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Water and Carbon Cycles > Stores of Water > Flashcards

Stores of Water Flashcards

1
Q

Atmospheric water

A

Water found in the atmosphere

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2
Q

How does water tend to be found in the atmosphere?

A

Water vapour
Liquid (cloud and rain droplets)
Ice crystals

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3
Q

Cryospheric water

A

Water locked up in the Earth’s surface as ice.

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4
Q

Hydrosphere

A

A discontinuous layer of water at or near the Earth’s surface.

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5
Q

What does the hydrosphere include?

A

Liquid and frozen surface waters, groundwater held in soil or rocks and atmospheric water.

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6
Q

Oceanic water

A

Water contained in the Earth’s oceans and seas BUT not including inland seas.

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7
Q

Terrestrial water

A

Groundwater, soil moisture, lakes, wetlands and rivers.

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8
Q

What percentage of water is freshwater?

A

3%

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9
Q

What percentage of water is stored in oceans?

A

97%

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10
Q

What percentage of easily accessible fresh surface water in found in lakes?

A

52%

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11
Q

For what percentage of the total water does atmospheric water account for?

A

0.4% of all water

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12
Q

How much of the planet’s surface do the oceans cover?

A

`72%

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13
Q

Why does oceanic water taste salty?

A

It contains dissolved salts.

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14
Q

What do the salts present in oceanic water allow it to do?

A

Stay as a liquid below 0 degrees C.

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15
Q

Are oceans acidic or alkaline?

A

Alkaline

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16
Q

What pH is oceanic water?

A

8.14

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17
Q

What was the pH of oceanic water 250 years ago?

A

8.25

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18
Q

Why has the pH of oceanic water decreased?

A

Due to the increase in atmospheric carbon.

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19
Q

What could the decrease in pH in oceans lead to?

A

Problems for marine ecosystems.

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20
Q

Where are the 5 locations of cryospheric water?

A 
Sea ice
Ice caps
Ice sheets
Alpine glaciers
Permafrost
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21
Q

Give an example of sea ice

A

Ross ice shelf, Antarctica

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22
Q

Give an example of an ice cap

A

Iceland ice cap

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23
Q

Give an example of an ice sheet

A

Greenland ice sheer

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24
Q

Give an example of an alpine glacier

A

Mer de Glace, France

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25
Q

Give an example of permafrost

A

Alaska North Slope

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26
Q

How does sea ice form?

A

Water in the oceans is cooled to temperatures below freezing.

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27
Q

Why does sea ice not raise sea level when it melts?

A

It was formed from ocean water in the first place

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28
Q

What are ice shelves?

A

Platforms of ice that form where ice sheets and glaciers move out into the oceans.

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29
Q

Where do ice shelves mainly exist?

A

In Antarctica and Greenland but also in the Arctic near Canada and Alaska

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30
Q

What are icebergs?

A

Chunks of ice that break off glaciers and ice shelves and drift in oceans.

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31
Q

When do icebergs raise sea level?

A

When they leave the land.

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32
Q

Do icebergs raise sea level when they melt in the sea?

A

No

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33
Q

What are ice sheets?

A

A mass of glacial land extending more than 50,000 km2.

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34
Q

Where are the two major ice sheets?

A

Greenland and Antarctica

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35
Q

Where did ice sheets cover during the last ice age?

A

Greenland, Antarctica, North America, northern Europe and Argentina

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36
Q

What percentage of freshwater ice is held in the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets?

A

99%

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37
Q

How far does the Antarctic Ice Sheet extend?

A

14million km2

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38
Q

How much ice does the Antarctic Ice Sheet contain?

A

30million km3

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39
Q

How far does the Greenland Ice Sheet extend?

A

1.7million km2

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40
Q

Where do ice sheets form?

A

In areas where the snow that falls over the winter does not melt entirely in the summer.

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41
Q

What are ice sheets constantly doing?

A

Moving downhill under their own weight.

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42
Q

Where does the ice sheet move when it is near the coast?

A

Through relatively fast-moving outlets called ice streams.

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43
Q

How big can ice streams be in the Antarctic?

A

Up to 50km wide, 2km thick and hundreds of km long.

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44
Q

What does an ice sheet need to do in order to remain stable?

A

Accumulate the same mass of snow as it loses to the sea.

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45
Q

By how many metres would sea levels rise if the Greenland Ice Sheet melted?

A

6m

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46
Q

By how many metres would sea levels rise if the Antarctic Ice Sheet melted?

A

60m

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47
Q

What are ice caps?

A

Thick layers of ice on land that are smaller than 50,000km2

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48
Q

Where are ice caps usually found?

A

In mountainous areas

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49
Q

What shape are ice caps?

A

Dome shaped

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50
Q

Where are ice caps centres?

A

Over the highest points of an upland area.

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51
Q

In which direction do ice caps flow?

A

Outwards, covering everything in their path.

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52
Q

What are ice caps a major source for?

A

Glaciers

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53
Q

What is Africa’s only ice cap?

A

The Furtwangler Glacier on Kilimanjaro

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54
Q

How big is the Furtwangler Glacier?

A

60,000m2

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55
Q

What is happening to the Furtwangler Glacier?

A

It is melting rapidly and may soon disappear

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56
Q

What are alpine glaciers?

A

Thick masses of ice found in deep valleys or upland hollows.

57
Q

What are valley glaciers fed by?

A

Ice from ice caps or smaller corrie glaciers.

58
Q

Where are alpine glaciers particularly important?

A

In the Himalayas.

59
Q

How many Himalayan glaciers form a unique reservoir?

A

15,000

60
Q

What does the unique reservoir in the Himalayas support?

A

Perennial rivers

61
Q

Name 3 perennial rivers that the Himalayas support and explain why they are important

A

Indus
Ganges
Brahmaputra
These rivers support millions of people in South Asian countries.

62
Q

What is permafrost?

A

Ground that remains at below 0 degrees Celsius for at least 2 consecutive years.

63
Q

How does the thickness of permafrost vary?

A

From less than one metre to more than 1,500m

64
Q

When did most of the permafrost present today form?

A

During cold glacial periods and has persisted through warmer interglacial periods.

65
Q

When was the Holocene?

A

The last 10,000 years and is still on going.

66
Q

What is the Holocene?

A

The current interglacial period.

67
Q

When did some relatively shallow permafrost form?

A

During the second part of the Holocene (last 6000 years) and during the Little Ice Age (400-150 years ago).

68
Q

Where does subsea permafrost occur?

A

On what were exposed glacial landscapes when sea levels were lower.

69
Q

Where can permafrost be found?

A

Beneath ice-free regions of the Antarctic continent and where the ice sheet is frozen to its bed.

70
Q

What is happening to the permafrost?

A

It is starting to melt.

71
Q

What is a problem caused by the permafrost melting?

A

Lots of carbon dioxide and methane is being released.

72
Q

What are the 4 types of terrestrial water?

A

Surface water
Groundwater
Soil water
Biological water

73
Q

What is surface water?

A

The free-flowing water of rivers as well as the water of ponds and lakes.

74
Q

Name 3 types of surface water

A

Rivers
Lakes
Wetlands

75
Q

What can rivers act as?

A

Both a store and a transfer of water.

76
Q

Where do rivers transfer water to?

A

From the ground, soils and the atmosphere to a store.

77
Q

What stores do rivers transfer water to?

A

Wetlands, lakes and oceans

78
Q

What percentage of all water do rivers account for?

A

0.0002%

79
Q

What river is the largest river by discharge?

A

The Amazon

80
Q

How much discharge does the Amazon produce?

A

209,000m3/s

81
Q

What is the size of the area that the Amazon drains?

A

7,050,000 km2

82
Q

What proportion of the world’s total river flow does the Amazon account for?

A

1/5

83
Q

Which river has the largest drainage basin?

A

The Amazon

84
Q

What are lakes?

A

Collections of fresh water found in hollows on the land surface.

85
Q

What is the size requirement for a body of water to be classed as a lake?

A

Greater than 2 hectares in area

86
Q

What is a body of water less than 2 hectares in area known as?

A

A pond

87
Q

Where can the majority of lakes be found?

A

In the Northern Hemisphere at higher latitudes.

88
Q

How many lakes does Canada have that are larger than 3km2?

A

31,752

89
Q

What is the largest lake?

A

The Caspian Sea

90
Q

How big is the Caspian Sea?

A

78,200km2

91
Q

What is the Caspian Sea?

A

An ancient ocean

92
Q

How old is the Caspian Sea?

A

5.5 million years old

93
Q

What type of water is in the Caspian Sea?

A

Generally freshwater but becomes more saline in the south where there are fewer rivers.

94
Q

What is the deepest lake in the world?

A

Lake Biakal

95
Q

Where is Lake Biakal?

A

Siberia

96
Q

What is the deepest point of Lake Biakal?

A

1,637m

97
Q

What does the Ramsar Convention define wetlands as?

A

“Areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water whether natural, artificial, permanent or temporary with water that is static or flowing where there is a dominance of vegetation.”

98
Q

What does water saturation at wetlands determine?

A

How the vegetation develops and the types of plants and animals that live in and on the soil.

99
Q

What type of species do wetlands support?

A

Both aquatic and terrestrial species

100
Q

Why do wetlands vary? 7

A 
Regional and local differences in soil
Topography
Climate
Hydrology
Water chemistry
Vegetation
Human disturbance
101
Q

On which continent can wetlands not be found?

A

Antarctica

102
Q

Which wetland is referred to as the world’s largest freshwater wetland system?

A

The Pantanal of South America

103
Q

What are some of the benefits of the Pantanal?

A 
Water purification
Groundwater discharge and recharge
Climate stabilisation
Water supply
Flood abatement
Transport system
104
Q

Where are wetlands the main ecosystem?

A

The Arctic

105
Q

How much of the Arctic is covered by wetlands?

A

60%

106
Q

What do Arctic wetlands store?

A

Large amounts of greenhouse gases

107
Q

What is groundwater?

A

Water that collects underground in the pore spaces of rock.

108
Q

What is the lower level depth of groundwater set by scientists and what should be noted about this?

A

4000m but there are large quantities of water below that.

109
Q

Where is there a very deep borehole?

A

Kola Peninsula, Northern Russia

110
Q

What can be found at the Kola Peninsula?

A

Hot mineralised water

111
Q

How deep is the hot mineralised water at the Kola Peninsula?

A

13km

112
Q

What is the water table?

A

The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rocks become completely saturated with water.

113
Q

Where is groundwater recharged from?

A

The water table

114
Q

Where does groundwater eventually flow to?

A

The surface

115
Q

Where does natural discharge often occur?

A

At springs and seeps

116
Q

What can groundwater form?

A

Oases and wetlands

117
Q

Why is the amount of groundwater reducing rapidly?

A

Due to extraction for the irrigation of agricultural land in dry areas.

118
Q

What is soil water?

A

Water that is held together with air in unsaturated upper weathered layers of the Earth.

119
Q

What is soil water fundamental to?

A

Many hydrological, biological and biogeochemical processes.

120
Q

What does soil water affect? 6

A 
Weather and climate
Run-off potential and flood control
Soil erosion and slope failure
Reservoir management 
Geotechnical engineering
Water quality
121
Q

What is a key variable in controlling the amount of evaporation and transpiration?

A

Soil moisture

122
Q

What does soil moisture play a big part in?

A

Weather patterns and the production of precipitation

123
Q

What is biological water?

A

Water stored in all biomass

124
Q

What does biological water vary upon?

A

Vegetation cover and type

125
Q

Where do trees store their water?

A

In the trunk or branches

126
Q

How do plants and trees lose water?

A

Through transpiration from the stomata in leaves

127
Q

What does biological water storage provide a reservoir of?

A

Water that helps maintain some climatic environments.

128
Q

What happens to the climate if vegetation is destroyed?

A

The water is lost to the atmosphere and the climate becomes more desert-like.

129
Q

What are cacti adapted to do?

A

Gather water through their extensive root system and store it in large quantities for a long time.

130
Q

Why does the baobab tree store water?

A

To strengthen its structure.

131
Q

What is the most common form of atmospheric water?

A

Water vapour

132
Q

Why is atmospheric water vapour important?

A

It absorbs, reflects and scatters incoming solar radiation, keeping the atmosphere at a suitable temperature.

133
Q

What does the amount of water vapour in the air depend upon?

A

The temperature

134
Q

What air temperature is best for holding water vapour?

A

Warm air can hold more water vapour

135
Q

What would a small increase in the amount of atmospheric water vapour lead to? What is this an example of?

A

An increase in temperature

Positive feedback

136
Q

What is cloud?

A

A visible mass of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere.

137
Q

What is cloud formation a result of?

A

Air in the lower layers of the atmosphere becoming saturated.

138
Q

Why does the air in the lower layers of the atmosphere become saturated?

A

Either due to the cooling of air or increase in water vapour

139
Q

What happens when cloud droplets grow?

A

They can eventually fall as rain.

Water and Carbon Cycles (11 decks)

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