1.2.1 Introduction to the water cycle Flashcards

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1
Q

All water on the planet is described as part of the …

A

Hyrosphere

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2
Q

What are the following four stores that make up the hydrosphere?

A
  • Oceanic water
  • Cryospheric water
  • Terrestrial water
  • Atmospheric water
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3
Q

Oceanic water

A
  • The largest store of water on earth.
  • Accounts for 97% of the earth’s water in total.
  • Oceans cover 72% of the Earth’s surface.
  • Broken up into oceans and seas.
  • Oceanic water is salty with a falling pH.
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4
Q

Cryospheric water

A
  • Water that is stored on earth in solid form (ice).
  • Stores of cryospheric water includes sea ice, permafrost, ice sheets, ice caps and glaciers.
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5
Q

Terrestrial water

A

Freshwater that is on the earth, including:
o Surface water – Water on the Earth’s surface, e.g. in rivers and lakes.
o Biological water – Water stored within biomass (in plants and animals).
o Groundwater
o Soil water

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6
Q

Atmospheric water

A
  • Can be held in all three states – solid , liquid or gas (water vapour).
  • Water held in the atmospheric acts as a greenhouse gas and is used to control the Earth’s temperature.
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7
Q

Accessibility of water

A
  • Water must be physically and economically accessible.
  • Only 0.01% of all the water of the planet is accessible to us.
  • Accessible water is mainly only available from rivers, ice/permafrost, swamps, marshes, soil moisture, the atmosphere, and lakes.
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8
Q

Change in the magnitude of water stores

A

Water can change between solid, liquid and gaseous forms. For water to boil or melt, it has to gain energy. For water to condense or freeze, it has to lose energy.

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9
Q

Blue water

A

All parts of the water cycle that are visible.

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10
Q

Green water

A

Any parts of the water cycle that are invisible (to the human eye).

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11
Q

Fossil water

A

Water is so deep that is unusable for humans.

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12
Q

Latent heat

A

The heat required to convert a solid into a liquid or vapour, or a liquid into a vapour without a change in temperature.

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13
Q

Residence time

A

The average length of time each water molecules are stored in each store.

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14
Q

Residence time for:
- Oceans
- Atmosphere
- Groundwater

A
  • Oceans = 3,600 years
  • Atmosphere = 10 days
  • Groundwater = Up to 10,000 years.
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15
Q

Soil water budget

A

The annual balance between precipitation, evapotranspiration and runoff.

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16
Q

Water table

A

The upper level of saturated rock.

This rises and falls in response to groundwater flow, water abstraction by people or additional water flowing into the rock. The water table should be kept in equilibrium.

17
Q

What are acquifers?

A

Vast underground reservoirs deep below the ground surface which stores freshwater.

18
Q

What percentage of freshwater is stored in acquifers?

A

30%

19
Q

Where do acquifers commonly form?

A

Porous rocks (containing pores – air pockets) and permeable (allow water to pass through) such as chalk and sandstone.

20
Q

What are some of the impacts of extracting water from acquifers?

A
  • Overabstraction
  • Salt water intrusion
21
Q

What is salt water intrusion?

A

Where saline water from the oceans/seas contaminates freshwater in acquifers.

22
Q

Global hydrological cycle

A

The idea that water is continuously cycled between different stores.

23
Q

Is the global hydrological cycle a closed or open system?

A

Closed system as there are no inputs or outputs of water.

24
Q

Flows in the water cycle

A
  • Evaporation
  • Condensation
  • Precipitation
  • Cyrospheric processes (accumulation and ablation)
25
Q

Evaporation

A

Evaporation is when water is turned from a liquid to a gas.

This process increases the amount of water stored in the atmosphere.

26
Q

Factors affecting evaporation

A
  • Energy (often from solar radiation)
  • Availability of water
  • Humidity
  • Temperature
27
Q

Condensation

A

Condensation is when water is turned from a gas to a liquid.

Condensation decreases the amount of water stored in the atmosphere as water droplets transfer to other subsystems. E.g. When water vapour condenses it can form dew on leaves.

The magnitude of condensation depends on the amount of water in the atmosphere and temperature. E.g. When there is lots of water vapour and a large or rapid drop in temperature, condensation will be high.

28
Q

Precipitation (and cloud formation)

A

Precipitation is the main flow of water from the atmosphere to the ground.

Water vapour condense into water droplets when warm air cools down. This gathers as clouds. When the droplets get big enough, they fall as precipitation.

28
Q

How do clouds form?

A

Clouds form when warm air cools down, causing water vapour in it to condense into water droplets, which gather as clouds. When the droplets get big enough, they fall as precipitation.

29
Q

Factors that cause warm air to cool, leading to precipitation

A
  • Topography: When warm air meets mountains, it is forced to rise, causing it to cool. This results in orographic precipitation.
  • Convection: When the sun heats up the ground, moisture on the ground evaporates and rises up in a column of warm air. As it gets higher, it cools. This results in convectional precipitation.
  • Other air masses: Warm air is less dense than cool air. When warm air meets cool air, the warm air is forced up above the cool air. It cools down as it rises. This results in frontal precipitation.
30
Q

Does cloud formation and precipitation stay constant throughout the year or does it vary?

A

Cloud formation and precipitation can vary seasonally (e.g. in the UK there’s normally more rainfall in winter than in summer) and by location (precipitation is usually higher in the tropics than at the poles).

31
Q

Accumulation

A

Input in the cryosphere.

32
Q

Ablation (melting)

A

Output in the cryosphere.

33
Q

What do cryospheric processes do to the water cycle?

A

Cryospheric processes such as accumulation and ablation change the amount of water stored as ice in the cryosphere.

34
Q

How do cryospheric processes vary?

A
  • During periods of global cold, inputs into the cryosphere are greater than outputs – water is transferred to it as snow, and less water is transferred away due to melting.
  • During periods of warmer global temperatures, the magnitude of the cryosphere store reduces as losses due to melting are larger than the inputs of snow.