Global Systems

Question 1

How much ice is Greenland losing?

Answer 1

270 billion tons a year

Question 2

How much ice is Antarctica losing?

Answer 2

150 billion tons a year

Question 3

How much are sea levels rising by?

Answer 3

3.6mm a year

Question 4

How much will sea levels rise by?

Answer 4

55cm by 2100

Question 5

What will sink and when?

Answer 5

Maldives by 2100

Question 6

How much will delta flooding increase by?

Answer 6

50%

Question 7

Why is Bangladesh vulnerable?

Answer 7

Situated in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta

173 million people

Question 8

How much rainfall does the summer monsoon bring?

Answer 8

75% of annual Indian rainfall

2/3rds of annual rainfall in Mangalore comes within 3 months

Question 9

How often does ENSO occur?

Answer 9

Every 3 to 7 years

Question 10

What were the effects of the 2023 ENSO?

Answer 10

Droughts in Latin America and Australia

Wetter conditions in the American South

Question 11

When was the GRACE satellite?

Answer 11

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment

NASA in 2002

Question 12

What is SEOF?

Answer 12

Saturation Excess Overland Flow

Antecedent rainfall raises water tables - restricting infiltration

Question 13

What is IEOF?

Answer 13

Infiltration Excess Overland Flow

Precipitation intensity exceeds infiltration capacity

Question 14

Flows in the Water cycle

Answer 14

Precipitation

Through fall

Stem flow

Infiltration

Percolation

Transpiration ^

Evaporation ^

Evapotranspiration ^

Surface runoff <

Throughflow <

Baseflow <

Question 15

How much rainfall does the river Exe drainage basin receive?

How much is runoff?

Answer 15

1,300 mm a year

65% runoff

Question 16

When was the Wimbleball reservoir created?

Answer 16

1979

Dammed the River Haddeo (tributary of the Exe)

Area of 150 hectares

Question 17

How much did the Colorado river’s discharge use to vary by?

Answer 17

Summer ablation causes discharges 13 times higher than in Winter

Question 18

How is the Colorado river’s discharge managed?

Answer 18

Hoover Dam in 1935 - stores 2 years of discharge in the River Mead

Glen Canyon Dam in 1966

Question 19

How much rain does the Amazon receive?

How much enter the Atlantic?

Answer 19

2,300 mm a year - can exceed 6,000 mm in some areas

Only 1/3rd enter the Atlantic via river discharge

Question 20

How many dams are along the Amazon river?

Answer 20

412

Question 21

What 3 processes explain rainfall in clouds?

Answer 21

Collision-coalescence process (warm)

Bergeron-Findeison process (cold)

Ice Crystal process (cold)

Question 22

How has New York’s runoff been altered?

Answer 22

530% increase in paved areas caused 270% increase in total runoff

2023 flooding of subway system, streets and a terminal of the La Guardia Airport

Question 23

What caused the Somerset floods?

Answer 23

2014

Since 1970, Maize fields increased from 1,400 hectares to 160,000 hectares

Question 24

What were the effects of the Somerset floods?

Answer 24

2014

10% of area was underwater

65 pumps were used to drain 65 million metres cubed of flooded fields

Question 25

What caused the Morpeth floods?

Answer 25

2008

150mm fell in just 2 days

Question 26

What’s the water balance equation?

Answer 26

P = Q + ET +/- S

Precipitation = Channel flow + Evapotranspiration +/- Storage

Question 27

Where does the London aquifer get its recharge from?

Answer 27

Chiltern hills and the North Downs

Question 28

What the geology of the London aquifer?

Answer 28

Layer of permeable chalk topped with impermeable clay

Question 29

How much did London’s aquifer fall by?

Answer 29

65 metres by 1960

Question 30

How much water does the NSAS hold?

Answer 30

Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System

Covers 2.2 million square kilometres

Holds 370,00 kilometres cubed of fresh water

Question 31

What were the Effects of the 1976 UK drought?

Answer 31

50% annual rainfall

20% in Isle of Wight

Dorset went 45 days without rain

It was 32*C for 7 days in Cheltenham