The Water Cycle Flashcards
Open system
A system that has both inputs and outputs of energy or other material and which involves a flow or exchange of material
Closed systems
A system that has no inputs or outputs but which cycles energy, resources around a closed loop
Drainage basin (catchment area)
The area of land that provides water to a river system
Hydorolgy
The study of water on the surface of the earth
Condensation
A change in state from water vapour to liquid water as a result of cooling
Evaporation
A change in state from liquid water to water vapour as a result of heating
Watershed
The edge of a drainage basin
Water budget
The overall balance of inputs and outputs in a drainage basin over time
Saturated
All the available spaces between the soil particles are filled with water
Water table
The level of the top of the saturated soil beneath the ground
Response
The way that a river responds following the input of precipitation: some river rise quickly and are said to be ‘flashy’ other rise and fall more slowly
Transpiration
The process by which plants lose water through the stomata (pores) in their leave into the atmosphere
Infiltration capacity
The rate at which water is able to pass through soil
Impermeable
A surface that does not allow water to pass through it
Groundwater flow
Water moving through the soil
Throughflow (or interflow)
Water moving through the rocks beneath the soil at a very slow rate
Permeable
Surface that allows water to pass through it
Overland flow (surface runoff)
Water flowing over the ground surface
Channel flow
Water held in the channel as it moves through the drainage basin
Evapotranspiration
The loss of water by evaporation and transpiration combined
Runoff
Water and sediment being moved down the river channel and out of catchment area
Hydrograph
A graph of the water level or base flow in a river over a period of time, such as a year
Base flow
The normal day-to-day flow of a river
Discharge
Water-flowing through a river channel at any given point and is measured in cubic meters
