1.0 Introduction to river environments

Question 1

Fluvial

Answer 1

A term applied to the action of rivers and streams

Question 2

Fluvial Geomorphology

Answer 2

The study of processes and landforms resulting from river erosion, transport and deposition

Question 3

What is the Global Hydrological Cycle?

Answer 3

The continual circulation of water between the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere.

Question 4

What kind of system is the GHC and why?

Answer 4

Closed system- It doesn’t have any external inputs or outputs; water circulates through a number of stores

Question 5

How does water move between stores in the GHC?

Answer 5

Movement between stores comes through inputs and outputs in a series of flows/ transfers and fluxes/ processes

Question 6

How does water move through the cycle (in what form?)

Answer 6

Water moves through the cycle in all 3 forms

Question 7

Explain why the GHC is a closed system (short answer)

Answer 7

Water on the Earth’s surface or in its atmosphere isn’t lost into space neither is it added to from outside of the atmosphere.

Question 8

How much water is within the system?

Answer 8

A finite amount

Question 9

Since there is a continuous cycle of water, what are the major stores it flows between?

Answer 9

Oceans, atmosphere, biosphere, land surface & groundwater store

Question 10

What is the circulation in the GHC driven by?

Answer 10

-Solar energy (evapotranspiration)
-Gravitational potential energy
-Infiltration, percolation, throughflow, groundwater flow

Question 11

Residence time within key stores

Answer 11

Vastly different

Question 12

What is the significance of variations in solar energy input (polar vs rainforest) and geomorphology or landscapes?

Answer 12

Local/ regional variation in operation of system between different climatic zones and drainage basins

Question 13

What is fossil / paleo water?

Answer 13

Untapped ancient stores or freshwater exist in the polar regions and below many deserts.

Question 14

How much freshwater does Kenya’s Lotikipi Aquifer contain?

Answer 14

Estimated 200 billion cubic metres of freshwater

Question 15

Define ‘residence time’

Answer 15

Storage times of the world’s main water stores/ resources

Question 16

Residence time of oceans

Answer 16

4000 years

Question 17

Describe the hydrology of The Cryosphere (Polar Regions)

Answer 17

Seasonal thaws bring increased surface saturation and thinning permafrost. If this thaw becomes continuous, water flows away and is lost which is known as Cryosphere loss

Question 18

Describe the hydrology of The Cryosphere (Polar Regions)

Answer 18

Seasonal thaws bring increased surface saturation and thinning permafrost. If this thaw becomes continuous, water flows away and is lost which is known as Cryosphere loss

Question 19

Describe the hydrology of Tropical Rainforests

Answer 19

Permanently dense forest produces high rates of evapotranspiration, with water returning to the surface as precipitation that feeds large rivers such as the Amazon

Question 20

Identify the key factors to t influence the operation of the Hydrological Cycle in Polar Regions

Answer 20

Low temperatures - high % of water held in ice
Low evapotranspiration
Low annual precipitation
Seasonal change- freeze/thaw
Limited vegetation
Permafrost - impermeable

Question 21

Identify the key factors to t influence the operation of the Hydrological Cycle in Tropical Rainforests

Answer 21

High temps - high evapotranspiration
High annual precipitation
Limited seasonal change (year round heat/rain)
Vast vegetation coverage- interception and storage- little water reaches ground or infiltrates

Question 22

What is a drainage system an example of?

Answer 22

An open system which is a subsystem within the closed system if the GHC

Question 23

Drainage Basin

Answer 23

Has stores , flows and processes (like closed system) but inputs/ outputs are added from outside the system and transfer to other drainage basins

Question 24

Where do inputs come from within an open system?

Answer 24

Precipitation

Question 25

Where do outputs include in an open system?

Answer 25

Evapotranspiration or river discharge into other drainage basins, lakes or coastal environment -> the ocean store

Question 26

Within the GHC and drainage basin subsystems, what can the interaction between human and physical environments result in conditions lead to?

Answer 26

Water surplus (river flooding)
Water deficit (drought)