Intro to Hydrologic Cycle

Question 1

The Spheres

Answer 1

atmosphere, energy spheres, biosphere, terrasphere, hydrosphere

Question 2

Amount of Water on Earth

Answer 2

300 million mi^3

Question 3

Water on Earth

Answer 3

held in various places and processes; always moving

Question 4

Water Balance

Answer 4

water is evenly distributed

Question 5

Precipitation

Answer 5

primary input for hydrologic cycle

Question 6

Precipitation Formation

Answer 6

water condenses into droplets in atmosphere and falls when they’re big enough

Question 7

Precipitation Types

Answer 7

rain, snow, ice, hail, fog drip

Question 8

Intensity

Answer 8

rate at which precipitation falls

Question 9

Sublimation

Answer 9

solid (frozen) to atmosphere (gas); no liquid state

Question 10

Precipitation Assumption

Answer 10

uniformly distributed over an area

Question 11

Interception

Answer 11

precipitation being impeded by the vegetation of an area or leafy matter; distributed as runoff or evaporates

Question 12

Infiltration

Answer 12

soil absorbing precipitation

Question 13

Measuring Infiltration

Answer 13

nearly impossible to measure directly; can infer this

Question 14

Percolation Rate

Answer 14

depends on what kind of soil

Question 15

Percolation

Answer 15

downward movement of water through the soil profile, once infiltration has occured

Question 16

Percolating Water

Answer 16

moves as a saturated front under the influence of gravity, or as an unsaturated flow mostly due to capillary forces

Question 17

Evaporation

Answer 17

movement of water from liquid to vapor state (transport to atmosphere); requires energy

Question 18

When Evaporation Occurs

Answer 18

any wet surface or body of water, or from within soil, leafy matter, and living leaves and plants

Question 19

Transpiration

Answer 19

process of water moving from the soil via the plant’s internal moisture supply system; evaporative process

Question 20

How Transpiration Occurs

Answer 20

water moves through stomates (openings in leaves; allow passage of oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other gases)

Question 21

Hydrologic Budget

Answer 21

1yr amount; additions and subtractions (inputs & outputs)

Question 22

Evapotranspiration

Answer 22

evaporation and transpiration; process of water is transferring from the land to the atmosphere by evaporation from the soil and other surfaces and by transpiration from plants; large component in hydrologic budget

Question 23

Streamflow

Answer 23

supplied by channels, depression, soil bank, and groundwater; the result of surface runoff, subsurface flow, storm flow, base flow, etc.

Question 24

Storage

Answer 24

occurs at several locations in the hydrologic cycle and varies in both space and time; spatially and temporally; changes over time; L^3/T

Question 25

How Water can be Stored

Answer 25

unsaturated/saturated portion of soil, on the soil surface (snow, puddles, ponds, lakes, wetlands), and rivers and streams

Question 26

Inflow & Outflow of Stored Water

Answer 26

tells how much water comes in and out of a system; depth increase or decrease?

Question 27

Outflow

Answer 27

[S(end) - S (begin)] + Input

Question 28

Residence Time

Answer 28

how long an average particle of water resides in a tank/system; important for flood control of dams; volume/flow

Question 29

Effects of Storage

Answer 29

as flow recedes, flow at end of interval is a function of flow at the beginning of interval