Introduction to the Water Cycle Flashcards
Is the global water cycle an open or closed system
Closed system
(No water can ever enter or leave the Earth or atmosphere, it can only be transferred between stores)
What are the 4 major subsystems of the Earth
Hydrosphere
Biosphere
Atmosphere
Lithosphere
The atmosphere is…
The air that surrounds the Earth and is made up of gases
The hydrosphere is…
A discontinuous layer of water at/ near the Earth’s surface
(it includes liquid water, frozen surface water, groundwater, water vapour etc)
The biosphere is…
The total sum of all living matter
(The biological component of the Earth’s systems)
The lithosphere is…
The hard and rigid outer layer of the Earth which is divided into tectonic plates and made up of the crust and upper mantle
The cryosphere is..
All the frozen areas on the planet
(E.g glaciers, ice sheets etc)
The frozen part of the hydrosphere is called the
Cryosphere
Which of the 4 major subsystems of the Earth are also a major store of water
Hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere
All of them except the biosphere
Which are the 4 major stores of water on the earth (most of theses are major subsystems)
Hydrosphere
Cryosphere (not a major subsystem as it’s part of the hydrosphere)
Lithosphere
Atmosphere
Oceanic water contain’s what percentage of all water on Earth
97%
What water contains 97% of all water on Earth
Oceanic
The average depth of the ocean is…m
3,682
Overtime has the pH of oceans increased or decreased
Decreased
(Become more acidic due to an increase in atmospheric carbon, however overall it is still alkaline)
Are oceans acidic or alkaline
Alkaline
What makes oceanic water able to stay in liquid form and not freeze below 0 degrees
Dissolved salts which it contains
The hydrosphere can be divided into what 4 groups of water
Oceanic water
Terrestrial water
Cryospheric water
Atmospheric water
Why isn’t oceanic water a type of fresh water
It is salty and freshwater only refers to non salty water
True or false, oceanic water refers to all the water in seas and oceans
True
(Except it doesn’t include any inland/ landlocked sea e.g The Capsian Sea)
An example of an inland sea (landlocked sea) is..
The Capsian sea
(This doesn’t count as oceanic water)
6 types of cryospheric water
Ice sheets
Ice caps
Sea ice
Glaciers
Water in solid form
Permafrost
Permafrost is ground that remains at or below…degrees for … or more consecutive years
0
2
…water refers to all freshwater on the Earth (all water in liquid form except for seas and oceans which isn’t freshwater as it’s salty)
Terrestrial
Terrestrial water refers to all…water on the Earth
Fresh (non salty)
(This includes all liquid water except seas and oceans as they’re salty)
Examples of terrestrial water
Rovers
Lakes
Wetlands
Groundwater
Soil water
Biological water
(It includes all water except for atmospheric water, oceans and seas and cryospheric (frozen) water)
Biological water is…
Water stored in biomass (plants and animals)
Groundwater is..
Water stored underground in the pores of permeable rock
What is the water table (this relates to groundwater)
The upper level at which all the pores in underground permeable rock are saturated
True or false, atmospheric water only refers to water vapour
False
The water can also be in liquid or solid form which is contained within clouds before it rains or snows
(Atmospheric water can be as a solid, liquid or gas)
True or false, atmospheric water can be as a solid, liquid or gas
True
E.g water vapour and then ice or liquid water stored in clouds before it rains or snows
True or false, you can see water vapour
False- it’s colourless and odourless
This proves that clouds aren’t made up of water vapour otherwise you’d be able to see them
True or false, water vapour is a greenhouse gas
True
What’s the difference between a lake and pond
Ponds have an area less than 2 hectares
Lakes have an area greater than 2 hectares
Both are made up of freshwater (terrestrial water) and are surface water on the Earth
Lakes have an area greater than…otherwise they’re called a pond
2 hectares
Rivers are…
Streams of water within a defined channel
Ice caps vs ice sheets
Ice caps are smaller versions of ice sheets
Ice sheets cover more than 50,000 square km
Ice caps cover less than 50,000 square km
Glaciers (Ice sheets, ice caps and glaciers) form on land but sea ice forms on the…
Sea
Ice sheets, ice caps and alpine glaciers are all types of…
Glacier
Ice sheets, ice caps and alpine glaciers are all types of…
Glacier
Ice shelves are platforms of ice that extend from the land to the..
Sea
Alpine glaciers are glaciers found in
Valleys
What is sublimation
The process where water changes state from a solid to a gas without turning into a liquid
(It occurs in low humidity and with the presence of wind)
Sublimation occurs in…humidity and with the presence of …
Low
Wind
What is deposition
Where water changes state form a gas to a solid without turning into liquid
Does evaporation require energy from the atmosphere or take in energy from the atmosphere
It requires energy
Energy is extracted from the atmosphere in order to change the state of water from a liquid to a gas
Does evaporation require energy from the atmosphere or release energy into the atmosphere
Require energy
Energy is extracted from the atmosphere to turn water from a liquid to a gas
Does condensation require energy from the atmosphere or release energy into the atmosphere
Release energy
Energy is released when water changes from a gas to a liquid
Evaporation requires energy (from the sun) but….releases energy
Condensation
Latent heat is the energy needed to …or the energy released when …
Evaporate water from a liquid into a gas
Water condenses from a gas to a liquid
…is the energy needed to evaporate water from a liquid to a gas and the energy released when water condenses from a gas to a liquid
Latent heat
Condensation nuclei meaning
Tiny particles in the air that water vapour condenses on to form clouds
E.g smoke, dust, salt
Tiny particles in the air that water vapour condenses on to form clouds are called…
Condensation nuclei
E.g dust, salt, smoke
Dew point temperature meaning
The temperature at which the air is saturated with water vapour after it has cooled
After this point, any excess water vapour in the air will be converted to liquid water via condensation
What is the temperature at which air is saturated with water vapour after it has cooled called
Dew point temperature
(After this point any excess water vapour in the air will condense into liquid water)
When it’s very humid is there more or less evaporation
Less (as the air is already holding lots of water vapour)
Examples of different types of precipitation
Rain
Snow
Drizzle
Sleet
Hail
Dew
Frost
Drizzle refers to very small water droplets that are falling and must be less than…in diameter
0.5mm
(The only difference between rain and drizzle is the size of the water droplets)
What’s the difference between rain and drizzle
Drizzle is where water droplets are less than 0.5mm in diameter
Rain is where water droplets are more than 0.5mm in diameter
(Drizzle has smaller water droplets)
Why is drizzle more likely to occur in hilly areas than low lying ground
The clouds need to be fairly low to the ground
How does rain form once water has evaporated and condensed into tiny water droplets
The tiny water droplets gather together to form clouds until they become too heavy and fall from the cloud as rain
(The same process occurs for drizzle)
Before rain and drizzle occur, clouds are made up of water droplets but before snow and sleet occur, clouds are made up of
Ice crystals
How does snow form after water vapour has cooled (frozen) into tiny ice crystals
The tiny ice crystals in clouds stick together to form snowflakes until the snowflakes become too heavy and fall to the ground
(This same process occurs for sleet except as the snowflakes fall they melt and turn into raindrops due to the warmer temperature)
Snow vs sleet
Both form when water vapour cools and freezes into tiny ice crystals.
These tiny ice crystals stick together to form snowflakes.
When the snowflakes become too heavy they fall to the ground
However for sleet, as the snowflakes fall they melt and turn into water droplets due to a warmer temperature
In cold air the snow is dry and powdery but in warmer air the snow is…
Bigger and wet (the snowflakes melt at the edges so stick together)
