Key Terms Flashcards
Relief?
The shape of the land
Mass movement?
Small landslides due to gravity move material into the stream
Fjords?
Drowned glaciated valleys
Peat?
Soft, mossy, squidgy land. When squashed further it makes coal
Quartzite?
Hard upland rock
Watershed?
The edge of the drainage basin, a ridge of highland forming the boundary between two drainage basins
Tributary?
A smaller river that comes off the main stream
Confluence?
Where two rivers join
Source?
Where two rivers join
Estuary?
Where the main stream enters the sea
Floodplain?
The whole of the flat river valley
V shaped valley?
A steep sided valley close to the source
Meander?
The winding course of a river
Levee?
Course embankments that form at the sides of a river
Erosion?
The sculpting of a landscape, for example by rivers (sea, wind, ice) including the removal of material
Weathering?
The decay or breaking down of rocks in situ
Abrasion?
Where sand and pebbles are dragged along the river bed (corrasion)
Hydraulic action?
Where fast flowing water is forces into cracks, breaking up the bank over time
Attrition?
Where rocks and stones wear away each other as they knock together
Solution?
Where rocks such as limestone as dissolved in acid rainwater
Traction?
Method used to move largest material - boulders rolled along the bed
Suspension?
Method of carrying very fine material so that it floats in the river
Saltation?
Method that moves small stones and grains or sand by voicing them along the bed of the river
The Hjulström curve?
A graph to show how the speed of the river flow affect the size of the particles in the water
Stem flow?
Water dripping down the stems and trunks of vegetation
Precipitation?
Moisture falling out of the atmosphere (rain, hail, sleet and snow)
Interception?
Water held in the foliage of vegetation
Surface storage?
Water held as puddles/pools on the land surface
Infiltration?
Downward movement of water entering the ground as soil becomes increasingly wet and soft
Percolation?
Downward movement of water into the bedrock
Groundwater flow?
The slowest movement of water which occurs in the bedrock
Water table?
Level of water that occurs when all the pores in the soil have been filled
Evaporation?
Loss of water into water vapour surfaces due to insulation (sunlight)
Through flow?
Sideways movement of water that can eventually cause a spring on the side of a valley (through soil)
Transpiration?
Water loss from the pores of vegetation into the atmosphere as water vapour
Surface runoff?
A quick movement of water that occurs on the land surface when either the storm is too heavy for water to be absorbed by the soil, where rock is impermeable or when the soil becomes saturated
Permeable?
Water can infiltrate into the rock through pore spaces (porosity) or along cracks e.g. vertical joints (pervious)
Porous rock/porosity?
The size of gaps between the particles of rock
Pervious rock?
Has gaps or cracks which allow water to move through the rock
Impermeable rock?
Water cannot pass through the rock
Discharge?
Amount of water passing in river at a given time
Lag time?
The gap or time between peak rainfall and peak discharge (highest river level)
‘Quick flow’/Storm flow?
The discharge attributed to a single storm. Comes from surface runoff, and later by through flow
Normal/Base flow?
Usual amount of water in the river. Provided by groundwater flow
Hard engineering?
Involves busing structures to demoed places from floodwater
Soft engineering?
Involves adapting to flood risks and allowing natural processes to deal with rainwater
Climate change?
A long-term change in the Earth’s climate, especially a change due to an increase in the average atmospheric temperature
Economic impact?
The effect of an event on the wealth of an area or community
Ecosystem?
A community of plants and animals that interact with one another and their physical environment
Environmental impact?
The effect of an event on the landscape and ecology of the surrounding area
Extreme weather?
When a weather event is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern, and is especially sever or unseasonal
Global atmospheric circulation?
The worldwide system of winds, which transports heat from tropical to polar latitudes
Social impact?
The effect of an event on the lives of people or a community
Sustainable development?
Development that meets the needs of the present without limiting the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Tropical storm?
An area of low pressure with winds loving in a spiral around the calm central point called he ‘eye’ of the storm
Arid?
A climate where there is not enough precipitation to support vegetation growth
Convection cell?
When differences in air temperature lead to the formation of areas of high and low air pressure; they become linked together by flows of warmer and cooler air
Coriolis effect?
The deflection, or bending, of the wind due to the rotational spin of the Earth
Cyclone?
Another term for a tropical storm
Drought?
A long period of low rainfall
Environment agency (EA)?
The organisation responsible for tackling environmental threats like pollution and flooding in the U.K. Its directly funded by the government
Human resilience?
People’s ability to adapt to difficult conditions
Hurricane?
Another term for a tropical storm
Hydro-meteorological hazard?
Natural hazard caused by atmospheric processes and any associated flooding
Insolation?
The amount of solar radiation (sunlight) an area receives over a specific time
Jet stream?
A fast-flowing current of air that circles the planet at a height of 10km
Landslide?
A rapid mass movement of surface material down a slope
Latitude?
Alone drawn from west to east on a map showing where places li reliance to the equator and poles
Management strategies?
Techniques of controlling, responding to, or dealing with an event
Storm surge?
When a storm creates strong waves and a rise on sea level, leading to coastal flooding
Thermal expansion?
When the sea expands and becomes larger as a result of increased temperature
Typhoon?
Another term for a tropical storm
Weather?
The state of the atmosphere at a given time and place, with resources to variables such as precipitation, wind speed, air pressure
Climate?
The average weather in a region over a long period of time
Hydro-meteorological hazard?
A hazard such as a flood which is weather induced
Solar radiation?
Energy coming into the earth from the sun (insolation or short wave radiation)
Invisible infrared radiation?
Energy leaving the earth to outer space
Mitigation?
Deals with the causes
Adaptation?
Responds to impacts
Urbanisation?
The process by which an increasing percentage of a country’s population moves to live in towns and cities
Mega city?
A city with over 10 million people
Natural increase?
When there are more births that deaths. The greater the difference between birth rate and death rate; the faster the population grows
Migration?
The process whereby people move to live in another place, this may be forced or voluntary
Push factors?
These are reasons why people migrate from a place e.g. the water supply is unreliable
Pull factors?
These are reasons why people migrate to a place e.g. there are lots of jobs available
LICs?
Low income countries
HICs?
High income countries
NEEs?
Newly emerging economies
Formal economy?
Jobs monitored by the government, involves contract with working hours and pay
Informal economy?
Jobs not taxed by the government
Polar front?
The boundary between cold polar air and warm tropical air
Anticyclone?
A large scale circulation of usually gentle winds around a central region of high pressure, clockwise circulation in the northern hemisphere
Depression?
Where warm and cold air meet, usually at mid latitudes over the UK - warm air rises, creating low pressure on the ground. Wind in opposite direction to anticyclones
Cultural mix?
A place with integration of cultures
Multiculturalism?
A country or place that has more than one culture living together in close proximity
Gentrification?
The process of renovating and improving a house or district by higher income earners
Urban greening?
Increasing the proportion of green space within a city
