Terms air and atmosphere can be  The north magnetic pole of earth is the region of
interchanged; both refer to the Earth where the magnetic force is vertically
mixture of gases. downwards.
 The three major gases in the  The south magnetic pole of earth is the region
where the magnetic force is vertically upwards.
atmosphere are nitrogen (77%),  A compass at the magnetic poles will no
oxygen (21%) and argon (1%). All experience any directive force.
the other gases make the rest 1%  Distribution of Earth’s magnetic field is not static,
of the atmosphere. it experiences slow changes.
 We can consider atmosphere as a  Initially scientists linked these changes with the
movement of magnetic poles, but later on this was
vast ocean of air that surrounds refuted due to emergence of new evidence.
Earth. The weight of the  Now scientists believe that these changes are due
atmosphere is equivalent to the to the slow migration of “disturbance” foci over earth.
weight of water 34 ft deep.  The position of the Earth’s magnetic poles
 The gases are held on earth due to changes due to the changes in its magnetic field.
 In 1906 North magnetic pole was estimated to be
Earth’s gravity. Due to this the near 70.5° N and longitude 96° W.
density of the atmosphere is  In 1970 the position was estimated at latitude
highest at the Earth’s surface and 76.2° N and longitude 101° W.
it reduces with the distance from  Some of these changes are due to improved and
the Earth’s surface. more precise means of gathering data.
 In 1912 the South magnetic pole was located near
 The atmosphere extends outwards 71° S and longitude 150° E.
to a distance of more than 10,000  In 1970 the South magnetic pole was found to be
kilometres. But, almost 50% of its at latitude 66° S and longitude 139.1° E.
mass is concentrated within 600  A compass normally points towards the direction
meters of the Earth’s surface and Earth’s magnetic north
more than 98 percent of its mass is
concentrated within 26 kilometres of the Earth’s surface.
 Some of the atmosphere extends below the Earth’s surface into caves rock and soil
 Similarly, the pressure exerted by atmosphere is highest at the Earth’s surface and reduces
with the distance from Earth’s surface.
 The temperature of the air reduces with the increase in the height. This phenomenon is
true up to tropopause.
 The altitude of tropopause varies between 25,000 and 60,000 ft.
 Troposphere is the layer of atmosphere between the earth’s surface and tropopause.
 90% of earth’s atmosphere is contained in troposphere.
 After tropopause there
is an atmospheric
layer known as
stratosphere.
Stratosphere is
approximately 32 km
thick. The temperature
in stratosphere
normally increases
with height, but there
are few exceptions to
this.
 Ozone layer that
protects Earth from the
harmful ultraviolent
rays is located in the
stratosphere.
 The temperature maximum occurring approximately at the distance of 50 km from the
earth surface is called stratopause.
 Mesosphere is the layer of atmosphere that exists above stratopause. In this layer the
temperature decreases with the increase in height.
 Mesosphere layer ends with mesopause that is located at the approximate distance of 80
km from the earth’s surface.
 Thermosphere is the layer of atmosphere existing between the distance of 80 and 400 km
from the earth’s surface. In this layer the temperature increases with the increase in
height. The temperature here can increase to thousands of degrees Fahrenheit.
 The lower part of the thermosphere has high ion density. Due to this this part is also
known as ionosphere.
 Beyond thermosphere is exosphere. In this region the gas molecules travelling at high
speed can escape into outer space.

Composition of the Atmosphere

 Permanent Gases: Nitrogen and Oxygen (Nitrogen—78%; Oxygen—21%; Argon—
nearly 1%; Neon, helium, methane, krypton, and
hydrogen are found in trace amounts
 Variable Gases: Variable gases of the atmosphere
are:
Water vapour: The value of water vapour in the
atmosphere can range from zero to 4 percent.
These water vapours are the source of all clouds
and precipitation on Earth. They help in storing,
moving and releasing heat energy received from
Sun.
Carbon dioxide: Carbon dioxide is one of the two
gases in the atmosphere that significantly effect
our weather and climate. The other one is water
vapour. Carbon dioxide absorbs infrared radiation
of the Sunlight and heath the lower atmosphere.
This heating is very important for the existence of
life. The proportion of carbon dioxide in the
 atmosphere has been steadily increasing since the industrial revolution. This is in turn
leading to global warming. Scientists feel that this global warning will lead to
unpredictable significant climate change across the globe.
 Ozone: Most of the atmospheric ozone is concentrated in the ozone layer (between 15 and
48 kilometres above Earth’s surface). Here ozone helps in absorbing the harmful
ultraviolent rays of the Sun.

Vertical Structure of Atmosphere

 Thermal Layers―Scientists normally divide the
atmosphere of earth into five distinct layers based
on their characteristics. These five layers are:
1. Troposphere—This is the lowest thermal layer
of the atmosphere. In this the temperature increase
with increase in altitude. Tropopause—is a
transition zone between troposphere and the next
layer. In this zone temperature stops decreasing
with the increase in altitude.
2. Stratosphere—This is the second lowest layer
of the atmosphere. In this layer normally temperature increases with the altitude.
Stratopause—is a transition zone between stratosphere and the next layer. The maximum
temperature of stratosphere is reached in this zone.
3. Mesosphere—This is the third lowest layer of the atmosphere. In this layer the
temperature once again starts decreasing with the increase in altitude. The transition zone
at the top of mesosphere is known as mesopause.
4. Thermosphere—This the highest recognised thermal layer of the atmosphere. In this
layer the temperature remains more or less constant for a period and then start increasing
constantly with height.
5. Exosphere—This is the highest layer of Earth’s atmosphere.

Weather and Climate

 Weather: The term weather is used for referring to the atmospheric conditions over a
specific area at any short period of time.
 Climate: The term climate is used for referring to the pattern that emerges over a long
period of time over a particular area. Climate can also be defined as an aggregate of day
to day weather conditions. Climate takes into account averages as well as variations and
extremes.
 The Elements of Weather and Climate
―Elements (of weather/climate): The weather or climate of the area is dependent on
four main elements (or variables). These are: (a) Temperature, (b) Pressure, (c) Wind, and
(d) Moisture
―These four variables are measurable and they show frequent variations in the time and
space continuum. These simple variables are at core for understanding the complex
weather/climate’s mechanisms and processes.
 The Controls of Weather and Climate
―Controls (of weather/climate)—There are seven elements that act as control of
weather and climate in the sense that they influence the elements of weather and climate.
These control elements are:
Latitude: This control element influences temperature.
 Distribution of land and water: This control element affects both temperature and
moisture. There is a vast difference between continental climates and maritime climates.
General circulation of the atmosphere: This control element influences almost all of the
weather elements.
Generalcirculation of the oceans: This control element also influences almost all of the
weather elements as atmospheric circulations, but its effects are considerably less.
Altitude: This control element affects temperature, pressure, and moisture. In normal
circumstances the value of all three elementsdecrease with the increase in altitude.
Topographicbarriers:This control element affects winds by diverting them. This causes
climatic differences between the windward and leeward sides of the mountains. This in
turn affects the moisture content and the amount of rainfall.
Storms: This control element is a result of interaction among the other climate controls
elements. But this result in itself creates its own specialised weather conditions and exerts
influence on the weather elements.

The Coriolis Effect

 Four basic points of Coriolis effect:

1. The free moving objects deflect towards right in Northern Hemisphere and towards
left in Southern Hemisphere.
2. The deflection is strongest at the poles. It slowly decreases as we move towards the
equator. The deflection is zero at the equator.
3. Coriolis effect is proportional to the speed of the object i.e. fast moving objects are
deflected more than the slow moving objects.
4. Coriolis effect influences the direction and not the speed of objects.
 Coriolis effect is seen in winds and ocean currents. It plays a significant role in the
general circulation of oceans.
 Coriolis effect does not affect situations where time and speed are too short. For example,
the circulation pattern of water draining out of a sink.

Clouds

 Clouds are instrumental in managing energy

on earth. Clouds receive insolation from
above and terrestrial radiation from below.
At any given time approximately 50% of
Earth (including oceans) is covered by
clouds.
 Classifying Clouds―The classification of
the clouds is done on the basis of their form
and the altitude at which they are found.
 Cloud Forms: There are three
classifications of clouds on the basis of their
forms:
(1) Cirriform clouds: These are this, wispy clouds made up of ice crystals. They are
found at high altitudes.
(2) Stratiform clouds: These clouds appear as sheets or layers of grey covering most of
the sky. These clouds are rarely broken into individual smaller cloud.
 (3) Cumuliform clouds: These are the massive rounded clouds. They have a flat base/
 These three basic cloud forms are further classified into 10 types based on their shapes.
 Pure Forms: These are the types which are pure in nature. The other seven types are made
by some combination of these three basic types.
(a) Cirrus cloud: These are high cirriform clouds which have feathery appearance.
(b) Cumulus cloud: These are puffy white cloud that forms from rising columns of air.
(c) Stratus cloud: These clouds are found below 2 km, and occur as individual broken
clouds
 Cloud Families: Clouds are divided into four categories based on the altitude. These
categories are:
(1) High clouds—Clouds found at the distance of 6 kilometres or more.
(2) Middle clouds—Found at the distance between 2 and 6 kilometres.
(3) Low clouds—Found at the distance of less than 2 kilometres).
(4) Clouds with vertical development (i.e., cumulus clouds).

LITHOSPHERE
The Structure of Earth
 Till now we have not been able to penetrate more than one thousandth of earth’s crust.
 Our knowledge of Earth’s interior comes from observing the shock waves produced
during earthquakes or man made explosions. Due to this our understanding of the Earth’s
interior is limited.
 Scientists have found that Earth has a heavy inner core which is surrounded by three
concentric layers.
 The four layers of earth’s interior are crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core
 Crustis the outermost solid layer of Earth. It is made up of mixture of different rock
types.
o On an average the crust under the continents is three times as thick as the crust under
the ocean.
o Crust makes up less than one percent of Earth’s volume
o The boundary between Earth’s crust and mantle is known as Mohorovicic
discontinuity (Moho).
 Mantle is the layer below the crust.
o This layer has the largest volume among all the layers.
o The mantle is divided into
three zones lithosphere,
asthenosphere and
mesosphere.
 Outer core is the liquid
covering over the Earth’s core.
 Scientists believe this layer to be
responsible for the Earth’s
magnetic field. The magnetic
field weakens with time and
undergoes magnetic reversals at
regular intervals.
 Inner core is considered to be
solid and dense. Scientists
believe that this innermost
portion of Earth is made up largely of iron/nickel or iron/silicate.
  Human understanding of the crust and upper mantle has undergone significant
fundamental changes in the last half century.

Plate Tectonics and the Structure of Earth

 There are two theories that are very important for understanding the structure of the
Earth:
o Theory of Continental drift: This theory states that once upon the time the all the continents
were connected as one or two large landmasses. Over a period of time (millions of years)
these masses broke away and drifted apart.
o Theory of Plate tectonics: This is a coherent theory that talks about massive crustal
rearrangements based on the movement of continent sized lithospheric plates

From Rigid Earth to Plate Tectonics

 A long time ago the scientists believed in a rigid-Earth theory. The discoveries and
hypotheses challenged this theory and an idea started emerging that said that all the
continents of the world were combined together once upon a time.
 Technological development and related information have allowed this idea to be
converted into a plausible theory.
 Wegener’s Continental Drift theory states that the continents are rigid only in short term.
From the prospective of geological time scale, they are mobile. This theory claims that all
the continents were connected together; they broke away and started drifting and they will
continue to move in future also.
 The massive supercontinent or a large land mass contemplated by Alfred Wegener in his
continental drift theory is called Pangaea. Scientists believe that this continent exited
some 250 million years ago.
o The evidence in support of this include:
 o Similar geologic features on the different sides of Atlantic Ocean.
o Petrologic and palaeontological records on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean show
distributions that would have been continuous if the ocean was absent.
o The continental margins of subequatorial portions of Africa and SouthAmerica fit together.

Plate Tectonics

 The main evidence for the plate tectonics comes from the oceans.
o There is a continuous system of large ridges located on the ocean floors. These are
located at some distance from the continents and are often in mid-ocean.
o Many places on the ocean floor have deep trenches; these are often found around the
margins of ocean basins.
 Theory of Seafloor Spreading: This theory states that ocean ridges are formed due to the
magna rising up from the earth’s mantle. The newer eruptions and magma create new
crust on these ridges.
 Subduction: The process of subduction states that the trenches are sites where the older
crust descends into the interior or earth. In earth the crust in supposedly melted and
recycled into the convective cycle operating on Earth.

Verification of Seafloor Spreading

 The theory of seafloor spreading is supported by two sets of evidence:

Paleomagnetism: Both sides of the ridges on the seafloor have relative symmetrical
pattern of magnetic orientation. This pattern points towards the spread happening laterally
by addition of the new crust.
Ocean floor core sampling: With the increase in distance from the ridge; both sediment
age and thickness increases. This increase shows that the sediments nearest to the ridges
are newest.
 The scientists started seriously considering the plate tectonics theory around 1968; by that
time the body of evidence is support of the theory had grown considerably.
 We still do not know the number of plates in existence or their boundaries.
 Idea of a dozen of plates have been put forward. These plates are considered to be
approximately 100 km thick and thought to be consisting of both oceanic and continental
crust.
 Convection within Earth’s mantle cause the plate tectonics to take place.
 Plate Boundaries are divided into the following three types:
Divergent boundary: These boundaries are formed when two plates move away from
each other due to the welling up of magma from asthenosphere. These boundaries are
commonly found in mid ocean ridges; but they can also occur within continent.
Convergent boundary: These boundaries are found when two plates are colliding with
each other. type of plate association in which two plates arecolliding. As a result, one
plate is normally subducted. These plates show crumbling at the edges where they meet.
Convergent boundaries are of three types:
(1) Oceanic–continental convergence: In these convergences denser oceanic plate is
subducted. This type of convergence creates trenches and costal mountains. These
convergences are often accompanied by earthquakes and lead to development of
volcanoes.
 (2) Oceanic–oceanic convergence: These type convergences occur when two oceanic
plates collide. These creates oceanic trenches and volcanoes on ocean floor which in tern
lead to creation of volcanic island arcs.
(3) Continental–continental convergence: Subduction does not occur when two
continental plates collide. This results in creation of mountain ranges. Volcanoes are rare
in such convergence, but shallow focus earthquakes are quite common.
Transform boundary: Transform boundary is formed when two plates slip past each
other laterally in a typical fault structure. Lot of seismic activity occurs at these
boundaries.
Additions to the Basic Plate Tectonic Theory
 There are two other phenomena associated with the basic pate tectonic theory these are:
Hot Spots and Mantle Plumes: These are the locations where molten mantle magma
rises to or almost rises to the Earth’s surface. We do not know what causes this to happen.
We know that it creates volcanoes and/or hydrothermal features.
Accreted Terranes: These are small to medium mass of lithosphere that are too buoyant
to besubducted. So rather than getting subducted, they fuse into plate. These terranes are
different from plates.

World’s Mountains and Mountain Ranges

Every continent on Earth contains mountains and mountain ranges.

Asia: This is the world’s largest continent. Almost 60 percent of the global population lives in Asia.
Asia also covers almost 1/3rd of the total land area of the earth. The famous mountains of this
continent are:
Mount Everest (Nepal): This is the highest mountain on the planet earth (based on measurements
from the sea level). Its peak is situated at the approximate distance of 8.848 meters above the sea
level on the Nepal China bored.
K2: This is the second highest mountain on the earth. K2 peak is approximately 8,611meters
above sea level.
Mount Fuji (Japan). This is an isolated volcano near Tokyo. It is approximately 3,776 meters
high.
Europe: Some of the important mountains of Europe include:
Ben Nevis (UK):This is the highest mountain of Great Britain
Snowdon: - This is the highest mountain in Wales
Mount Olympus (Greece): This is the highest mountain in Greece. It is approximately 2,917
meters high.
Mount Ararat (Turkey): This is snow capped volcanic cone located in Turkey. It is
approximately 5,165 meters high.
Africa: This is the second largest continenton earth. It approximately covers 20 percent of the Earth’s
land area. Most of the African mountains have been created due to the volcanic activities. Some of the
famous mountains of this continent are:
Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania):This is the Africa’s highest mountain with the approximate
height of 5,895 meters. Mount Kilimanjaro is located in the northeastern area of Tanzania near the
Kenya border. It was once a volcano that has not become extinct.
Mount Kenya (Kenya):This is the second highest mountain of Africa with the approximate
height of 5,199 meters. It is also an extinct volcano like Mount Kilimanjaro.
Australia:Mt Kosciuszko is the highest mountain in Australia with the height of 2228 metres. It is
situated in Australian Alps between Melbourne and Sydney.
South America: Aconcagua in Andes in Argentina is the highest mountain in South America. It is
6,960 meters high and is located near Chile border.
Volcanism
 Volcanism is a general term used for all the phenomena related to the origin and movement of
magma from the Earth towards its
surface. Volcanism is normally
divided into three types:
(i) Extrusive vulcanism: This deals with
expelling of magma onto the Earth’s
Surface in its molten form.
(ii) Intrusive vulcanism: This takes place
when magma solidifies in shallow
crust nearsurface.
(iii) Plutonic activity: This take place when
the solidification of magma takes place
very deep inside Earth.
 Lava: This refers to the molten
magma that is expelled onto the
surface of Earth. With time lava cools
and solidifies. Lave expulsion can
either be explosive or gentle.
 Pyroclastic material: These are the solid material that are thrown into the air by volcanic
explosions. These can include fragments of rock, lava blobs that have somewhat solidified, dust
etc.
 Active volcanoes: These are the volcanoes that have at least erupted once in the recorded history
of the world. 80 percent of the active volcanoes of the world are located in the Pacific Ring of
Fire or Andesite Line. Another 10 percent are located in United States.
 Lava Flows: Also known as flood basalt is a large-scale outpouring of basaltic lava that leads to
covering of a large area of Earth’s surface. Lava flow can lead to build ups that have depth of
hundreds of feet and can cover area of tens of thousands of square kilometres. Scientists have
been able to correlate the timings of several major flood basalt eruptions with the mass extinctions
of plants and animals in the geologic time.

Earthquakes

 Earthquakes can be defined as vibrations due to shock waves produced by a sudden displacement
of a fault.
 On displacement of fault several seismic waves are produced from the centre of displacement.
These waves travel outwards in widening circles.
 Epicentre: This is the location on the ground directly
above the focus of anearthquake. The strongest shocks
and greatest crustal vibrations are normally felt at the
epicentre.
 Primary or P waves:These are the fastest moving
seismic waves. The movement of P waves is similar to
the movement of sound waves. They compress and
relax the material through which they pass.
 Secondary or S waves:These are the slower moving
waves. These waves produce side-to-side and up-and-
downmotion.
 Earthquake Magnitude Epicentre of an Earthquake
Seismograph: This is an instrument used to record
earthquakes.It uses the difference between the arrival of P and S waves for pinpointing the focus
of the earthquakes.
 Magnitude: This refers to the relative amount of energy released during an earthquake.
Themagnitude of the earthquake is calculated on a logarithmic scale.
Richter scale:This refers to a scale of earthquake magnitudes invented by seismologist Charles F.
Richter. This scale is used for describing the energy released by earthquakes. This is the most
commonly used measure of earthquake magnitude. This scale is good for measuring earthquakes
up to magnitude 6.
Moment magnitude: This is the most commonly used scale for describing largeearthquakes.
Modified Mercalli intensity scale: This is a scale that assigns the strength oflocal shaking, based
on observed effects and damage.
 Earthquake Hazards
Ground shaking: Most of the damage related to earthquakes is caused by the shaking of ground
that follows an earthquake. Normally, this shaking diminishes with the distance from the
epicentre.
Liquefaction: This takes place when earthquake causes loose, water-saturated sediments to turn
fluid. This in turn causes subsidence, fracturing, and horizontal sliding of the groundsurface.
Tsunami: These are sea waves generated by earthquake in the oceans.

HYDROSPHERE

The Hydrologic Cycle

 Hydrologic cycle refers to the various interconnected processes which ceaselessly exchange water
in different geographic locations and different physical states.
 The distribution of water on Earth is uneven.
 Less than one percent of the total water on Earth is part of hydrologic cycle
 Water is distributed very unevenly around Earth.Less than 1 percent of Earth’s totalmoisture is
involved in the hydrologic cycle.
 Surface-to-Air Water Movement: Most of the moisture in the atmosphere is generated by
evaporation. Almost 85 percent of evaporated moisture comes from oceans. Evaporated water
becomes water vapor and travels considerable distance vertically and horizontally before
returning to surface.
 Air-to-Surface Water Movement: Two things can happen with water vapor: They can condense
to liquid water or they can sublimate to ice and form clouds.Clouds bring the water back to earth
in form of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet and hail).
 Two important points to remember in these water movement are:
 Evaporation exceeds precipitation over oceans.
 Precipitation exceeds evaporation over lands.
 Movement on and Beneath
Earth’s Surface
Runoff: This refers to flow
of water from land to oceans
by overland flow,
streamflow, andgroundwater
flow.As we have mentioned
above evaporation is more
over rain and precipitation is
more over land i.e. more
water is removed from the
ocean than it is returned.
This would have caused to
become dry and continents to
become flooded. But this
does not happen because
 runoff helps in returning water from the land to oceans. Runoff accounts for 8% of all the
moisture circulating in the global hydrologic cycle.

The Oceans
 Until recently our knowledge of oceans was severely limited. The development is science and
technology in last half a century has given us tools for cataloguing and capturing ocean
environment details.
 The Oceans of the Earth have a combined surface area of 360 million square kilometres and they
containtotal of 1.32 billion cubic kilometres of salt water.
 Earth has one body of water. This body is divided into four major parts: (a) Pacific; (b) Atlantic;
(c) Indian, and (d) Arctic
 Most of the smaller bodies of water are considered as part of these four major water bodies.
 There are few water bodies which have very limited interconnection with oceans. These
exceptions include the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Hudson Bay etc.
 Composition of ocean water can significantly differ from place to place. Water in the ocean
contains almost all the minerals known to human beings.
 Salinity is a measure of the concentration of salts dissolved in the water. Different evaporation
and freshwater discharge rates cause geographical variation in surface salinity of water.
 Acidity of ocean water is increasing. Oceans act as carbon sinks i.e. they absorb carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere for creating carbonic acid. The increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
has caused increase in the acidity of ocean waters.
 At present the pH level of water in ocean is 8.1. This is expected to drop to 7.7. by the end of 22nd
century. Increase in acidity of oceans will lead to:
 Restriction in the growth of organisms.
 Reduction of calcium ion in the ocean waters. This will in turn make it difficult for many
organisms to make their shells.
 Decline in coral reefs. Coral reefs act as habitats for many organisms.
 Decline in growth of organisms like foraminifera can lead to the disruption of the
complete food chain.
 The temperature of oceans decreases with the increase in the latitude.
 Western sides of oceans almost always have higher temperature than eastern sides.
 Density of the ocean waters is a function of temperature, salinity, depth etc.
Movement of Ocean Waters
 Three major forms of ocean water movement are waves, currents and tides.
 Compared to deeper water, movement of ocean waters has more pronounced effect on surface
water.
 The disturbances taking place within Earth’s crust can lead to movement of ocean waters.
Tides
 Tides are greatest vertical movement of ocean water on Earth. These movements can also lead to
horizontal movement.
 Causes of tides include:
o The gravitational pull of Moon is the main cause of tides on Earth
o The gravitational pull of Sun also influences tides; but this influence is considerably less than
the influence exerted by the Moon.
 Due to the rotation of Earth tides move westward
 Earth experiences two tidal cycles per day.
 Earth experience two high tides and two low tides every 25 hours.
 The magnitude of tides varies in space time continual.
 Flood tide refer to flowing of ocean water towards the coast. This continues for 6 hours and 13
minutes.
 Ebb tide refer to receding of ocean water from the coast. This continues for 6 hours and 13
minutes.
 The tidal cycle starts again when the water reaches its lowest level.
Tidal Range
 The difference in the vertical distances between elevation of high and low tide is called tidal
range. Variation in tidal range are caused by change in the positions of Earth, Sun and Moon.
 Alignment of Sun, Moon and Earth causes spring tides.
 Non-alignment of Sun, Moon and Earth causes neap tides.
 Tidal ranges are also influenced by the shape and configuration of coastlines.
 Smallest tidal ranges are experienced by inland bodies.

Currents
 Currents refer to horizontal and vertical movement that takes place in the ocean.
 Currents are caused due to wind flow and difference in temperatures and salinity.
 Currents are influenced by different factors that include:
o Size and shape of particular ocean basin
o Configuration and depth ofsea bottom
o Coriolis effect
 Deep Ocean Circulation: This takes place due to the difference in the water density. The
difference in water density in turn is due to difference in salinity and temperature. This circulation
is also called thermohaline circulation.
 Global Conveyor-belt Circulation: These are the circulation pattern formed from deep
oceanwater movement through thermohaline circulation combined with surface currents.
Waves
 Waves are water shapes that have extremely limited forward movement.

Surface Waters: Lakes

 Lakes are small bodies of water surrounded by land
 More than 90 percent of the surface water on the continent is contained in lakes. Interestingly,
lakes only contain 0,25 percent of total water in the world.
 Lakes form due to meeting of two conditions:
o Existence of natural basin with restricted outlet
o Sufficient flow of water in to the basin to keep the basin at least partly filled.
 Around 60 percent of the lakes in the world are fresh water lakes, rest are salt water lakes.
 Lakes are more common in areas which had glaciers in the past.
 Volume of water in many lakes have been reduced due to the diversion of streams by human
beings. This can lead to disappearance of many lakes in long run. Aral Sea is the best example of
this. Soviet Union diverted water from the two rivers flowing into Aral Sea for irrigation purposes
in 1960s. This led to slow reduction in the volume of water in the Aral Sea. Over the period of
time Aral Sea has lost 75% of its water. Some recent reengineering has been done to protect the
northern Aral Sea at its current water levels. The southern Aral Sea is expected to disappear in
near future.
 Caspian Sea is the largest lake in the world (based on surface area). Many experts classify
Caspian Sea as the only sea that is not connected to an ocean; some even go to an extent of calling
it a minor ocean. Caspian Sea touches Russia, Iran, Kasakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan.
More than 130 rivers empty into Caspian Sea.
 Great Lakes are located in the Continent of North America on the border of Canada and USA.
Twenty purpose of the global surface fresh water is in these Great Lakes.
 The elevation of surface of Lake Ontario is less than the elevation of the rest of the Great Lakes.
 Many cities like Chicago, Toronto, Detroit etc. are situated on the coast of Great Lakes.
 Lake Baikal situated in southern Russia is the deepest lake in the world. Lake Baikal is the
world’s largest lake based on volume and second largest lake based on area.
 Lake Tanganyika is the longest lake in the world. This is also the world’s second deepest and
second largest based on volume. This lake situated in Africa is almost 410 miles long and borders
countries of Tanzania, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burundi.
 Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world. This is also the largest lake in South
America. It is situated in the Andes Mountains between Peru and Bolivia at the height of 12,500
feet.

Quantity of Water in Hydrosphere

Water Quantity (km3) Quantity (in %age of total)
Pure Water 35,987,120 2.6%
Saline Water 1,348,132,880 97.4%
TOTAL WATER 1,384,120,000 100%

Total Water (Pure and Saline) Quantity (km3) Quantity (in %age of total)
Oceans 1,348,000,000 97.39%
Snow caps, Icebergs, Glaciers 227,820,000 2.01%
Groundwater and Soil Moisture 8,062,000 0.58%
Lake and Rivers 225,000 0.02%
Atmosphere 13,000 0.001%
TOTAL WATER 1,384,120,000 100%

Water Quantity (km3) Quantity (in %age of total)

Snow caps, Icebergs Glaciers 27,792,852 77.23%
Groundwater up to 0―0.8 km Depth 3,548,330 9.86%
Groundwater up to 0.8―4 km Depth 4,444,409 12.35%
Soil Moisture 61,178 0.17%
Fresh Water Lakes 125,954 0.35%
Rivers 1,080 0.003%
Aquatic Minerals of Earth 360 0.001%
Atmosphere 14,480 0.04%
Life 1,081 0.003%
TOTAL WATER 35,987,120 100%

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