Lesson 1 - Global Hydrological Cycle

Question 1

What is the hydrological cycle?

Answer 1

A Closed system. The transfer of water around the planet, it has stores inputs and fluxes.

Question 2

What is the cryosphere?

Answer 2

Places on earth that are so cold that water is frozen solid.

Question 3

What are the 3 inputs in the hydrological cycle?

Answer 3

precipitation, snow and hail

Question 4

What are the 2 outputs in the hydrological cycle?

Answer 4

evaporation and transportation

Question 5

What are the 5 stores in the hydrological cycle?

Answer 5

oceans, ground water, ice caps, soil moisture and atmospheric moisture

Question 6

What is an open system?

Answer 6

Receives inputs from and transfers outputs of energy and matter to other systems

Question 7

What is a closed system?

Answer 7

Occurs when there is a transfer of energy but not matter between the system and the surroundings.

Question 8

What does solar energy have to do with the hydrological system?

Answer 8

Water is heated by the sun then evaporated into the atmosphere from the surface and drawn up through soil by plants and evaporated though leaves by evapotranspiration

Question 9

What does gravitational potential energy have to do with the water cycle?

Answer 9

This energy is converted into kinetic energy as the water moves through the system by plant interception or over land by surface run of. Water also flows through the soil by the processes of infiltration and through flow.

Question 10

What is a flux?

Answer 10

The rate of flow between stores

Question 11

What is percolation?

Answer 11

Water seeps into the ground through gaps between rocks

Question 12

What is permafrost?

Answer 12

Frozen for a long time

Question 13

Why is the water cycle a closed system?

Answer 13

Amount of water never changes
All water is constantly circulated through stores
no losses/gains

Question 14

Stores that contain the most to least? (6)

Answer 14

ocean
ice caps
ground water
river
soil moisture
atmospheric moisture

Question 15

Where is the flux the greatest?

Answer 15

ocean-atmosphere

Question 16

Why is the land ocean flux important?

Answer 16

more water is evaporated from oceans than falls on them as more water falls as precipitation on to the land than is evaporated. The balance is made up by river run off. If this didn’t happen land would dry up and oceans would gain all the water.

Question 17

What is the flux times of the atmosphere and the ocean?

Answer 17

Flux of water through the atmosphere is 3.5X larger than the amount held in the atmosphere as the residence time is very short. The ocean flux is opposite to this.

Question 18

what does the global water budget do?

Answer 18

limits the amount of water available for us to use. With different residence times

Question 19

What do global water budgets show?

Answer 19

the annual balance between inputs and outputs and their impact on soil water availability and are influenced by climate type.