Rivers - Drainage Basin and the Water Cycle Flashcards
What are the four types of components of the water cycle?
inputs, storage, transfers and outputs
What type of component is precipitation?
input
What type of component is interception?
storage
Besides ‘interception’, there are 5 other types of storage. Can you name them?
surface storage, soil water storage, vegetation storage, groundwater storage and channel storage
Name 4 types of transfer.
Any four of the following: throughfall stemflow, infiltration, percolation, surface runoff (overland flow), throughflow, groundwater flow (baseflow) channel flow.
Name three types of output.
transpiration, evaporation and river runoff.
How does water enter the drainage basin?
precipitation
What is interception?
Interception is where plants and buildings intercept rain on its way to the Earth’s surface.
What is surface storage?
This is where water is stored on the surface. A lake is a good example.
If ground is hard or very wet, rainwater runs along it. What is this called?
surface runoff (also known as overland flow)
What is the process by which water soaks into the ground known as? (Clue - spy)
infiltration
What is throughflow?
This is rain that has infiltrated the soil and flows sideways through it.
Groundwater is always on the move. It flows along slowly. What is this movement called?
baseflow
What is channel flow?
Water flowing through the channel of a stream or river.
What is evaporation?
The process of water turning to water vapour, i.e the process of evaporation.
What is transpiration?
Water given off by plants during the process of photosynthesis.
What is river runoff?
This is where water leaves the river system and enters the sea.
What do evaporation, transpiration and river runoff have in common?
They are all outputs.
What is soil water storage?
It is water stored in the soil.
What is the water stored in plants within the river basin known as?
vegetation storage
What is channel storage?
This is the water stored in the channels of streams and rivers.
What is groundwater storage?
This is water that is stored for long periods of time below the water table.
