Chapter 4 - Water and its management Flashcards
Describe the global water distribution
Oceans cover 75% of earth’s surface. Oceans and seas contain 97% of all earths water and only 3% of water is freshwater and potentially useable by humans. However, around 65% of the 3% of freshwater is in deep freeze in ice caps and glaciers. Other locations that contain freshwater include ground water, the atmosphere, lakes, and rivers.
Water cycle diagram
What is precipitation?
Precipitation is the process in which liquid water (as rain), or ice particles (as snow or hail) fall to earth due to gravity.
What is surface run off?
Surface run off is the process by which water runs over the ground into rivers.
What is interception?
Interception is the process by which precipitation is stopped from reaching the ground surface the presence of tress and other plants.
What is infiltration?
Infiltration is the process by which water seeps into the ground.
What is through flow?
Through flow is the process by which infiltrated water flows through the soil. This happens close to the surface.
What is ground water flow?
Ground water flow is the process by which infiltrated water flows through rocks. This happens deeper down the earth.
What is transpiration?
Transpiration is the movement of water up plants and its subsequent loss as water vapour from their leaves.
What is evaporation?
Evaporation is the process by which liquid turns into water vapour.
What is condensation?
Condensation is the process in which water vapour turns into liquid water.
What is an aquifer?
Aquifers is when water is stored in porous rocks under the ground.
What is an artesian aquifer?
Artesian aquifers are aquifers in which water is under pressure
What is a well?
A well is a hole bored or dug into rock to reach the water stored there.
What is surface water?
Surface water can be found in lakes, rivers, and swamps.
What are rivers?
Rivers are large, natural streams of flowing water into the sea, lake, or another river. They provide surface transfers of water to low land areas where farms villages, towns and cities are concentrated.
What is ground water?
Ground water is water in the soil and in rocks under the surface of the ground.
What are reservoirs?
Reservoirs are artificial lakes where water can be stored.
What are service reservoirs?
Service reservoirs are reservoirs in which potable water is stored.
What are water towers?
Water towers are a type of reservoir where potable water is stored for immediate use.
What is a cistern?
A cistern is a vessel which water that is usually potable is stored and forming a type of covered reservoir.
What is desalination?
Desalination is the removal of salt from water done by distillation or reverse osmosis
What is distillation?
Distillation is the purification of a liquid by boiling a solution so that the liquid evaporates and can be collected when it condenses at a lower temperature. This process is 10-30% efficient, uses a lot of energy and produces pollution.
What is reverse osmosis?
Reverse osmosis is the purification of water by pumping it at a high pressure through a fine membrane. This process is 30-50% efficient and requires less energy than distillation.
What are nine domestic water usages?
Domestic uses includes drinking, cooking, washing, flushing the toilet, washing clothes, gardening, washing cars and some water that is lost in leaks.
What are five industrial water usages?
Industrial uses include cooling, mixing/making products such as dyes and paints, bottling and canning food and power generation.
What are two agricultural water usages?
Agricultural uses include irrigation of plants and for domestic animals to drink.
What are water-rich countries?
Water-rich countries have a plentiful fresh water supply.
What are water-poor countries?
Water-poor countries have scare fresh water supplies.
What is water conflict?
Water conflict is conflict between countries, states, or groups over access to water resources.
What is physical water scarcity?
Physical water scarcity is a situation in which there is simply not enough water for human needs.
What is economic water scarcity?
Economic water scarcity is a situation in which there is enough water available, but the money does not exist to extract it and/or treat it for human needs.
How do countries ensure that water is potable?
Even if water is available, it may not be safe to drink. The two main ways of ensuring water is potable is using sanitation systems which ensure that dirty water does not mix with water intended for human use and water treatment processes which ensure that the water supplied to people is safe to drink.
What is the relation between urban areas and potable water?
Urban areas have higher access to safe drinking water because there is more wealth/more wealthy people in cities, large numbers of people can work together to pressurise authorities to provide safe water, and it is cheaper to install piped water when people live closer together.
What are the eight factors that influence the choice of site for a dam?
High precipitation to provide sufficient water
Low temperature to prevent evaporation
Built on strong, impermeable rock so water does not drain through and has a good foundation
Built high up in order to have good potential for hydroelectric power
Narrow, steep sided valley for economic reasons
Rivers and lakes nearby to provide water
Away from developed areas to reduce the risk of pollution is reservoirs
Easily accessible.
What are eleven advantages of dams?
Generation of electricity in hydroelectric power plants
Flood control
Irrigation
Creates recreational land for tourism and leisure
Provision of water
Creation of habitat for wetland species
Access by boat to otherwise inaccessible areas
Renewable source of energy
Doesn’t produce greenhouse gases
Reduces fossil fuel consumption
Creates more jobs
What are nine disadvantages of dams?
Relocating people
Flooding land
Disrupting the life cycles of fish and other aquatic organisms
Dam may become redundant due to sediment build up
Very expensive to build
Requires maintenance
Reduces jobs for farmers if natural fishers are affected
Altering water supply for people downstream of the dam
Reducing soil enrichment downstream of the dam
What is one sustainable advantage of dams?
Alternative for burning fossil fuels as no greenhouse gases are produced
What are three unsustainable disadvantages of dams?
Reservoir can become silted due to material carried into it by rivers
Dam structure under a lot of pressure can deteriorate and eventually fall
Have negative effects on the environment and aquatic organisms.
How does domestic waste lead to water pollution?
Domestic waste is sewage from rural and urban settlements that carry many pathogenic microorganisms, therefore increasing the concentration of nitrates and phosphates in rivers. Detergents, metals, and other manufactured products contain traces of toxic chemicals.
How does sewage lead to water pollution?
Sewage is waste matter that is rich in organic matter, thus microbial organisms can thrive in it. It is usually disposed in bodies of water and therefore has to be treated.
How do industrial processes leading to water pollution?
Industrial process include the use of chemicals, the processing of metal ores and the leaching of metal from waste heaps and dumps cause the presence of metals in rivers. Gases from industrial chimneys enter the atmosphere where they dissolve in water and form acid rain.