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geography > all of the water cycle > Flashcards

all of the water cycle Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the global water budget?

A

balance of water fluxes and size of water stores involved in hydrological cycle each year

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2
Q

What is a closed system?

A

transfer of energy but no matter between the system and its surroundings

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3
Q

What is an open system?

A

receives inputs from and transfers outputs of energy and matter to other systems

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4
Q

How much water do oceans store?

A

96.9%

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5
Q

How much water do continents store?

A

3.02%

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6
Q

How much water is groundwater?

A

1.1%

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7
Q

How much water is rivers/lakes?

A

0.1%

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8
Q

How much water is in soil moisture?

A

0.01%

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9
Q

How is water stored on continents?

A
  • groundwater
  • river/lake
  • soil moisture
  • atmosphere
  • biological
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10
Q

What is fossil water?

A

water contained in an undisturbed space for longer than 1,000 years

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11
Q

What is blue water?

A

Water in its liquid form (Rivers)

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12
Q

What is green water?

A

Water evaporated from soil and plants

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13
Q

What is grey water?

A

Relatively clean water waste from baths, sinks and kitchen appliances

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14
Q

What is the Segura Aquifer in Spain?

A
  • Used for agriculture: grapes/wine
  • One of the world’s most depleted aquifers
  • 440 hm³ short of fresh water
  • 61% of groundwater sources are not replenishable
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15
Q

What is the water budget equation?

A

precipitation (Input) = Channel discharge + evapotranspiration (Output) +/- changes in storage

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16
Q

What is a drainage basin?

A

Area drained by a river and its tributaries, separated by high land called watershed (open system)

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17
Q

What is interception?

A

Water impeded by vegetation, varies due to temperature, leaf type, age and density

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18
Q

What is infiltration?

A

Rate water enters pores in the soil (mm/hour) - changes due to saturation levels

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19
Q

What is overland flow?

A

Water moving across the surface

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20
Q

What is saturated overland flow?

A

Rainwater forced to run off the surface when maximum soil saturation is reached

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21
Q

What is infiltration-excess overland flow?

A

When rainfall intensity is higher than infiltration capacity, causing the additional water to run over the surface

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22
Q

What is groundwater flow?

A

Slow movement of percolated water through rocks to a river

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23
Q

What is percolation?

A

Water moving vertically downwards through rocks

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24
Q

What is evapotranspiration?

A

Total amount of water removed from a drainage basin from liquid water to gas and water in the soil taken through plants that is from the stomata

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25
Q

What is channel runoff?

A

Total water output from the catchment at river mouth

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26
Q

What is human disruption to interception?

A

Varied crops, deforestation, urbanisation

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27
Q

What is human disruption to infiltration?

A

Trampling, urbanisation, deforestation, ploughing

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28
Q

What is human disruption to channel runoff?

A

River extraction reducing flow (Colorado River)

29
Q

What is human disruption to evapotranspiration?

A

Dams, global warming, vegetation changes

30
Q

What has happened to the Segura aquifer?

A
  • constant decline
  • Major drought during 1992-1995 and 2006-2009
  • Resulting in an 8m drop in the water table and 8cm of subsidence
31
Q

What are the three main types of rainfall?

A
  • convectional rainfall
  • relief rainfall
  • frontal rainfall
32
Q

What is the soil moisture budget?

A

Used to compare inputs and outputs from soil

33
Q

What is the river regime?

A

Annual variation in discharge per year (displayed in hydrograph)

34
Q

What is a Perennial Channel?

A

river with continual flow all year

35
Q

What is an intermittent channel?

A

River with lack of flow for a few weeks/months a year

36
Q

What is a ephemeral channel?

A

River that only flows for a few hours/days (Wadi)

37
Q

What are factors affecting river regimes?

A
  • Climate (desert mostly ephemeral)
  • drainage area
  • altitude
  • geology
  • land use
38
Q

What are wetlands?

A

Areas of marsh, fen or peatland
Lack resilience to drought
Serious struggle UK 1976

39
Q

What is meteorological drought?

A

When long-term precipitation is much lower than normal (region specific)

40
Q

What is agricultural drought?

A

Insufficient soil moisture to meet crop needs - normally evident after m. drought

41
Q

What is hydrological drought?

A

Deficiencies in surface and subsurface water supplies that originates from precipitation shortfall

42
Q

What is socio-economic drought?

A

When water demand for crops/HEP exceeds water availability

43
Q

What is the Intertropical Convergence Zone?

A

Belt of low pressure at the equator that moves north or south seasonally. Intense heat causes air rise, creates wet season (when it arrives) and dry season (when is leaves)

44
Q

What are mid-latitude blocking anticyclones?

A

High pressure system that brings stable weather conditions with little precipitation, forcing rain-depressions around them. (UK)

45
Q

What is natural flooding?

A

intense rainfall in short time, prolonged rainfall, tropical storms and snowmelt

46
Q

What is human-caused flooding?

A

Deforestation, urban growth, farmland and river mismanagement

47
Q

What is positive flooding?

A

Recharge groundwater, fill wetlands, prevent future floods by ground level raise

48
Q

What is negative flooding?

A

Lost of property (economic damage), eutrophication and contamination

49
Q

What is the main impacts of climate change on the water cycle?

A
  • Decreased snow cover
  • Increased precipitation in low pressure areas
  • Increased flood risk
  • Decreased humidity and precipitation in high pressure areas (drought)
50
Q

What is the ENSO cycle?

A
  • El Nino Southern Oscillation
  • every 7 years
  • Warm equatorial water moves east to Americas causing greater precipitation and evaporation in Americas, Dry in West Pacific
51
Q

What is La Nina?

A
  • opposite of ENSO
  • droughts in Americas and flooding in West Pacific, more hurricanes in Caribbean, colder snowy winters in the UK
52
Q

What is water security?

A

Capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of water

53
Q

What is water scarcity?

A

When water resources are below 1000m3/person (water demand increasing twice as fast as population)

54
Q

What are factors affecting water scarcity?

A
  • availability
  • access
  • physical lack of resources
  • utilisation
  • inadequate infrastructure/finance issues
  • failure of reliable supply
55
Q

What is absolute water scarcity?

A

If water supplies are very low, less than 500m3/ person - normally causing water rationing

56
Q

What is physical water scarcity?

A

When more than 75% of a countries river flows are being used

57
Q

What is economic water scarcity?

A

When development of water resources is limited by human/ financial capabilities and water prices are expensive for citizens

58
Q

What are the main causes of water insecurity?

A

Physical = Climate (rain varies by region and season)
Human = Deforestation, overuse of Aquifers
Contamination = 300 million in China use contaminated water (1/3 rivers and 75% lakes polluted), 20% waterwells contain arsenic

59
Q

What are the main conflicts of the River Nile?

A
  • Shared by 11 nations
  • very valuable as flows through arid areas (95% water for Egypt)
  • Egypt + Sudan significant veto power from 1929 Nile Agreement
60
Q

What is agricultural water pressure?

A
  • 74% World supply use
  • Wasteful use of water
  • Pollution can reduce river quality
61
Q

What is industrial water pressure?

A
  • 18% World supply use
  • Water can be recycled (some efficiency)
62
Q

What is domestic water pressure?

A
  • 8% World supply use
  • Huge variations by country
  • Most rapidly growing sector
63
Q

What is Chinas water supply?

A
  • 8% World freshwater but 22% of World population
  • 66% cities don’t have enough water all year
  • 60% freshwater contaminated
64
Q

What is abstraction?

A
  • Removal of water from rivers/ groundwater stores (Aquifers), can cause saltwater incursion
65
Q

What is saltwater incursion?

A

Movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers due to water tables lowering, reducing pressure and pulling seawater into Aquifer

66
Q

What are hard engineering schemes in the water cycle?

A

structures to increase supply
- megadams
- water transfer
- desalination plants

67
Q

What are soft engineering schemes in the water cycle?

A

Work with local people to develop projects that restore water supplies

68
Q

What is integrated drainage basin management?

A

Aim to establish framework for co-operation between all administrations and stakeholders with agreed policies and strategies

geography (6 decks)

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