Hydrological cycle (yr1)

Question 1

aquifer

Answer 1

a water bearing stratum of permeable rock/sand/gravel that can absorb or hold water.

Question 2

Desalination

Answer 2

a process that takes away mineral components from saline water

Question 3

distillation

Answer 3

process of separation where the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation

Question 4

dynamic equilibrium

Answer 4

a state of balance between continuing processes

Question 5

estuary barrage

Answer 5

a barrage across a river at its estuary. gate opens and closes on rise and fall of a tide river

Question 6

greywater

Answer 6

domestic waste water generated in households or office buildings from streams without fecal decontamination

Question 7

ground water

Answer 7

water held underground in soil or porous rocks and crevices

Question 8

groundwater flow

Answer 8

part of the stream flow that has unfiltered the ground

Question 9

hydrological flow

Answer 9

water cycle

evaporation/transpiration -> condensation-> precipitation -> evaporation/transpiration

Question 10

infiltration

Answer 10

permeation of a liquid into something else by filtration

Question 11

inter basin transfer

Answer 11

man made water conveyance schemes that move water from one river basin to another to be utitlised better for human development

Question 12

precipitation

Answer 12

condensed water that falls from the clouds

Question 13

rainwater catchment

Answer 13

tech that collects and stores rainwater for human use

Question 14

residence time

Answer 14

the time that a given substance remains in a particular compartment (reserve) of a biogeochemical cycle

Question 15

reverse osmosis

Answer 15

a process by which a solvent passes through a porous membrane in the direction opposite to natural osmosis when subjected to a hydrostatic pressure greater than the osmotic pressure

Question 16

surface runoff

Answer 16

flow of water that occurs when excess storm water, meltwater or other sources flow over the earth’s surface

Question 17

suspended solids

Answer 17

small solid particles which remain in suspension in water as a colloid or due to motion of water

Question 18

thermohaline circulation (THC)

Answer 18

general oceanic circulation controlled by horizontal differences in temperature and salinity

Question 19

transpiration

Answer 19

the exhalation of water vapor through the stomata

Question 20

turbidity

Answer 20

the quality of being cloudy, opaque or thick with suspended matter.

Question 21

residence time equation

Answer 21

residence time = volume in reservoir/rate of transfer in or out of the reservoir

Question 22

influence making river water suitable for abstraction

Answer 22

1. river discharge (total water flow)
2. flow fluctuations
3. quality - pollutants
   - natural contaminations

Question 23

impacts of abstraction from rivers

Answer 23

1. reduced water supply downstream
2. reduced downstream flooding - reduces soil quality
3. decreased water velocity
4. increased sedimentation
5. reduced volume of water concentrates pollutants

Question 24

reservoirs

Answer 24

• large volume of water
• volume of water can be controlled through a dam (stops over abstraction)
• more constant water supply

Question 25

problems with aquifers

Answer 25

• land conflicts between countries
• mass infrastructure
• climate changes/ microclimates