Key terms (water cycle) Flashcards
Atmospheric water
Water found in the atmosphere
Cryospheric water
Water locked up on the Earth’s surface as ice.
Hydrosphere
Discontinuous layer of water on or near the Earth’s surface.
Terrestrial water
Consists of groundwater, soil, moisture, wetlands and rivers.
Condensation
Process by which water vapour changes to liquid.
Cryspheric processes
Processes that affect the total mass of ice on Earth.
Drainage basin
Area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.
Evaporation
Process by which liquid water changes to gas.
Evapotranspiration
Total output of water from the drainage basin directly back into the atmosphere.
Groundwater flow
Slow movement of water through underlying rocks.
Infiltration
Downward movement of water from surface into soil.
Interception storage
Precipitation that falls on vegetation surfaces, being temporarily stored on that surface.
Overland flow
Tendency of water to flow horizontally across land surfaces when rainfall has exceeded infiltration capacity.
Percolation
Downward movement of water within the rock under the soil surface.
Run-off
Water that enters river channel.
Saturated
applies to any water store that has reached capacity.
Stemflow
Portion of precipitation intercepted by the canopy that reaches the ground by flowing down stems.
Storm and rainfall event
Individual storm is defined as a rainfall period separated by dry intervals of at least 24 hours.
Throughfall
Portion of precipitation that reaches the ground directly through gaps in vegetation.
Throughflow
Movement of water down-slope through the subsoil under gravity.
Transpiration
Loss of water from vegetation through pores.
Water balance
Balance between inputs and outputs in a drainage basin.
