Global hydrological cycle?

Question 1

What percentage of water does freshwater make up of all water on earth?

Answer 1

2.5%

Question 2

According to NASA, how many times has every drop of water been consumed and why?

Answer 2

Once, because water flows through a closed hyrdrological cycle

Question 3

What does solar energy cause water to do?

Answer 3

Evaporate from both sea and land, which then returns as precipitation.

Question 4

Which two processes drive the global hydrological cycle?

Answer 4

Solar energy: In the form of heat

Gravitational potential energy: Causes rivers to flow downhill and precipitation to fall to the ground.

Question 5

Levels of what increase in the atmosphere as evaporation increases?

Answer 5

Levels of moisture in the atmosphere increase.

Question 6

What can higher levels of moisture in the atmosphere cause?

Answer 6

Lead to increased condensation as air cools, and therefore greater precipitation. This explains why some places experience increased cloud cover and precipitation as climate changes.

Question 7

What are the four main stores of water?

Answer 7

The oceans
Glaciers and ice sheets (cryosphere)
Surface runoff
Atmosphere

Question 8

What is the biggest store of water?

Answer 8

The ocean, followed by the cryosphere

Question 9

What is surface runoff in the context of the global hydro logical cycle?

Answer 9

Surface runoff is an umbrella term for a number of land-based stores. These are rivers, lakes, groundwater and the moisture held in soils and vegetation.

Question 10

What does surface runoff consist of?

Answer 10

Rivers and lakes, as well as groundwater.

Question 11

What is the largest freshwater store?

Answer 11

The cryosphere is the largest

Question 12

What percentage of the worlds freshwater is held in the cryosphere?

Answer 12

69%

Question 13

What percentage of the worlds freshwater is held in groundwater?

Answer 13

30%

Question 14

What percentage of the worlds freshwater is held in the biosphere (vegetation and soil moisture)?

Answer 14

Less than 1%

Question 15

What are flows?

Answer 15

Flows are the transfers of water from one store to another.

Question 16

What are the four main flows?

Answer 16

Precipitation, evaporation, transpiration and vapour transport.

Question 17

What are fluxes?

Answer 17

Fluxes are the rates of flow between stores.

Question 18

Where do the greatest fluxes occur?

Answer 18

Over the oceans

Question 19

What is groundwater?

Answer 19

Groundwater is the water contained within the soil and underlying rocks, and derived mainly from the percolation of rainwater and meltwater. It is a store, but water also moves through it, hence the term groundwater flow.