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Geography A Level > The Water Cycle > Flashcards

The Water Cycle Flashcards

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1
Q

Is the world a closed or an open system?

A

Closed system driven by solar and gravitational potential energy

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2
Q

What is a closed system?

A

A system that has no external inputs or outputs

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3
Q

What two powers drive the hydrological cycle?

A

Solar energy: in the form of heat
Gravitational potential energy: causes rivers to flow downhill and precipitation to fall to the ground

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4
Q

What is a store?

A

Stores are reservoirs where water is held

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5
Q

What are the four main stores?

A

Oceans
Glaciers and ice sheets
Surface runoff (rivers, lakes, groundwater)
The atmosphere

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6
Q

How much water does the worlds Cryosphere hold?

A

69% of the worlds freshwater

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7
Q

How much water is held in groundwater?

A

30%

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8
Q

How much water is held in the biosphere?

A

Less than 1%

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9
Q

What is the global water budget?

A

The global water budget takes into account all the water that is held in stores and flows

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10
Q

What is a residence time?

A

The average time a molecule of water will spend in stores

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11
Q

What two water stores are un renewable?

A

Fossil water
Cryosphere

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12
Q

What is fossil water?

A

Ancient, deep groundwater made from wetter periods in the geological past

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13
Q

What is the Cryosphere?

A

Made up of snow and ice

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14
Q

Why is the Cryosphere non-renewable?

A

Because we have to wait for another Ice age

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15
Q

How much of the worlds water budget is accessible to humans?

A

1%

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16
Q

How much of the worlds water is in the oceans?

A

97.5%

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17
Q

How much of the worlds water is fresh water?

A

2.5%

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18
Q

How much of the worlds fresh water is in ice caps and glaciers?

A

69%

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19
Q

How much of the worlds fresh water is in groundwater?

A

30%

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20
Q

How much accessible surface water is in lakes?

A

52%

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21
Q

How much accessible surface water is soil moisture

A

38%

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22
Q

How much accessible surface water is in atmospheric water vapour?

A

8%

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23
Q

How much accessible surface water is in rivers?

A

1%

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24
Q

How much accessible surface water is in plants?

A

1%

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25
Q

What are the types of rainfall?

A

Conventional
Frontal
Relief/orographic

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26
Q

What is conventional rainfall?

A

A daily occurance. Most common in tropical climates and within rainforests

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27
Q

What is frontal rainfall?

A

Two air masses meet, depressions caused, mainly in the UK

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28
Q

What is relief/orographic rainfall?

A

When warm, moist air meets land of high relief (hills)

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29
Q

What are the factors effecting the drainage cycle?

A

Form (is it snow or rain etc)
Amount (amount of water)
Intensity (more intense=more floods)
Seasonality
Distribution, significant in very large drainage basins where tributaries are in different climates eg Nile

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30
Q

What are the seven different flows?

A

Interception
Infiltration
Percolation
Through-flow
Groundwater flow
Surface run-off
River or channel flow

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31
Q

What is interception? (Flow)

A

The retention of water by plants and soils which is subsequently evaporated or absorbed by the vegetation

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32
Q

What is infiltration? (Flow)

A

The process by which water soaks into, or is absorbed by, the soil

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33
Q

What is percolation? (Flow)

A

Transfer of water into permeable rocks

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34
Q

What is throughflow? (Flow)

A

The lateral transfer of water downslope through the soil

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35
Q

What is groundwater flow? (Flow)

A

The very slow transfer of percolated water through permeable of porous rocks

36
Q

What is surface run-off? (Flow)

A

The movement of water that is unconfined by a channel across the surface of the ground

37
Q

What is river or channel flow? (Flow)

A

Takes over as soon as the water enters a river or stream; the flow is confined within a channel

38
Q

What are the four outputs?

A

Evaporation
Transpiration
Discharge
Evapo-transpiration

39
Q

What is evaporation? ( outputs)

A

The process by which moisture is lost directly into the atmosphere from water surfaces, soil and rock

40
Q

What is transpiration? (Outputs)

A

The biological process by which water is lost from plants through minute pores and transferee to the atmosphere

41
Q

What is discharge (channel flow)? (Outputs)

A

Into another, larger drainage basin, a lake or the see

42
Q

What is a drainage basin?

A

Is the area of land drained by a river and it’s tributaries, they vary in size from that of a small stream to a river like the Amazon

43
Q

Are drainage basins open or closed systems?

A

Open system with external inputs and outputs

44
Q

What are the physical factors effecting drainage basins?

A

Climate
Soils
Geology
Relief
Vegetation

45
Q

How does climate effect a drainage basin?

A

Influences the type and amount of overall precipitation
Climate affects vegetation type

46
Q

How do soils affect drainage basins?

A

Affects mainly surface runoff
They determine the amount of infiltration and throughflow
Affect the type of vegetation

47
Q

How does geology affect drainage basins?

A

Affects subsurface processes eg percolation into aquifers
Indirectly affects soil formation

48
Q

How does relief affect drainage basins?

A

Affects surface run off
Impacts the amount of precipitation
Slopes can affect the amount of runoff

49
Q

How does vegetation affect a drainage basin?

A

Largely affects surface run off
Presence or absence of vegetation massively impacts interception and infiltration and also transpiration

50
Q

How do humans affect the drainage basin cycle?

A

They accelerate processes (deforestation, changing land use) and creating new water storage (reservoirs or abstract water

51
Q

It is mainly changes to…

A

Rivers and drainage
The character of the ground surface(shape, texture and covering) that accelerate processes

52
Q

How does river management disrupt the drainage basin cycle?

A

Construction of storage reservoirs holds back river flows

53
Q

How does deforestation affect drainage basins?

A

Clearance of trees reduces evapo transpiration, but increased infiltration and surface runoff (more floods)

54
Q

How does agriculture affect drainage basins?

A

Soil compaction by livestock increases overland flow
Ploughing increases infiltration by loosening and aeration the soil

55
Q

How does urbanisation effect drainage basins?

A

Tarmac increase the speed of surface run off by reducing percolation and infiltration
Drains deliver rainfall faster to rivers and streams

56
Q

What’s happened to the Amazonia drainage basin as a result of human interference?

A

A lowering of humidities
Less precipitation
More surface run off and infiltration
More evaporation and less transpiration
More soil erosion, silt fed into rivers

57
Q

What is the water budget?

A

The annual balance between precipitation, evapotranspiration and run off
Annual balance of inputs and outputs

58
Q

What is the water budget equation?

A

P=E+R+/- S
Precipitation=evapotranspiration+Runoff+/- Storage over a year

59
Q

What is a river regime?

A

The annual variation in the discharge or flow of a river at a particular point, usually measured in cumecs

60
Q

What factors give a regime its specific character?

A

Size
Geology
Precipitation
Temperature
Water abstraction
Dams

61
Q

What is a rising limb? (Hydrographs)

A

The discharge rising on the graph

62
Q

What is lag time? (Hydrographs)

A

The time interval between peak rainfall and peak discharge

63
Q

What’s the base flow? (Hydrographs)

A

The normal level of a river

64
Q

What are the 9 factors that affect a Hydrograph?

A

Precipitation
Antecedent conditions
Vegetation
Relief
Soils
Geology
Human activity
Basin morphology (size of basin)
Drainage density

65
Q

What is a flashy river?

A

Short lag time, high peak, steep rising limb

66
Q

What is a flat river?

A

Long lag time, low peak, gently sloping bruising limb

67
Q

What characteristics would a flashy river have when talking about Weather/climate?

A

Intense storm that exceeds the infiltration capacity of the soil. Rapid snowmelt as temperatures suddenly rise above zero. Low evaporation rates due to low temps

68
Q

What characteristics would a flashy river have when talking about rock type?

A

Impermeable rocks, such as granite, which restrict infiltration and encourage rapid surface runoff

69
Q

What characteristics would a flashy river have when talking about soils?

A

Low infiltration rate such as clay soils

70
Q

What characteristics would a flashy river have when talking about relief?

A

High, steep slopes that promote surface runoff

71
Q

What characteristics would a flashy river have when talking about basin size?

A

Small basins tend to have flashy hydrographs

72
Q

What characteristics would a flashy river have when talking about shape?

A

Circular basins have shorter lag times

73
Q

What characteristics would a flashy river have when talking about drainage density?

A

High drainage density means more streams and rivers per unit area, so water will move more quickly to the measuring point

74
Q

What characteristics would a flashy river have when talking about pre- existing (antecedent) conditions?

A

Basin already wet from previous rain

75
Q

What characteristics would a flashy river have when talking about vegetation?

A

Bare/low density, deciduous in winter, low levels of interception leading to more rapid runoff

76
Q

What characteristics would a flashy river have when talking about human activity?

A

Urbanisation producing impermeable concrete and tarmac surfaces. Deforestation reduces interception

77
Q

What characteristics would a steady river have when talking about weather/ climate?

A

High evaporation from high temps
Slow snowmelt
Steady rainfall

78
Q

What characteristics would a steady river have when talking about rock type?

A

Permeable rocks such as limestone

79
Q

What characteristics would a steady river have when talking about soils?

A

High infiltration, such as Sandy soils

80
Q

What characteristics would a steady river have when talking about relief?

A

Low, gentle slopes that allow infiltration and percolation

81
Q

What characteristics would a steady river have when talking about basin size?

A

Larger basins have more delayed hydrographs

82
Q

What characteristics would a steady river have when talking about shape?

A

Elongated basins have delayed hydrographs

83
Q

What characteristics would a steady river have when talking about drainage density?

A

Low drainage density means few streams and rivers per unit area, so water is more likely to enter the ground

84
Q

What characteristics would a steady river have when talking about pre-existing (antecedent) conditions?

A

Basin dry , low water table

85
Q

What characteristics would a steady river have when talking about vegetation?

A

Dense, deciduous in summer= higher interception

86
Q

What characteristics would a steady river have when talking about human activity?

A

Low population density
Reforestation increases interception

87
Q

What is drought?

A

The deficiency of water over an extended period of time

Geography A Level (16 decks)

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