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Geography Paper 1: Carbon and water cycle > 1. Water cycle processes/stores > Flashcards

1. Water cycle processes/stores Flashcards

1
Q

What are the three main stores of the global water cycle?

A

The atmosphere, oceans, and land

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2
Q

What is the biggest and smallest store of water?

A 
Biggest = oceans 1,370,000 (km3 x 10^3)
Smallest = atmosphere 13 (km3 x 10^3)
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3
Q

Describe the oceanic store of water:

A

Five oceanic bodies and several smaller seas

Biggest is Pacific

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4
Q

Describe the atmospheric store of water:

A

Held as water vapour and absorbs and reflects incoming solar radiation
Warm air holds more vapour than cold air

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5
Q

Describe the ‘land’ store of water:

A 
Cryospheric = sea ice, ice caps, ice sheets, Alpine glaciers, and permafrost – high altitudes and latitude
Terrestrial = rivers (Amazon), lakes (Canada) wetland, groundwater
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6
Q

What processes are involved in the water cycle x5?

A 
Precipitation 
Evapotranspiration 
Condensation
Run-off
Groundwater flow
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7
Q

Define precipitation:

A

Moisture falling from clouds towards the ground (rain, snow, hail)

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8
Q

Define evapotranspiration:

A

Combined loss of water at the surface through evaporation and transpiration (evaporation of moisture from pores on the leaf surfaces) of plants

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9
Q

Define run-off:

A

The movement of water across the land surface

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10
Q

Describe groundwater flow:

A

The horizontal movement of water within aquifers

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11
Q

What are the 3 biggest global reservoirs of water on Earth?

A
  1. Oceans 1,370,000 (km3 x 10^3) = 97% of global water
  2. Polar ice/glaciers 2900 (km3 x 10^3) = 2% of global water
  3. Groundwater 9,500 (km3 x 10^3) = 0.7% of global water
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12
Q

How much freshwater is stored in ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland?

A

Three-quarters

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13
Q

How much freshwater is stored below ground in permeable rocks?

A

One-fifth

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14
Q

What is the average time a water molecule spends in the atmosphere?

A

Just 9 days

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15
Q

What is the water cycle budget?

A

The annual volume of movement of water by flows (precipitation, evapotranspiration, run-off etc) between stores (oceans, permeable rocks etc)

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16
Q

How much water does the water cycle budget circulate per year?

A

505,000km^3 – USGS

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17
Q

What are the inputs of water into the atmosphere?

A

Evapotranspiration
Water vapour evaporated from oceans, soils, lakes
Vapour transpired through leaves

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18
Q

What are the outputs of water from the atmosphere?

A

Precipitation eg rain

Condensation eg fog

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19
Q

How does run-off accumulate?

A

Precipitation drains from the land into rivers – most water does this once it has infiltrated the soil
Water under gravity percolates into aquifers which eventually reach the surface as springs and contributes to run-off

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20
Q

What is groundwater?

A

Water stored underground in permeable rocks known as aquifers

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21
Q

What is infiltration?

A

The vertical movement of rainwater through the soil

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22
Q

What is percolation?

A

The movement of surface and soil water into underlying permeable rocks

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23
Q

What is the water balance equation?

A

Precipitation = evaporation + streamflow +/-storage
Positive water balance: precipitation exceeds evapotranspiration
Negative water balance: evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation

24
Q

What are the principle flows in the water cycle that link the various stores?

A

Precipitation, evaporation, transpiration, catchment hydrology (run-off, infiltration, percolation, and through-flow) and cryospheric processes

25
What are the various forms of precipitation?
Rain, snow, hail, sleet, and drizzle
26
How does precipitation form?
- Forms when vapour in the atmosphere cools to its dew point and condenses into tiny water droplets or ice particles to form clouds - The tiny droplets aggregate, reaching a critical size, and leave the cloud as precipitation
27
What are the three types of rainfall?
1. Orographic = air is forced to rise over mountains 2. Frontal = two fronts meet; warm air rises over the cooler air 3. Convectional = warm air rises from hot surfaces on a sunny day
28
What is the dew point?
The critical temperature at which condensation occurs
29
What characteristics of precipitation affect the drainage basin scale?
- Type of precipitation – in high latitudes precipitation falls as snow which causes a time lag between snowfall and runoff - Intensity of precipitation – high intensity (10-15mm/hour) moves rapidly overland - Duration of precipitation – prolonged events may cause river flooding - Occurrence of precipitation – precipitation can be concentrated into a rainy season when river discharge is high eg Mediterranean
30
What is transpiration?
The diffusion of water vapour to the atmosphere from the leaf pores (stomata) of plants and is responsible for 10% of the moisture in the atmosphere
31
What factors affect transpiration?
Temperature, wind speed, humidity, water availability to plants
32
What is condensation?
The phase change of vapour to liquid water that occurs when air is cooled to its dew point
33
How do clouds form?
When the air is saturated because it has cooled below the dew point OR condensation nuclei are present
34
What are the 3 main types of cloud?
1. Cumuliform clouds 2. Stratiform clouds 3. Cirrus clouds
35
Describe cumuliform clouds:
Form when the air is heated through contact with the Earth’s surface and causes heated air parcels to rise by convection, and expand due to a fall in pressure As cooling reaches thew dew point, condensation begins and clouds form
36
Describe how stratiform clouds form:
Develop when an air mass moves horizontally across a cooler surface ie ocean through the process of advection
37
Describe how cirrus clouds form:
Wispy clouds form at high-altitudes and produce tiny ice crystals – do not produce precipitation
38
What is adiabatic expansion?
The expansion of a parcel of air due to a decrease in pressure – expansion causes cooling
39
When does cooling occur?
- Air is warmed by contact with ground and rises freely – adiabatic expansion occurs - Air mass moves horizontally across a cooler surface – advection - Air masses rise as they cross a mountain - Warm air mixes with cooler air
40
What is a lapse rate?
The vertical distribution of temperature in the lower atmosphere, and the temperature changes that occur as it rises vertically away from the ground
41
What are the three types of lapse rates?
1. Environmental lapse rate = vertical temperature profile of the lower atmosphere at any given time 2. Dry adiabatic lapse rate = the rate at which a parcel of dry air cools as it rises 3. Saturated adiabatic lapse rate = the rate at which a saturated parcel of air cools as it rises (SALR is lower than the DALR as condensation releases heat
42
Why do clouds rise?
Atmospheric instability = air parcels are warmer inside the cloud than the external atmosphere
43
What are cryospheric processes?
- Accumulation - Ablation - Sublimation
44
What is a drainage basin?
An area of land drained by a river and its tributaries that forms a subsystem, in particular an open system, of the water cycle
45
What are the inputs of a drainage basin?
Precipitation | Condensation
46
What are the stores in a drainage basin x5?
- Vegetation store: vegetation cover intercepts precipitation eg 58% rainfall intercepted in rainforests - Surface storage: mainly in built environments as puddles - Soil storage: pores between soil particles fill with water eg clay has 40-60% volume - Groundwater store: permeable rocks - Channel store: volume of water in a river channel
47
What are the flows in a drainage basin x7?
- Stemflow - Infiltration - Run-off (overland flow + saturated overland flow) - Throughfall - Throughflow - Percolation - Groundwater flow
48
Describe stemflow:
Occurs when water flows down the stems of plants
49
Describe infiltration:
Occurs when water soaks into the soil | Infiltration rate is affected by texture, soil structure, and organic content
50
Describe run-off (overland flow) + the two theories:
Rainfall flowing over the ground surface due to 1. Saturated overland flow: soil become saturated and the water table rises to the surface 2. Overland flow infiltration rate being exceeded
51
Describe throughfall:
Water moving from vegetation to the ground
52
Describe throughflow:
Lateral movement of water down a slope to a river channel
53
Describe percolation:
Downward movement of water into groundwater stores
54
Describe groundwater flow:
Downward and lateral movement of water within saturated rock (aquifers)
55
What are the outputs of a drainage basin?
Evapotranspiration Leakage: loss from groundwater stores Run-off: movement of water across the land surface

Geography Paper 1: Carbon and water cycle (8 decks)

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