Geographie Flashcards
What is the hydrosphere?
The total amount of water on a planet
Includes water on the surface, underground, and in the atmosphere.
What are the three states of water in the hydrosphere?
- Water vapor
- Ice
- Liquid water
Each state contributes to the overall hydrosphere.
What percentage of Earth’s water is freshwater?
1.29%
This includes lakes, rivers, and underground water.
What is the frozen part of the hydrosphere called?
Cryosphere
It refers to all frozen water on Earth.
What is the total area of Earth’s surface?
510 million km²
This includes both oceans and land.
What is the ocean to land ratio in the Northern Hemisphere?
6:3
Represents the distribution of water and land.
What is the ocean to land ratio in the Southern Hemisphere?
8:9
Indicates a different distribution compared to the Northern Hemisphere.
What are the two types of water in the hydrosphere?
- Saline water (e.g., oceans, seas)
- Freshwater (e.g., rivers)
These types are crucial for understanding water distribution.
What process occurs when water vapor turns back into water droplets?
Condensation
This process leads to cloud formation.
What happens when precipitation reaches the surface?
Some falls directly into bodies of water or is absorbed by vegetation
This can lead to water infiltration into the ground.
What is transpiration?
The process where water evaporates from the surface of leaves
This contributes to the water cycle.
Fill in the blank: The ratio of saline to freshwater is _______.
50:1
This highlights the predominance of saline water.
What percentage of Earth’s water is saline?
96.5%
Saline water primarily consists of oceans.
True or False: The atmosphere plays a role in the water cycle.
True
The atmosphere is essential for processes like evaporation and precipitation.
What are some sources of water that contribute to the water cycle?
- Oceans
- Rivers
- Lakes
These sources provide moisture to the atmosphere.
What is surface run-off?
Water that flows quickly across the surface of the ground to the river.
What factors increase the likelihood of surface run-off?
Ground saturation with water or when the rock is impermeable.
How does water move back to the river compared to surface run-off?
Water moves more slowly deeper into the ground and is slowly transferred back to the river.
Fill in the blank: Surface run-off occurs when the ground is _______.
saturated
True or False: Surface run-off is more likely to occur when the ground is dry.
False
What happens when water does not penetrate into the soil?
Surface run-off is more likely to occur.
Fill in the blank: Water moves more _______ into the ground compared to surface run-off.
slowly
What is the relationship between impermeable rocks and surface run-off?
Impermeable rocks increase the likelihood of surface run-off.
How does surface run-off relate to water bodies like rivers and seas?
Surface run-off contributes water directly to rivers or seas.
Water getting into the ground:
Infiltration - throughflow/Percolation
