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Water and Carbon Cycles > Natural Systems & The Water Cycle > Flashcards

Natural Systems & The Water Cycle Flashcards

Pages 2 - 5 of Revison Guide Natural systems and The Water Cycle

1
Q

What are systems made of?

A

Stores, flows, boundaries, inputs and outputs

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2
Q

What are inputs?

A

When matter or energy is added to the system

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3
Q

What are outputs?

A

When matter or energy leaves the system

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4
Q

What are stores/components?

A

Where matter. or energy builds up

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5
Q

What are flows/transfers?

A

When matter or energy moves from one side to another

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6
Q

What are boundaries?

A

The limits of a system

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7
Q

Systems are either …

A

Open or closed

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8
Q

What is an Open System?

A

Both energy and matter can enter and leave - there are inputs and outputs

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9
Q

What is an example of an open system

A

Drainage basins are open as energy from the sun enters and leaves. Water is an input as precipitation but an output as river discharge to the sea

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10
Q

What is a closed system?

A

Matter can’t enter or leave - it can only cycle between stores. Energy can enter and leave - it can be an input or output

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11
Q

What is an example of a closed system?

A

Carbon cycle has energy as an input from photosynthesis and output by respiration, but the amount of carbon on earth remains because there are no inputs or outputs matter

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12
Q

What happens if the inputs and outputs are balanced?

A

The system is in equalibrium

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13
Q

What does equilibrium mean ?

A

Flows and processes happen but there are no overall changes to the system

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14
Q

What happens if there is large long term changes?

A

The balance of inputs and outputs cause a system to change and establish a new dynamic equilibrium

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15
Q

What does the long term change trigger?

A

Positive or negative feedback

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16
Q

What is positive feedback?

A

Amplifies the changes in inputs and outputs. Meaning the system responds by increasing the effects of change, moving the system away from dynamic equilibrium

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17
Q

What is Negative Feedback”?

A

Counteract the changes in inputs and outputs. Meaning the system responds by decreasing the effects of the change keeping the system closer to it’s previous state

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18
Q

What kind of system is the earth?

A

Closed

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19
Q

Why is the Earth a closed system?

A

Energy is input from the sun and output to space - Matter. isn’t inputed or outputted

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20
Q

What the Earth’s system broken down into?

A

Subsections

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21
Q

What are the 5 subsystems

A

1) Cyrosphere
2) Lithosphere
3) Biosphere
4) Hydrosphere
5) Atmosphere

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22
Q

What is the cryoshere?

A

includes all the earths systems were its cold enough for water to freeze eg - Glacial Landscapes

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23
Q

What is the Lithoshpere?

A

The outermost part of the earth. Includes the crust and upper parts of the mantle

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24
Q

What is the Biosphere?

A

Part of the Earths systems where living things are found. Includes all living parts of the earth -Plants, animals, bacteria

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25
Q

What is the Hydrosphere?

A

Includes all water on the earth.May be in liquid form (Lakes and rivers), Solid. form (Ice stored in cryosphere) or gas (Water Vapour in atmosphere). Can be saline or fresh

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26
Q

What is the Atmosphere?

A

The layer of gas between the earths surface and space, held in place by gravity

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27
Q

How do these subsections keep the earths systems running as normal?

A

They are all interlinked by cycles and processes

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28
Q

What does matter and energy do?

A

Move between subsystems - output of 1 cycle is the input of another, that output is the input of the next

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29
Q

What does it mean for the earth because of this movement?

A

It is cascading

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30
Q

How many litres of water does the hydrosphere contain?

A

1.4 sextillion litres

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31
Q

What % is freshwater?

A

Less than 3%

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32
Q

What is the rest of the water?

A

Saline in the oceans

33
Q

Of the freshwater how much is frozen in the cryosphere?

A

69%

34
Q

Of the freshwater how much is groundwater?

A

30%

35
Q

What is groundwater?

A

Water stored underground ink the lithosphere

36
Q

Of the freshwater how much is liquid freshwater on the earths surface in lakes and rivers?

A

0.3%

37
Q

Of the freshwater how much is stored as water vapour in the atmosphere?

A

0.04%

38
Q

What should water be?

A

Physically and economically accessible for humans

39
Q

Why is only a small amount of water used by humans?

A

Because groundwater is hard to access and not cost effective to extract

40
Q

When does changing state require It to gain energy from the sun?

A

Melting, sublimation and evaporation.

41
Q

When does changing state require It to lose energy?

A

Freezing, Condensation and Deposition

42
Q

What is the global hydrological cycle?

A

water is continuously cycled between different stores

43
Q

What type of system is the hydrological cycle

A

Closed

44
Q

Why is the hydrological cycle closed?

A

There’s no inputs or outputs of water. Energy is inputed from sun and lost to space

45
Q

What varies from local to global scales about the WC?

A

The amount of water present in each store

46
Q

What does the magnitude depend upon?

A

The amount of water flowing between them

47
Q

What do different flows occur at?

A

A ranges spatial and temporal scales

48
Q

When does evaporation occur?

A

Liquid water changes to a gas becoming water vapour

49
Q

How does evaporation gain energy?

A

Solar Radiation

50
Q

What does evaporation increase?

A

The amount of water stored in the atmosphere

51
Q

What does the magnitude of evaporation flow vary on?

A

Location and season

52
Q

What happens if there is lots of solar radiation?

A

There will be a large supply of water and warm, dry air, the amount of evaporation will be high.

53
Q

What happens if there is not much solar radiation?

A

radiation, little available liquid water and cool air that is already nearly saturate, evaporation will be low

54
Q

What does saturated mean?

A

Unable to absorb any more water vapour

55
Q

What is condensation?

A

Water vapour changes state to become a liquid - loses energy to its surrounding

56
Q

When does condensation happen?

A

When air containing water vapour cools to its Drew point

57
Q

What is Drew Point?

A

The temperature changes from gas to liquid

58
Q

What happens to water droplets?

A

Stay in the atmosphere or flow to other subsystems

59
Q

What does the magnitude of condensation flow depend on?

A

The amount of water vapour in the atmosphere and the temperature

60
Q

What is precipitation?

A

The main flow of water from the atmosphere to the ground

61
Q

When do clouds form?

A

Warm air cools down, causing the water vapour in it to condense into water droplets and gather as clouds

62
Q

What happens when the droplets aren’t big enough?

A

They fall as precipitation

63
Q

What are other air masses?

A

Warm air is less dense than cool air. As a result when warm air meets cool air all the warm air is forced above. It cools down and rises

64
Q

What is the result of other air masses?

A

Frontal Precipitation

65
Q

What is topography?

A

When warm air meets mountains, it’s forced to rise causing it too cool

66
Q

What is the result of Topography?

A

Orographic Precipitation

67
Q

What is convection?

A

Sun heats up the ground, moisture on the ground evaporates and rises in a column of warm air. As it gets higher it cools

68
Q

What is the result of Convection?

A

Convective Precipitation

69
Q

Why are water droplets caused?

A

By condensation that are too small to form clouds on their own

70
Q

What has to happen for clouds to form?

A

There has to be tiny particles of substances like dust to act as a cloud condensation nuclei

71
Q

What does cloud formation vary on?

A

Season and location

72
Q

Give 2 examples of Cryospheric processes

A

Accumulation and Ablation

73
Q

What do cryospheric processes do?

A

Change the amount of water stored as ice

74
Q

What does the balance of accumulation and ablation vary with?

A

Temperature

75
Q

In Periods of global colds what are bigger inputs or outputs and why?

A

Inputs - Water is transferred to snow and less water is transferred away because of melting

76
Q

In periods of warmer global temperatures what happens to the magnitude?

A

The magnitude of the cryoshere store reduces. as losses because of melting are larger than inputs of snow

77
Q

Where are there extensive stores of Iceland Alpine Glaciers?

A

Antartica and Greenland

78
Q

What is an example of a change that happens over a short time period?

A

Annual temperature fluctuations means more snow falls in winter

Water and Carbon Cycles (8 decks)

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