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Physical geography- water and carbon cycle > 3.1.1.2 The Water Cycle > Flashcards

3.1.1.2 The Water Cycle Flashcards

1
Q

what are the processes of change (pt 1)?

A
  • groundwater flow (transfer of water through rocks, often below water table after percolation + infiltration
  • percolation (water soaking into rocks)
  • river flow (water flowing through river)
  • infiltration- water enters openings in ground from surface
  • sublimation- water from solid to gas
  • precipitation- transfer of water from atmosphere to earth’s surface as rain, snow, hail etc
  • condensation- conversion water from gas to liquid (clouds)
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2
Q

what are the processes of change (pt 2)?

A
  • interception- water intercepted + stored on leaves of plants
  • evapotranspiration- combination of evaporation (liquid to gas due to temp/pressure) + transpiration (moisture carried through plant where it turns to vapour + enters atmosphere)
  • overland flow- flow over lands surface
  • through flow- water flowing through soil to river channel
  • convectional rainfall- land warms= heats air above it= air expands + rises= as rises it cools + condenses= process continues= rain will fall
  • trunk + stem flow- flow of water down plant/tree trunks
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3
Q

hydrospheric processes- temporal change

A
  • short-term= runoff, precip + evap
  • oceans supply 90% water in water cycle
  • THC= influences short term changes in climate especially rainfall in places
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4
Q

hydrospheric processes- spatial change

A
  • since last glaciation= sea levels risen by 120m
  • cold glacial periods= lower sea levels as more water locked in cryosphere on land
  • where processes are occurring= changing climate across world in diff places
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5
Q

lithospheric processes- temporal change

A
  • store captures water for longest period of time
  • water from lithosphere to underground aquifers (slow transfer)
  • water stored in rock pores for hundreds of years
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6
Q

lithospheric processes- spatial change

A
  • rivers, lakes= surface freshwater stores
  • lake Baikhal (Russia)= 20% of planets surface freshwater
  • water stores underground in aquifers
  • water exists on crust as terrestrial water- rivers, lakes, aquifers etc
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7
Q

biological processes- temporal change

A
  • evapotranspiration from plants= more water vapour in atmosphere= more condensation
    –> this stops as much insolation from sun getting to earth surface= affects water cycle + waters stored in plants
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8
Q

biological processes- spatial change

A
  • plants pump water to air= increase humidity= forms clouds + rain
  • less plants= increases arid (dry) climates
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9
Q

atmospheric processes- temporal change

A
  • storms + winds transfer water across planets surface
  • little storage, lots of movement
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10
Q

atmospheric processes- spatial change

A
  • water not evenly spread e.g. warm air holds more moisture + air above equator
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11
Q

cryospheric processes- temporal change

A
  • ice= more in summer/’interglacial’ periods
  • ice age= lower sea levels as more water locked on land surface as ice
  • short-term changes in snowfall
  • albedo effect, less sea ice= more evap= less albedo overtime= more warming + absorption
  • permafrost stores ice in cold periods but melts in warm
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12
Q

cryospheric processes- spatial change

A
  • 1/3 of earths land is ice sheets (90% of Antarctica)
  • ice age= sea levels fell by 100m
    60m sea level rise if all ice sheets melt
  • regions with more precip= more ice
  • less albedo + warming in areas with ice
  • permafrost is found in polar, high mountain regions
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13
Q

evaporation rates over time + space

A

over time:
- day- lots of solar radiation= tropics lots of evap
- year- seasonal , hotter months= more evap
- 100 years- climate change, land use change, farming, changes in law can influence it

space:
- near equator= more evap
- poles= less evap
- tropics= high temps, sunlight, frequent rain= high evap

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14
Q

condensation rates

A
  • summer + spring= warmer air can hold moisture so more condensation
  • as air rises (over a mountain)= it cools= condensation –> this will stop when air becomes saturated
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15
Q

rainfall rates

A

over time:
- day= enough moisture= more precip
- year- seasons= changes in rainfall
- 100 years- climate change influences long-term

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16
Q

global distribution of water stores

A

earths FRESH water:
groundwater (stored in permeable rock in lithosphere) –>30%

surface water (lakes, rivers, etc) –> 0.3%

cryosphere–> 69%

water vapour in atmosphere–> 0.04%

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17
Q

how long does water remain in the different water cycle stores?

A
  • groundwater (deep)= 10,000 years
  • groundwater (shallow)= 20-100 years
  • glaciers= 100-200 years
  • lakes= 50-100 years
  • seasonal snow cover= 6 months
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18
Q

freshwater info

A
  • freshwater= only 2.5% of earths water
  • only 0.9% of it is accessible to humans
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19
Q

global atmospheric circulation model

A

see mind map

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20
Q

types of rainfall?

A

frontal
convectional
relief

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21
Q

frontal rainfall

A
  • area of warm air meets area of cold air
    –> warm air is forced over cold air
    –> where air meets= warm air’s cooled + water vapour condenses= clouds form
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22
Q

convectional rainfall

A
  • sun heats ground + warm air rises
    –> it rises, cools + condenses= clouds form
    –> large clouds can form= heavy rain storms
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23
Q

relief rainfall

A
  • warm wet air rises over high land
    –> it rises, cools + condenses= clouds form + precip occurs
    –> dry air then descends + warms + any moisture in air evaporates
24
Q

cloud formation

A
  • vapour molecules slow down due to cooling air
    –> the can’t maintain vapour form so condense to tiny liquid droplets
    –> tiny droplets form + combine to make a cloud –> often clusters of a particle e.g. dust
    –> condensation nuclei
25
Q

water balance + water balance formula

A
  • balance of inputs + outputs (helps us to know how much water is stored in the system + drainage basin behaviour)
  • summer (dry seasons)- evapotrans. exceeds precip= negative water balance
  • more precip than evapotrans= positive water balance

formula:
P= Q + E +/- S
(precipitation= runoff + evapotrans. +/- change in store

26
Q

what is discharge

A

discharge= volume of water flowing through a river in a given time

27
Q

residence time meaning

A

period of time water spends in a store

28
Q

river regime meaning

A

rivers discharge changes throughout the year

29
Q

storm hydrograph human influences

A

urbanisation, agriculture, deforestation, river management, drainage system

30
Q

storm hydrograph physical influences

A

excessive/prolonged rainfall, saturated soil, snow melt, frozen soil, impermeable rock, high drainage density, steep gradient, depth of river bed

31
Q

components of a storm hydrograph

A

rising limb, peak rainfall, peak discharge, lag time, falling limb, base flow

y- axis= precipitation (mm)
x-axis= time

32
Q

flash hydrograph vs flat hydrograph

A

flashy- short lag time + high peak discharge, rising limb steep

flat- low peak discharge, gradual rising + falling limb

33
Q

evaporation- what does it depend on + spatial + temporal points

A
  • depends on energy from solar radiation, availability of water, humidity, temp of air

–> more evap in warm areas, less windy, less humid, faster evap in area of large surface area, higher altitude= lower atmosphere pressure= more evap

–> more evap in summer, in day, short-term changes in weather patterns, long-term due to climate change, EL Nino/La Nina etc

34
Q

transpiration what is it affected by

A

wind speed, temp, humidity etc

35
Q

condensation when does it occur

A

occurs when there’s excess water in air:
- when temp of air is reduced to dew point but volume remains constant
- when volume of air increases + there’s no addition of heat –> can occur when air forced over hills as it will expand at lower pressures etc

36
Q

precipitation what is it affected by (spatial + temporal)?

A

spatial:
- geography + topography- mountains can block moist air= less rain on one side. Coastal areas often have more rain
- latitude- near equator= more precip due to ITCZ where warm air rises + cools
- vegetation- forests= higher humidity + precip due to transpiration
- proximity to water bodies- nearer oceans= more evap= more humidity + precip
temporal:
- seasonal changes (wet +dry) due to shifting positions of ITCZ
- climate patterns- El Nino (brings wetter conditions to southern US + drier to Australia) + La Nina
- weather systems- storms etc
- climate change- long term precip changes (more intense, frequent etc)

37
Q

what is the soil water budget

A

describes the changes of the soil water budget during the course of the year

38
Q

explain the soil water budget

A
  • see mindmap
39
Q

humans factors (HF) affecting changes in the water cycle?

A

farming practices
land use change
deforestation
water abstraction

40
Q

(HF) farming practices - what does arable + pastoral farming + ploughing do

A

ploughing= breaks surface= increases infiltration
arable (crops)= increase interception + evapotrans
pastoral (animal)= compacts soil due to trampling= less infiltration + more run off

41
Q

(HF) farming practices - irrigation

A

wells= main source of irrigation in plants= lowers groundwater levels + river channel levels
- irrigation= increase run off as not all water can infiltrate
- irrigation= higher in summer

42
Q

(HF) farming practices - impacts of farming in arid regions

A

can lead to desertification= soil will have less capacity to store water

43
Q

(HF) farming practices - fertilisers + farming machinery + overgrazing + more crops
impacts

A

fertilisers can lead to eutrophication
farming machinery compacts soil= increase runoff
overgrazing= less crops= less interception etc
more crops= more infiltration + interception + evapotranspiration= maybe more rainfall in area etc

44
Q

(HF) farming practices - Jordan valley (Israel) + low lying land

A

Jordan valley (Israel)- net bananas to reduce evap
low lying land e.g. somerset- once submerged but dug network of ditches to move water quickly through system= creates farmland BUT downstream flooding in York

45
Q

(HF)- land use changes

A
  • people living in urban area increasing= construction of roads, buildings etc= more impermeable surfaces= less infiltration + more runoff
  • city drainage systems remove water quickly BUT can cause flooding if river channels can’t discharge excess run off quickly
  • urbanisation= replacing vegetated ground with impermeable surfaces (concrete etc) –> reduces soil water + groundwater stores
46
Q

(HF)- deforestation

A
  • vegetation removal for agriculture, urbanisation or firewood for fuel= soil moisture reduced= transpiration declines= less precip
    locally dry rivers, desertification etc
    BUT
    dead plant material on forest floor can hold water= slows infiltration= won’t just runoff
  • old vegetation has larger root systems that can hold more water + more leaves that will intercept
47
Q

HF water abstraction- why is it increasing + impacts of excessive abstraction from aquifers

A
  • growing population, irrigation (mainly in summer/dry seasons), drinking water etc= demand for water supplies increase= reduces water on surface stores
  • excessive removal of aquifer water= recharge can’t keep up + stores deplete
    –> this can allow seawater in if water table drops below sea water/salinisation if water table rises + evap leaves natural salt conc behind
48
Q

HF water abstraction- middle east + abstraction licences

A

middle east= water abstracted from underground aquifers that were formed years ago= they’re in severe danger of becoming depleted as rate of recharge= slower than rate of use
- abstraction licenses= being changed

49
Q

HF water abstraction- what is sea water intrusion

A
  • when groundwater is withdrawn at faster rate than it can be replenished by rainfall= seawater moves into the freshwater aquifers –> groundwater levels too low= they get contaminated with sea water= irreversible water isn’t drinkable/harms crops etc
50
Q

deforestation- spatial + temporal changes

A

spatial:
- more likely in poor nations for firewood etc
- urbanisation etc

temporal:
- greatest loss of evapotrans= felt in summer

51
Q

agriculture- spatial + temporal

A

spatial- more prominent in LIC’s
temporal- lowering water table= most likely in summer + live stock more likely to roam in summer

52
Q

abstraction- spatial + temporal

A

spatial- occur in areas with porous geology
more common in wealthy nations with tech to abstract
high demand in tourist locations
temporal- more likely to occur in summer when surface water= less available

53
Q

physical factors/variations affecting water cycle- storms + precip

A
  • extreme weather events e.g. severe storms/droughts= significantly impact water cycle
  • storms + precip- intense storms= more precip= higher peak discharge than light rain
    –> larger input of water= flows increase in size
    –> some flows e.g. infiltration can’t occur rapidly= runoff + overland flow
54
Q

physical factors/variations affecting water cycle- seasonal changes + natural climate change

A
  • variation of inputs, flows + stores with seasons
    winter= more precip, snow delays water availability until melted, lower temps= less evap, saturated soils= more overland flow, vegetation dies= less interception + transpiration, higher discharge rates, frozen water

summer= less precip, higher temps= more evap, soil may dry out= less rain infiltrates quick BUT hard, baked soil= impermeable, more veg= more evapotrans= less infiltration= increase lag time, lower discharge rates

natural climate change–> impact of ice ages, interglacial (period of warming) + glacial periods etc

55
Q

what occurs in a normal year vs el nino?

A

normal year
- trade winds blow consistently east to west over pacific ocean –> pushes warm water west towards Australia, Philippines etc + cold water from underneath replaces the east water (cold upwelling). due to warm water= low pressure system forms with rising air= creates cycle of warm air falling + dry air falling

El Nino year
- trade winds weaken= warm water not pushed west + stays over most the pacific ocean= less suspending= dry airs falling both east + west= effects whole world

56
Q

el nino impacts

A
  • S. Africa= droughts, E. Africa= floods
  • cold, dry winters in Europe
  • western Austrailia had bush fires
  • typhoons in china
  • argentina= wetter weather
  • warmer summers in Belgium + Holland
57
Q

what is la nina + impacts of it?

A
  • opposite to El Nino where trade winds strengthen= greater upwelling of cold water across Pacific Ocean= opposite affects of El Nino

impacts:
- rainfall increase in Phillipines + austrailia
- E. Africa= have droughts

Physical geography- water and carbon cycle (4 decks)

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