Keywords

Question 1

Precipitation:

Answer 1

moisture falling from the atmosphere in the form of something such as rain or snow.

Question 2

Infiltration:

Answer 2

the absorption and downward movement of water into the ground.

Question 3

Interception:

Answer 3

capture of rainfall on buildings or by vegetation, e.g rainforest.

Question 4

Stem flow:

Answer 4

flow of precipitation along the stems of a plant to the ground.

Question 5

Surface runoff:

Answer 5

flow of water across the surface of the ground.

Question 6

Transpiration:

Answer 6

loss of moisture from vegetation.

Question 7

Groundwater flow:

Answer 7

movement of water through rocks.

Question 8

Throughflow:

Answer 8

roughly horizontal movement of water through rocks.

Question 9

Evaporation:

Answer 9

transfer from liquid to a gas.

Question 10

Condensation:

Answer 10

transfer from gas to a liquid.

Question 11

What is an acquifer?

Answer 11

an underground layer of water bearing permeable rock, rock fractures or unconsolidated materials (like chalk or sandstone) where 30% of freshwater is held.

Question 12

What is soil moisture budget?

Answer 12

the balance of water fluxes into and out of a defined area over a defined time period.

Question 13

What is the water table?

Answer 13

upper layer of saturated rock which fluctuates in response to groundwater flow, water abstraction by people or additional recharge needs to be a constant state of equilibrium.

Question 14

Radiation fog:

Answer 14

heat radiating from the surface, cools the bottom air until it reaches saturation at night.

Question 15

Ablation:

Answer 15

natural removal of snow/ice from the surface of a glacier. It can occur through melting or sublimation or near the front.

Question 16

Equilibrium line:

Answer 16

the altitude where annual accumulation and removal are equal.

Question 17

Tributary:

Answer 17

small river connected to a main river.

Question 18

Confluence:

Answer 18

the point where two rivers meet and join.

Question 19

Mouth of the river:

Answer 19

where a river meets a lake or the sea.

Question 20

Source:

Answer 20

the area where the river begins.

Question 21

Watershed:

Answer 21

the boundary between two drainage basins marked by a ridge of highland.

Question 22

Drainage basin:

Answer 22

the area which is drained by a river and its tributaries.

Question 23

Drainage density:

Answer 23

the total length of all the streams in the basin divided by the total area of the basin.

Question 24

Baseflow:

Answer 24

groundwater flow that feeds into rivers and through the river beds and banks.

Question 25

Interflow:

Answer 25

is water flowing downhill through permeable rock above the water table.

Question 26

River discharge:

Answer 26

the volume of water passing a given point, a measurement of runoff at a certain time.