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Geography > Hydrological Cycle > Flashcards

Hydrological Cycle Flashcards

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1
Q

Name the 3 parts of the hydrological cycle

A

Stores - oceans
Fluxes - rivers , water moving
Process- the mechanisms which drive the fluxes

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2
Q

What kind of cycle is it

A

Closed
What goes in must come out
One input and many outputs
Amount of water never changes

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3
Q

What happened to the hydrological cycle in the last ice age?

A

Sea levels fell by over 140 m due to more water stored in the cryosphere

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4
Q

What is isostatic rebound?

A

Land rises out of ocean due to previous ice coverage pressing it down into the ocean over the thousands of years land slowly comes back up

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5
Q

What is the biggest store of water?

A

The ocean

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6
Q

What percentage of freshwater do ice caps hold?

A

70%

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7
Q

What percentage of groundwater represents freshwater

A

30%

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8
Q

What are the smallest freshwater stores

A

One percent for rivers and soil moisture. And 0.1% for the atmosphere.

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9
Q

What is blue water

A

Visibly part of the cycle
Rivers, lakes

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10
Q

What is green water

A

Water stored in vegetation and soil generally seen as I visible

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11
Q

Describe what type of system The ground basin is

A

On a small scale the drainage basin is an open system as it has external inputs and outputs that cause the amount of water to vary over time

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12
Q

What is a confluence

A

A confluence is where a tributary meets the main flow of water

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13
Q

How does water travel

A

Downstream
The slope angle effects the speed of water

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14
Q

What is the catchment area

A

The area of land which catches the rainfall
Usually on a hill

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15
Q

What is watershed

A

The area of land which channels precipitation

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16
Q

Top of the river is the ____

A

Source

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17
Q

Top of the river is the ____

A

Source

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18
Q

Bottom of the river is the _____

A

Mouth

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19
Q

What is overland flow

A

When the water is not absorbed by the ground it goes off as overland flow

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20
Q

What is orographic rainfall

A

Air is forced to rise over over a barrier
E.g clouds rising over Pennines
This then forms clouds and rain.
The leeward side (downwind) recipes relatively less rainfall (rain shadow )

21
Q

What are the 7 impacts on the drainage basin

A

Amount of precipitation
Type of precipitation
Seasonality
Intensity
Variability of precipitation e.g. climate change
Distribution of precipitation e.g. larger basins localised storm events impact on only part of the basin

22
Q

What impacts the drainage basin

A

Amount of precipitation
Type of precipitation
Seasonality
Intensity
Variability of precipitation e.g. climate change
Distribution of precipitation e.g. larger basins localised storm events impact on only part of the basin

23
Q

Name the three types of rainfall

A

Orographic
Cyclonic
Conventional

24
Q

Cyclonic rainfall

A

Warm air is lighter and less dense
Forced to use over cold denser air
Rises and cools can no longer hold water vapour so condenses and forms rain

Occurs when warm moist air comes into contact with cool dry air

25
Q

Conventional rainfall

A

Occurs in the tropics and uk summer
Heat radiation heats land, this heats the thin layer of air above land , this warms , expands and rises
As it rises it cools condenses and falls as rainfall

26
Q

Rain shadow

A

On the side facing away from prevailing winds (leeward side), this area of land that has relatively less rainfall

27
Q

Infiltration

A

The rate at which water enters the soil/ground this varies considerably depending on the vegetation type e.g. different trees have different infiltration rates, coniferous forests intercept about 25 to 35% of annual rainfall however deciduous only intercept 15 to 25%

28
Q

What factors affect infiltration rate

A

Amount of rain already in the ground
Soil texture (sand and clay intercept at vastly different rates)
soil compaction
type of vegetation (trees versus pasture)
slope angle

29
Q

What is through flow

A

Flows through the land under ground

30
Q

What is percolation

A

Water infiltrates ground and goes into rocks under ground

31
Q

Channel flow

A

Channel flow is the main body of water

32
Q

Describe evapotranspiration

A

-A combination of evaporation and transpiration
-the most crucial element of moisture loss especially in areas such as arid and semi arid areas like Spain.
-It is often difficult to distinguish between what is transformation and evaporation therefore they are combined.

33
Q

Describe how soil texture impact the drainage basin

A

The rates of infiltration are different depending on soil types
Sandy -good
Clay based-poor
Silt —average
The porosity of these impact upon the rate at which water infiltrates

34
Q

What factors affect infiltration rates?

A

Vegetation type and cover
how much water is already in the soil
Compact
Slope angle

35
Q

Why does Interception affect the drainage Basin

A

Type of vegetation and density results in different interception levels
Deforestation and afforestation both have significant impacts

36
Q

How does groundwater affect the drainage basin

A

Grandma is used a lot in warm countries to irrigate crops
UK no longer uses much groundwater since the manufacturing moved elsewhere, meaning flooding is more common as there is more water in the groundwater

37
Q

Five factors which impact the rate of infiltration

A

Climate
soil
geology
relief
Vegetation

38
Q

Name the 4 human factors that impact the water cycle

A

Cloud seeding
Urbanisation
Dam construction
Groundwater abstraction

39
Q

Define river regime

A

The annual variation in discharge from a river

40
Q

What factors influence the river regime

A

Climate
Snowmelt
Geology
Human activity
Dam construction
Rainfall regimes
Deforestation

41
Q

What factors affect the shape of a storm hydrograph

A

Basin size
Drainage density
Precipitation intensity
Precipitation duration
Bain shape
Natural vegetation
Land use
Snowfall
Soli type
Basin relief
Rock type
Evapotranspiration

42
Q

What are the 4 drought types

A

Meteorological
Hydrological
Agricultural
Food deficit

43
Q

What is the El Niño southern oscillation

A

It is an oscillation of the ocean atmosphere system in the tropical pacific
It has major impacts on global weather

44
Q

What happens during El Niño

A

Winds across the pacific change direction
They blow west to east
This changes weather patterns around the pacific
Occurs every 3-6 years however getting more regular

45
Q

Describe what happens during an El Niño year

A

Air pressure over west coast of South America is low
Air pressure over Australia is high
The regular trade winds over pacific are disrupted and warm water sloshes eastwards
No cold upwelling on South American coast

46
Q

What are the consequences of an El Niño year

A

The warm water back eastwards prevents the cold upwelling of nutrient rich water which plankton feed off
This attracts anchovy’s

47
Q

What are the teleconections of El Niño

A

Reduced hurricane activity in south central America
Droughts in Brazil
Floods in Kenya
Fires in indonisia

48
Q

What is el Nina

A

It is exaggerated version of normal conditions - increased natural disasters
Warm water eastwards causes sea levels to rise by 1m
Strong uplift of air around Indonesia and Philippines causes heavy rain

Geography (4 decks)

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