- Description: This sphere includes all of Earth’s water, whether in liquid, solid (ice), or gaseous (water vapor) form, focusing on the water body or phenomenon itself.
- Subclasses (Complexes):
- hydrosphere_freshwater_surface: Data related to freshwater bodies on the Earth’s surface (e.g., rivers, lakes, ponds, wetlands, estuaries, streamflow, lake levels).
- hydrosphere_groundwater: Information about water found beneath the Earth’s surface in soil pores and fractures (e.g., groundwater levels, aquifer characteristics, groundwater flow).
- hydrosphere_marine: Data related to oceans, seas, and coastal waters (e.g., sea surface temperature (water mass), ocean currents, salinity, marine water column temperature, tides, waves, bathymetry of water column).
- hydrosphere_cryosphere: Data related to frozen water bodies (e.g., glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice extent and thickness, permafrost distribution).
- hydrosphere_atmospheric_water: Information about water in the atmosphere (e.g., precipitation totals, humidity, cloud properties, water vapor content).
- hydrosphere_contaminants: Data related to the presence and distribution of pollutants within water bodies (e.g., water quality measurements for specific pollutants such as PFAS, pesticides and nitrate, microplastic concentrations in water).
- hydrosphere_hazards: Water-borne threats and events (e.g., flood extents and scenarios, storm surge, groundwater flooding, spills and pollution incidents).
- Common Overlaps & Distinctions:
- Ice/Snow as Surface Interpretation: While hydrosphere_cryosphere describes the physical properties of ice bodies, interpreted thematic surface partitioning belongs in anthroposphere_perception_thematics.
- Water Utilization: Data on the amount of water extracted or used (e.g., cubic meters of water abstracted) is in
anthroposphere_resource_utilisation. - Flooding/Pollution Incidents: The hazard itself (e.g., flood extent maps, spill locations) belongs in hydrosphere_hazards; the measured pollutant state belongs in hydrosphere_contaminants. The risk to human assets/populations is in
anthroposphere_hazard_vulnerability_risk. - Life in Water: The water body is
Hydrosphere, but the fish and other aquatic organisms arebiosphere_fauna.
Leaves
| Leaf | Question | Twigs in this sphere |
|---|---|---|
| Bathing Water Quality | Is bathing water suitable and safe for human recreational use at this location and time? | hydrosphere_freshwater_surface, hydrosphere_contaminants |
| Coastal Erosion Risk | Where is coastal erosion risk highest, and how severe is the expected shoreline impact? | hydrosphere_marine |
| Drinking Water & Water Source Protection | What drinking water source protection zones or supply infrastructure exist here? | hydrosphere_groundwater, hydrosphere_freshwater_surface |
| Elevation | What is the elevation at a given location? | hydrosphere_freshwater_surface |
| Fisheries Monitoring & Management | What fisheries activities, vessel density, or aquaculture operations occur here? | hydrosphere_marine |
| Flood Hazard and Inundation | Which areas are exposed to flooding or inundation here, and under what scenario or return period? | hydrosphere_hazards, hydrosphere_freshwater_surface |
| Groundwater Bodies | Which groundwater body or aquifer is present here, and what status applies? | hydrosphere_groundwater |
| Groundwater Chemistry | What is the chemical status of groundwater in this area, and which substances drive trends or exceedances? | hydrosphere_groundwater |
| Hydrological Basin Delineations | Which basin or sub-basin does this location belong to in water-management planning? | hydrosphere_freshwater_surface |
| Marine and Coastal Waters | Which coastal or marine water body is this location part of, and what condition applies? | hydrosphere_marine |
| Spill and Pollution Incidents | Which spill, contamination, or hazardous discharge signals are reported for this area? | hydrosphere_hazards, hydrosphere_contaminants |
| Subsurface Freshwater | What do boreholes reveal about subsurface freshwater chemistry and aquifer behavior here? | hydrosphere_groundwater |
| Surface Flow Systems | How does water move and accumulate on the surface here, including depressions, flooding, and catchment context? | hydrosphere_freshwater_surface |
| Surface Freshwater Bodies | Which river, lake, wetland, or catchment is this location part of? | hydrosphere_freshwater_surface |