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geography alevel > 3.1.1.2 water cycle W&C > Flashcards

3.1.1.2 water cycle W&C Flashcards

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1
Q

what are the 5 subsystems in the water cycle

A

hydrosphere, biosphere, cyrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere

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2
Q

what is the lithosphere

A

outermost layer of the earth, includes the crust and the upper mantle

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3
Q

what is the hydrosphere

A

all the water on earth, may in liquid, gas or solid form

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4
Q

what is the atmosphere

A

the layer of gas between the earths surface and space, held in place by gravity

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5
Q

what is the biosphere

A

the part of the earths system where living things are found, all living things on earth

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6
Q

what is the cryosphere

A

includes all parts of the earths system where it is cold enough for water to freeze

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7
Q

what percentage of water is in oceans

A

96.9%

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8
Q

what percentage of water is in the cryosphere

A

1.9%

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9
Q

what percentage of water is terrestrial

A

1.1%

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10
Q

what percentage of water is in the atmosphere

A

0.001%

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11
Q

what percent of the earths surface is covered by oceans

A

72%

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12
Q

what is included in the cryosphere

A

sea ice (Artic ocean), ice shelves (Greenland and Iceland), ice sheets (land ice extending into the water), ice caps and permafrost (1-500m thick)

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13
Q

what is the residence time of cyrospheric water

A

15,000 years (longest)

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14
Q

what is included in terrestrial water

A

rivers, lakes, wetlands, ground water and soil water

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15
Q

why is atmospheric water vital

A

keeps the atmosphere at a temperature that maintains life

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16
Q

what is the residence time of atmospheric water

A

10 days

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17
Q

what are the three states of water

A

solid = ice
liquid = water
gas = water vapour

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18
Q

what is latent heat

A

when water changes state is needs heat or releases heat

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19
Q

what is evaporation

A

transfer of water from liquid state to gas

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20
Q

what is transpiration

A

water is lost from surface of vegetation when water vapour is realised through the stomata in leaves

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21
Q

what affects the rate of evaporation

A

amount of solar energy, humidity, temp of air, availability of water

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22
Q

what is condensation

A

air cools and holds less water vapour this means it will reach a point of saturation which is called dew point, excess water in the air will then be converted into liquid water

the water will need something to condense on this can be particles such as dust or smoke, or surfaces such as leaves, grass or windows that are below dew point temp

23
Q

when do clouds form

A

when evaporated water condenses into a concentration nuclei

24
Q

what conditions are needed for water to evaporate and rise

A

high temps, leads to high cloud coverage along the equator

25
Q

what is precipitation

A

atmospheric water returning to the terrestrial system

26
Q

what is the direct cause of all precipitation

A

condensation

27
Q

what are the 3 types of rainfall

A

frontal, relief/orographic and conventional

28
Q

what is orographic rainfall

A

when air is forced to rise over hills, cools and condenses and forms rainfall

29
Q

what is frontal rainfall

A

warm air meets cold air, warm is less dense air rises and cools, condenses and forms rain

30
Q

what is conventional rainfall

A

localised warm surfaces heat air above, this expands comes less dense and rises, forming rainfall

31
Q

how many glacial and interglacial cycles have there been in the past 740,000 years

A

8 cycles

32
Q

what happened in the last major glacial period

A

sea levels were approx 120m lower than present and continental glaciers covered much of Europe and North America, cause an interruption to the hydrological cycle

33
Q

what is involved in an interglacial period

A

more melting than freezing which allows the hydrological cycle to perform as it does today, water can cycle between subsystems as it is not trapped in the cryosphere

34
Q

what is runoff

A

atmospheric moisture that is transferred to the oceans on the surface or as groundwater

35
Q

what is a key process determining how much water runs off

A

infiltration

36
Q

when is surface runoff generated

A

when rainfall intensity is greater than infiltration capacity or when rain falls on soil that is already saturated

37
Q

what is a drainage basin

A

the area which all water I’d drained by the same river and it’s tributaries

38
Q

what factors affect flows in a drainage basin

A

vegetation density, soil porosity, slope gradient, precipitation intensity and water table depth,

39
Q

what is watershed

A

an imaginary line which separates one drainage basin from another

40
Q

what are human related factors that cause change at a local scale

A

deforestation, urbanisation and farmers digging drainage ditches

41
Q

what is the water balance

A

shows the balance between the inputs and outputs

42
Q

when does the water balance change

A

with the change of seasons

43
Q

what is the water balance like in the winter

A

precipitation exceeds potential evaporation, leads to water surplus, soils will be saturated, overland flow encouraged and river levels will be high

44
Q

what will the water balance be like in the summer

A

potential evapotranspiration will exceed precipitation, soil starts to dry out, at the end of the season there will be a deficit

45
Q

what is a flood/storm hydrograph

A

how river discharge changes as a result of heavy rainfall

46
Q

what is a river regime

A

the variability in the discharge throughout the course of a year in response to precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration and drainage basin characteristics

47
Q

what are the natural changes in the water cycle which cause variation

A

storm events, drought and seasonal changes

48
Q

how do storm events cause variation

A

amounts and intensity of precipitation can affect amount of runoff, heavy storms cause higher discharge

49
Q

how can drought cause variation

A

a reduction in water in rivers and lakes, vegetation dies which reduces transpiration, interception etc, soils dries out

50
Q

what human activities cause change in the water cycle

A

farming practices, land use change and water abstraction

51
Q

how do framing practices cause change in the water cycle

A

ploughing breaks topsoil which allows greater infiltration resulting in less runoff, irrigation adds extra water to the system, drainage systems lead to a more rapid transfer of water to the nearest river system and livestock may compact soil resulting in more runoff

52
Q

how does land use change cause changes in the water cycle

A

urbanisation means more impermeable surfaces, water cannot infiltrate increasing overland flow and makes flooding more likely

deforestation is the removal of trees which leads to increased surface runoff and soil erosion, interception rates are reduced, recited infiltration due to less roots in soil

53
Q

how does water abstraction cause change in the water cycle

A

the extraction of water from rivers or ground water aquifers, water stores are at danger of becoming depleted as rate of recharge is slower than rate of use

there is also a risk of contamination by inflowing sea water if the water table drops below sea level

geography alevel (14 decks)

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