HYDROSPHERE AND CHEMICAL

COMPOSITION OF WATER
BODIES
TABLE OF CONTE
HYDROSPHERE
Hydrosphere is a term used to describe the combined mass
of water found on, under and over the surface of a planet. It refers to
the discontinuous layer of water at or near the earth’s surface. It
includes surface water (which may exist in the liquid state or solid state
in form of ice), groundwater and water vapour present in the
atmosphere. The hydrosphere covers about 70% of the surface of the
earth.

 Water is the most abundant substance present on the earth’s

surface and is distributed in various forms like oceans, seas, rivers,
lakes, streams, groundwater, ice caps, glaciers, soil moisture and
water vapour in the atmosphere. The hydrosphere holds about
1.39 x 109 km3 of water. The oceans and seas hold about 97% of
the hydrosphere in form of salt water. The dominant part of fresh
water is stored in ice caps and glaciers. Only 0.3 to 0.4% of fresh
water is found in lakes and streams while 0.05% is present in
rivers. The water content of wetlands and swamps is about 0.03%
while the atmosphere contains about 0.004%. This trivial amount
plays an important role in the hydrological cycle.
 . CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF WATER
BODIES
Water is a unique liquid; without it, life is not possible on
earth. Water bodies have a complex composition which includes
various gases, minerals and organic substances. Due to the presence of
metal ions, dissolved gases and other organic substances different types
of chemical reactions like oxidation-reduction, complexation etc. occur
in water. Atmospheric precipitation is the principal source of the water
that makes up lakes and rivers on the earth’s surface. The water is not
pure it contains atmospheric gases and also dissolved and suspended
mineral matter.

The major chemical components which are found in all water

bodies are dissolved gases and different ions and these are discussed
below.

 Dissolved Gases
The major gases which are present in water bodies are
oxygen and carbon dioxide while methane and hydrogen sulfide
are present in minor amounts. The amount of these gases in water
is measured in ppm or mg/L. Aquatic plants (algae) release O2
(oxygen) in water by photosynthesis. The second important gas
present in water bodies is (carbon dioxide) CO2. The main sources
of CO2 in water are
I. From the decomposition of organic waste and
II. By the presence of CO2 in air.

 Metal Ions
Many chemical substances are soluble in water. The major
sources of solutes are minerals and rocks with which water is in
contact. Metal ions in water (Mn+) exist in many different
forms (ions, hydrated metal ions, undissociated compounds and
colloids). Some ions are present in large amount (Ca+2, Mg+2,
 Na+, K+, Cl-, SO4-2, HCO3-1, CO3-2) and are called macro
component which are present in amount exceeding mg/L. other
elements like borate and fluoride are present in small amounts
(μg/L) and are called micro component.

 Calcium ion: It is generally found in highest concentration.

Minerals like gypsum, anhydrite, CaSO4, dolomite etc. are the
major source of calcium in water bodies. Ca+2 ion along with
Mg+2 ion accounts for the total hardness of water.
 Chloride ion occur in water samples are due to dissolution of salt
deposits, discharge of effluents, mixing of sewage wastes, sea
water contamination and flow of irrigation drainage. Chloride ion
is present in all types of water.
 Sulphate is present in water because sulphate bearing minerals
are common in most sedimentary rocks. In the weathering
process, many of them e.g., Gypsum get dissolved in water.
 Carbonate and bicarbonate: Dissolved CO2 reacts with water to
form carbonic acid. H2CO3 a weak inorganic acid. H2CO3 further
dissociates to form H+, HCO3- and CO32-.

 The relative amounts of CO32-, HCO3-, and CO2 are

dependent on pH. Figure showed the various forms of
inorganic carbon at different pH.
 At pH below 4.5 H2CO3 & CO2 species predominates and
almost no CO32- and HCO3 - found.

All components of natural water confer certain properties like

salinity, alkalinity, acidity, hardness etc. Water contains dissolved
matter (referred to as TDS which is total dissolved solids) and
suspended matter. TDS in fresh water is expressed in terms of g/dm 3
or mg/dm3(ppm) while the same for other types of water is expressed
in form of PSU (practical salinity unit).
Forms of inorganic carbon at different pH levels

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
SPECIFIC WATER BODIES
 Ground water
 The characteristics of groundwater are its weak turbidity,
constant temperature, chemical composition and overall
absence of oxygen. Circulation of ground water varies its
composition due to pollutants and contaminants present in
it. Furthermore, groundwater is often very pure
microbiologically
 The major mineral constituents come from soluble minerals
in soils and sedimentary rocks. The common ions present
are calcium, sodium, bicarbonate and sulphate. Ground
 water present in coastal areas contains chloride. Nitrate ion
may be a natural component but a high level indicates
pollution.
 The groundwater in the Ganga – Brahmaputra delta region
in West Bengal and Bangladesh is severely contaminated
with arsenic compounds which are highly toxic rendering
the water unfit for consumption.

 Surface water
 Rivers and Streams
The chemical composition of surface water is variable
through time and sampling must be done periodically at different
places along the stream and river course.
The composition of river and stream water changes due to
pollution. Rivers are dominated by the presence of calcium, silica and
hydrogen carbonate which mainly owe their origin from silicate rocks
and carbonates. The level of potassium is low due to retention in clays.
The dissolved inorganic components (DIC) may be classified into
macro components and micro components. Macro components
constitute 90 – 95% of all components in fresh water and include
calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, chloride, sulphate, hydrogen
carbonate and carbonate. The concentration of micro components a
generally up to 1ppm and includes lithium, rubidium, caesium, bromide,
iodide, fluoride, copper, zinc, nickel, silver, lead and other heavy metals.
Dissolved gases like nitrogen, oxygen, argon and carbon dioxide are
also present. Surface water contains nutrients which are limiting
factors for growth of aquatic plants. These include nitrogen (in form of
ammonium, nitrite, nitrate and organic compounds) and phosphorus (in
inorganic and organic forms).
 The composition of river and stream water is controlled by
various factors including water rock interaction (weathering),
temperature and human activity. As water interacts with
carbonate rocks, the DIC increases due to the following reaction.

CO2 + CaCO3 + H2O Ca2+ + 2HCO3-

(In this reaction 2 moles of hydrogen carbonate is formed – 1 mole
from the rock and 1 mole from the atmosphere)
 Temperature is another crucial factor in determining river water
composition. It affects rate of dissolution, elemental solubility and
mineral stability. In tropical climates the weathering is more
intense than that in temperate climate. The TDS in rivers and
streams also depends on type of rock. Sedimentary rocks are more
prone to weathering than volcanic rocks which in turn weather
more than metamorphic rocks.

 Seas and Oceans

The main source of sea water is river discharge. Sea water

has a more uniform composition than river water. It contains by
weight about 3.5% dissolved salts while the same for river water is
only 0.012%. The salinity of sea water is about 35 parts per thousand
of which sodium and chloride make up about 30 parts while
magnesium and sulphate contribute 4 parts. The remaining 1 part is
made up by calcium and potassium (0.4 parts each) and the rest by
carbon as hydrogen carbonate and carbonate. 99% of sea water is
made up of eight elements (hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, sodium,
potassium, chlorine, calcium and magnesium) though most of the
naturally occurring elements have been detected in sea water.
 Average Composition of Sea water and River water

Element Sea Water (mmol/kg) River Water (mmol/kg)

Na 468 0.26
Mg 53.1 0.17
Ca 10.3 0.38
K 10.2 0.07
Sr 0.09 -
Cl 546 0.22
SO4- 28.2 0.11
HCO3- 2.39 0.96
Br 0.84 -
  Ocean contains substantial quantities of many dissolved
elements, complex solution of mineral salt and decayed
biological matter. The chemical composition of seawater
varies slightly from area to area due to addition of fresh water
and evaporation. However this variation in small and in
comparison to river water the composition is relatively
constant.
 Most of salts found in ocean are obtained by weathering and
erosion of cooled igneous rocks of earth’s crust and by the
dissolving actions of rains and streams which transport their
mineral washing to sea. Some of the ocean's salts have been
dissolved from rocks and sediments below its floor.
 Other sources of salts include the solid and gaseous materials
that escaped from the Earth's crust through volcanic eruptions
or that originated in the atmosphere.

 Lakes
A lake, in contrast to rivers and streams, is a body of
relatively still water. Lakes are part of surface water bodies and
are often the store house of water that supports the surrounding
ecosystems.

The chemical composition of lakes is affected by complex chemical

and biological processes occur in water body. There is lack of water
circulation in such big reservoir and therefore the chemical reactions
that occur on surface of water are different than that occurring at the
bottom. Due to water’s unique temperature – density relationship
distinct layers are formed in still water (See in Figure). This is called
thermal stratification. . The surface of the lake is heated by the solar
radiation while the lower part of the lake remains cooled and this result
in the formation of layers in the lake. The upper warm layer is called
epilimnion while the lower colder layer is called hypolimnion.
Between these two layers there is a region in which the temperature
changes rapidly called thermocline. Due to this thermal stratification
and poor mixing between the layers (due to lack of water circulation)
the epilimnion is well provided with oxygen and hypolimnion become
depleted of oxygen. When the temperature difference between the
surface layer (epilimnion) and bottom layer (hypolimnion) is significant,
then these layers have different chemical and biological properties. The
epilimnion has a higher concentration of dissolved oxygen due to
photosynthetic activity of algae and is aerobic, while the hypolimnion
has lower dissolved oxygen and more carbon dioxide. During autumn
and spring, when the epilimnion cools, the temperature of both layers
may become equal and then the lake behaves as one hydrologic unit.
This is called overturn.

 The order of abundance for cations and anions is:

Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Na+ > K+
CO32- > SO42- > Cl-


Wetlands
Wetlands are saturated with water permanently or
seasonally. They cover 2.2% of the Earth’s surface and contain all
elements of the biosphere. The water may be salt water (noted in
wetlands long the coastal areas), fresh water or brackish (more
salinity than fresh water but less than sea water).

 The composition of water in wetlands is highly variable and no

generalization can be made. The composition depends on their
location (adjacent to rivers, lakes and sea) and on the source of
water.
 Many organic compounds are dissolved in the water and thus the
TOC (total organic carbon) value is high. The pH of the water is
variable and may range from acidic to alkaline. Arsenic, if present,
is mobile at high pH. The water flowing out of wetlands is
chemically distinct from inflow water because a range of physical
and chemical reactions occur as water passes through organic
materials.