EQ1- Hydrological Cycle

Question 1

What is a closed system?

Answer 1

When there is a transfer of energy but not matter between the system and its surroundings. There are no external inputs/outputs, any inputs come from within the system.

Question 2

What are stores?

Answer 2

Reservoirs where water is held e.g. oceans

Question 3

What is blue?

Answer 3

Water that is stored in rivers, streams, lakes and groundwater in visible forms (visible)

Question 4

What is green water?

Answer 4

Water that is stored in soil and vegetation (invisible) and inaccessible

Question 5

What are fluxes?

Answer 5

Thaler are the measurements of the rate of flow between stores

Question 6

What are processes?

Answer 6

They are the physical mechanisms such as evaporation that drives the flow of water between different stores.

Question 7

What are the 4 main water stores on earth?

Answer 7

Cryosphere
Atmosphere
Terrestrial
Oceans

Question 8

How much of earths water is stored in the cryosphere? And how long can it remain there?

Answer 8

1.9% of earths water is stored here.

The water remains there for an average of 15,000 years

Question 9

How much of earths water is stored in the Terrestrial stores? And how long can it remain there?

Answer 9

1.1101% of earths water is stored here.

It can remain from 1 week to 10,000 years

Question 10

How much of earths water is stored in the Oceans? And how long can it remain there?

Answer 10

96.9% of the earths water is stored in the ocean.

The water remains there for an average of 3600 years

Question 11

How much of earths water is stored in the Atmosphere? And how long can it remain there?

Answer 11

0.01% of earths water is stored here.

The water remains for an average of 10days

Question 12

What is precipitation?

Answer 12

The input into a drainage basin system.

Question 13

What is interception?

Answer 13

The storage of water when it falls on vegetation or man made structures (however most man made structures are bad interceptors).
It is a temporary store before it evaporates or stemflows

Question 14

What is soil water store?

Answer 14

The storage of water in soil. Water is held in the small gaps between soil particles.

Question 15

What is a channel store?

Answer 15

The storage of water in the river channel. The water in a river moving to the sea is a store

Question 16

What is a vegetation store?

Answer 16

The storage of water in vegetation

Question 17

What is surface runoff?

Answer 17

The horizontal flow of water over the surface of the land either in little channels or over the whole surface

Question 18

What is stem flow?

Answer 18

The downwards flow from interception to surface

Question 19

What is soil flow?

Answer 19

The horizontal flow of water through the soil towards the river

Question 20

What is infiltration?

Answer 20

The downwards movement of water from surface to soil

Question 21

What is percolation

Answer 21

The downward movement of water from soil to the permeable ground rock

Question 22

What is groundwater flow?

Answer 22

The horizontal movement of water through the rock moving slowly towards the river

Question 23

What is river channel flow

Answer 23

The movement of water in the river channel moving towards the sea

Question 24

What is evaporation?

Answer 24

The output of water when water is heated and turned into a gas

Question 25

Water is transpiration?

Answer 25

Water evaporating from leaves through the plant

Question 26

What is evapotranspiration?

Answer 26

The combined output of water from evaporation and transpiration

Question 27

What is river output?

Answer 27

The output of water from river to sea

Question 28

What is the watershed boundary?

Answer 28

The high point of land that divides two draining basins

Question 29

What is a headwater?

Answer 29

A small tributary close to or at the source

Question 30

What is the confluence?

Answer 30

Where to river join together

Question 31

What is the water table?

Answer 31

Is the upper level of permanently saturated soil or rocks

Question 32

What is orographic rain?

Answer 32

In mountainous regions air is forced up and over mountains where it cools forming clouds and rains. It then sinks again on the other side of the mountain. Orographic - ocean, normally near coast

Question 33

What is convectional rain?

Answer 33

Normal cloud formation

Question 34

What is frontal rain?

Answer 34

When warm area makes contact with cold air the warm air Is forced over the cool where it cools and forms clouds, rain

Question 35

What factors affect the flow of water in a drainage basin?

Answer 35

1) Precipitation Intensity 2) slope gradient 3) vegetation cover 4) soil and rock permeability 5) water table depth

Question 36

What factors affect the amount of water that is intercepted?

Answer 36

Vegetation type| coniferous, deciduous, croplands or flat earth Precipitation type| showers, Stormy or long periods of rain Light levels| If it is sunny the water will evaporate off the leaves quicker Wind speed| strong wind will blow the water off the leaves

Question 37

What factors affect infiltration?

Answer 37

Antecedent conditions| dry soil can absorb soil. Precipitation type| periodic long lasting rainfall Vegetation type| it allows for water to drip slowly onto the soil. Soil type| porous soil is needed, e.g. clays are bad, also thick soil is good. Thick roots| provide soil structure Rock type| porous rock, allowing percolation Water table| low

Question 38

What factors affect surface runoff?

Answer 38

Atecedant conditions| saturated soil will increase runoff Vegetation type| more infiltration less Surface runoff Soil type| permeable means less, impermeable means more Precipitation type| Heavy/ stormy weather means too much trying to enter the soil at once. Rock type| impermeable good Water table| high

Question 39

Factors which affect percolation

Answer 39

Soil type| Porous soil is good as water reaches quicker Rock type| porous with lots of cracks and faults Water table| low Gradient of land| groundwater flow increases, making room for more water to percolate

Question 40

What is cloud seeding and how is it disrupting the drainage basin?

Answer 40

Hydroscopic nuclei (dust particles) are shot into the atmosphere so clouds can for, around them. They change the amount of precipitation in an area.

Question 41

How is urbanisation affecting the natural drainage basin?

Answer 41

Impermeable surfaces increases surface runoff and also reduces interception.

Question 42

How is dam construction affecting the natural drainage basin?

Answer 42

Reduces downstream river discharge but also increases evaporation due to the creation of the resivour

Question 43

how is groundwater abstraction disrupting the drainage basin?

Answer 43

It is extracted from in the ground faster than the earth can replenish it causing reduced groundwater flow and a low water table

Question 44

How does the size of the river affect the river regime?

Answer 44

The size of the river will affect its output

Question 45

How does precipitation affect the river regime?

Answer 45

The amount, pattern and intensity of precipitation

Question 46

How does temperature affect the river regime?

Answer 46

Evaporation causes river levels to rise or fall

Question 47

How does geology affect river regime?

Answer 47

How much water can percolate and permeate. Water can and is regularly stored as groundwater which can supply the river during the dry months

Question 48

How does vegetation affect the river regime?

Answer 48

Wetlands for example can hold water and release it slowly into the system

Question 49

How do human activities affect the river regime?

Answer 49

Such as dam building which can regulate the flow or activities such as agriculture which can lessen the flow