The global hydrological cycle Flashcards
Global hydrological cycle:
- (1) system driven by (2) and (3) potential energy
- Made up of stores, flows, input and outputs
- Relative (4), size of stores and (5) can change over time
1 - closed 2 - solar 3 - gravitational 4 - importance 5 - fluxes
Global hydrological cycle:
- Water on earth is constant and (1)
- Water in the system can change (2) and storage but can’t leave the (3) nor can it be (4)
1 - finite
2 - form
3 - hydrosphere
4 - added
Define ‘hydrosphere’
The combined mass of water below, on and above the Earth’s surface
Define store, flux and processes
S - where water is held
F - Speed of water movement
P - Ways water moves
Name some stores
Atmosphere, Lakes, Ice, Plants and Soil, Ocean and Rocks
Define ‘residence time’
Average duration a water molecule will remain in a store
Why is a long turnover in a store a bad thing?
More vulnerable to pollution
What is the problem with soil acting as a store?
Easily accessible and so can be quickly lost to other stores which is a problem for agriculture and farming
What store has the longest residence time?
Atmospheric water
Name two global extremes
Polar hydrology and Tropical Rainforest Hydrology
Polar hydrology:
- Snow reflects (1)% of solar radiation
- (2) stores are impermeable
- In the summer, processes are; (3)
- Less than (4)mm of annual precipitation
1 - 85
2 - Permafrost
3 - run off and evaporation
4 - 200
Describe seasonal thaws in the polar hydrology
Seasonal thaws increases surface saturation and thinning permafrost, if this is continuous then the water melts and cryosphere is lost
Tropical Rainforest hydrology:
- Few seasonal (1)
- (2)% evaporation
- (3) rainfall and high humidity
- More than (4)mm annual precipitation
- E.g. of a cold desert is (5)
1 - changes 2 - 50-75 3 - convectional 4 - 200 5 - Antarctica
Describe biospheric water
Remains in a body for 1 week
Ice and snow:
- (1)% freshwater
- (2)% total water
- Lasts (3) years depending on size
1 - 69
2 - 2
3 - 15,000