Geo term 4, Water Flashcards
What are the 3 types of resources?
- Renewable - will not run out as long as we don’t use them to quickly and take care of it, e.g. trees in a forest.
- non renewable - limited (finite) they will run out someday if we continue using them, e.g. coal.
Continuous - unlimited (infinite) they will never run out no matter how much we use them, e.g. energy from the sun and wind
What are the 3 main parts of the water cycle?
- Evaporation: Water turns from liquid to a vapour/gas - into the atmosphere
- Condensation: the process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water
- Precipitation: process of water falling onto the surface of the earth. E.g. rain, hail, snow, sleet.
What is infiltration, percolation and evapotranspiration?
Infiltration is defined as the downward entry of water into the soil or rock surface
Percolation is the flow of water through soil and porous or fractured rock.
Evapotranspiration is the term used to describe the part of the water cycle which removes liquid water from an area with vegetation and into the atmosphere by the processes of both transpiration and evaporation.
What is interception and Transpiration?
Interception: Water making its way to earth is stopped/caught by the leaves on trees/plants
Transpiration: evaporation of water from plant leaves.
What is a catchment/watershed?
A geographical area or region, within (in theory) all water that falls on the ground eventually ends up flowing to the same location (ocean).
Not all water makes its way to the ocean which is why we say “in theory” - some infiltrates into the soil, and can be caught in lakes, dams, swimming pools, puddles etc, where it may evaporate to join the start of the water cycle again.
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather is the day to day atmospheric conditions of a particular place.
Climate is common average weather conditions at a particular place over a long period of time.
What are the 3 types of rainfall?
Frontal rainfall, the warm air rises due to a cold front pushing the warm air upwards, it then cools condenses and rains.
Orographic rainfall, the warm air rising is due to land mass e.g. mountains, the warm air rises, cools, condenses and rain falls on the windward side of the mountain.
Convectional rainfall, temperature during the day warm the ground causing warms air to rise rapidly and condense at high altitude which produces thunderstorms and heavy rain.
How much of the earths surface is covered in water.
71%
How much of the earths water is fresh water.
2.5%
What does run off mean in the water cycle
the movement of water over the surface of land, or in some cases through it. The water moves downhill, thanks to gravity, through channels as small as a brook and as large as a river. From here, the water will enter a pond, lake, or ocean
What is irrigation?
Water used for farming
What is PQE?
PQE is a tool used by geographers to analyse the data they have gathered.
Pattern - General trend
Quantify - Provide data to support trend identified
Exception - data that does not follow the trend - there is not always an exception
What is water scarcity
When the demand of clean water exceeds the available supply
Climate graphs
Has the temp and rain etc.
Map analysis
- Lines of latitude and longitude
-tropics of Cancer and Capricorn - Equator
- North, East, South, West
- Regions/continents
What is potable water?
Water that is safe to drink, it usually has gone through some treatment so that it is suitable for human consumption
How does water play a role in where people choose to live
Water is needed to grow crops - food source for people
Water is needed to drink, bathe, wash, cook etc
People are going to choose where they live if they have high access to fresh drinking water
Generally environment is better e.g. desert vs sub-tropical
What are the pros and cons of desalination?
Pros:
- Australian city’s have a vast supply of sea water
Cons:
- Cost a lot of money
- Uses a lot of electricity
-Can damage the environment as they release highly concentrated salt water (brine) back into the ocean which can harm marine animals.
What are the pros and cons of sewage treatment?
Pros:
- Saves water
- Closed system
- Reduces pollution
- Less expensive than not recycling
Cons:
- could be considered gross
- Potential sickness
- Expensive to set up and run
- May be time consuming
How do we use water?
- Irrigation/agriculture
- domestic use
- industry use
How does water scarcity affect people in Africa
It contributes to many of kids as water can contain harmful bacteria that causes diseases. And woman are the main ones who collect the water and they can spend up to 60% of their day collecting water
Young girls can be removed from school as they are needed to collect water for their family
