Lecture 6 Flashcards
What percentage of the earths water is fresh?
3
What are four properties of water?
Polar molecule
High specific heat capacity
Universal solvent
Ice is less dense then water
True or false
Most of the hydrological process occurs over the ocean
True
What percentage of solar radiation is used for evaporation and condensation? Latent heat exchange
23
Ground water and glacier systems are a source of ….
Fresh water
Both ground water and glacial stores water _________.
Long term
Define precipitation.
Solid or liquid water that forms under saturated conditions and falls to earth
True or false
Most clouds produce rain
False
What is dew point?
When a cloud has reached 100% saturation
What is the dry adiabetic lapse rate?
-10 degrees Celsius per km
What percentage of water covers the earths planet?
71
What is relative humidity?
The amount of humidity in the air.
What percent relative humidity will be required to achieve dew point?
100%
What is Orographic uplift?
Air being forced to rise over elevated land or mountain
What is adiabetic lapse rate?
The change in temperature of air with altitude without the addition or removal of heat.
What is the difference between the dry adiabetic lapse rate (DALR) and the moist adiabetic lapse rate (MALR).
Moisture content of the air
Dry is -10degC/km
Moist is -6degC/km
What is the environmental lapse rate (ELR)?
-6.5degC/km
When does condensation occur?
At dew point temperature
What side of a mountain will have more saturated clouds?
Windward side
What phenomena does the leeward side of a mountain experience?
Rain shadow effect
What does descending air from the atmosphere do?
Warm and condense due to gravity/atmospheric pressure.
What is frontal precipitation?
Precipitation formed by movement of different air masses.
Cold front
Warm front
Occluded front
_______ air rises over ______.
Warm, cool
What type of front will have a steep adiabetic lapse rate?
Cold front
Define convergent instability.
Air masses merging causing lifting over short distances
Define convective instability.
Unequal surface heating causes localized instability and a rise of air masses followed by cooling and condensing.
What are the 6 forms of precipitation?
Rain Freezing rain Sleet Snow Graupel Hail
Both freezing rain an sleet require a _______ inversion.
Temperature
Where is most precipitation deposited?
Around the equator
Define residence time.
Time for molecules to move through a component of a hydrological system
Larger components of water have __________ residence times
Larger
True or false
Water is a renewable resource.
False, it cannot be renewed in a human lifetime
True, it is renewable in quality and quantity.
Name three factors effecting quality and quantity of water, describe them.
Climate: local water budgets
Geology: substrate topography groundwater
Land use: recharge infiltration withdrawal storage contamination
