The Water Cycle And Water Insecurity Flashcards
1
Q
Define absolute water scarcity
Glossary
A
this is when the annual supply of water per person falls below 500m^3
2
Q
Define agricultural Drought
Glossary
A
When there is not enough water for crops so they die if not irrigated
3
Q
Define antecedent soil moisture.
Glossary
A
The degree of wetness of the soil at the beginning of a period of runoff.
4
Q
Define anticyclone.
Glossary
A
An area of high pressure.
5
Q
Define aquifer.
Glossary
A
A body of sand/gravel bound to impermeable rocks that hold groundwater to form an underground reservoir.
6
Q
Define bankfull capacity.
Glossary
A
Maximum amount of discharge that a stream channel can carry without overflowing.
7
Q
Define base flow.
Glossary
A
A portion of the stream flow that is not runoff.
8
Q
Define blue water
Glossary
A
Freshwater stored in lakes, streams, groundwater etc
9
Q
Define channel flow.
Glossary
A
The movement of water within the river channel.
10
Q
Define channelisation.
Glossary
A
Removing meanders from a river to make the river straighter.
11
Q
Define closed system.
Glossary
A
A system that has no internal or external outputs
12
Q
Define condensation.
Glossary
A
When a gas becomes a liquid forming a cloud as air rises and cools.
13
Q
Define convectional rainfall.
Glossary
A
Rainfall due to the hot ground causing water to evaporate.
14
Q
Define cryosphere.
Glossary
A
Includes all the areas of the world where water is frozen into ice or snow
15
Q
Define cyclonic rainfall.
Glossary
A
when hot air rises as it meets cold air. It cools as it rises so it condenses into clouds.
16
Q
Define desalination.
Glossary
A
The removal of salt from seawater to produce clean drinking water.
17
Q
Define dew point.
Glossary
A
The temperature the air needs to be cooled to for water vapour to become liquid.
18
Q
Define discharge.
Glossary
A
The volumes of water passing a certain point in the channel over a certain period of time usually measure in cumeca
19
Q
Define drainage basin.
Glossary
A
The area of land that is drained by a river and it’s tributaries. Separated from other basins by a ridge of high land called the water shed.
Referred to as ‘local hydrological cycles’. They are open systems so amounts of water vary over time.
20
Q
Define drought
Glossary
A
A long period of abnormally low rainfall
21
Q
Define economic water scarcity
Glossary
A
This is when people can’t afford to access water, even when it is available.
22
Q
Define ecosystem functioning.
Glossary
A
The processes that occur within the ecosystem to maintain life.
23
Q
Define ecosystem.
Glossary
A
A biological system that consists of all the living organisms (plants and animals) in an area as well as the nonliving things with which the organisms interact.
24
Q
Define El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
Glossary
A
A recurring climate pattern involving changes in the temperature of waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
25
Define ephemeral river.
## Footnote
Glossary
They rarely flow and are characterised by temporary flow following exceptionally heavy rain.
26
Define eutrophication.
## Footnote
Glossary
The process in which a water body becomes overly enriched with nutrients, leading to the plentiful growth of simple plant life.
27
Define evaporation.
## Footnote
Glossary
How liquid becomes a gas. Earth -> atmosphere
28
Define evapotranspiration.
## Footnote
Glossary
The sum of all processes by which water moves from the land surface to the atmosphere via evaporation and transpiration.
29
Define famine drought.
## Footnote
Glossary
A humanitarian crisis when a failure of agriculture leads to food shortages that have severe impacts
30
Define flashy hydrograph.
## Footnote
Glossary
Short lag time and high peak discharge.
31
Define stores, processes and fluxes.
## Footnote
Glossary
Store: place where water is held
Processes: the way in which water moves between stores
Fluxes: the speed at which water moves between stores
32
Define fossil water.
## Footnote
Glossary
It is ancient deep groundwater from pluvial (wetter) periods in the geological past
33
Define green water.
## Footnote
Glossary
The precipitation on land that does not run off or recharge the groundwater but is stored in the soil or temporarily stays on top of the soil or vegetation.
34
Define grey water.
## Footnote
Glossary
Domestic wastewater generated in households or office buildings from streams without faecal contamination.
35
Define groundwater flow.
## Footnote
Glossary
Water travels through bedrock towards a river.
36
Define hydrological drought.
## Footnote
Glossary
A shortfall of water in a drainage basin.
37
Define hydropolitics.
## Footnote
Glossary
Political conflicts over water.
38
Define hydroponics.
## Footnote
Glossary
A method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil.
39
Define impermeable.
## Footnote
Glossary
When water cannot pass through.
40
Define infiltration.
## Footnote
Glossary
The process where water from earths surface enters the soil.
41
Define infiltration capacity.
## Footnote
Glossary
The amount of infiltration that can happen in a soil until saturation.
42
Define interception.
## Footnote
Glossary
Precipitation is caught and held by vegetation.
43
Define interception loss.
## Footnote
Glossary
The net loss of water from a water basin.
44
Define intermittent river.
## Footnote
Glossary
A semi permanent river characterised by season flows
45
Define Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).
## Footnote
Glossary
A band of low pressure around the Earth which generally lies near to the equator.
46
Define lag time.
## Footnote
Glossary
The time taken between peak rainfall and peak discharge.
47
Define meteorological drought.
## Footnote
Glossary
A degree of dryness compared to normal level of precipitation in an area.
48
Define midlatitude depression.
## Footnote
Glossary
Depressions are low pressure weather systems. So air rises, cools, condenses no forms precipitation
49
Define monsoon.
## Footnote
Glossary
A seasonal change in the direction of prevailing winds in a relation where there is a wet/dry season climate, such as subtropical regions close to major oceans e.g India
50
Define open system.
## Footnote
Glossary
When systems receive inputs and transfer outputs of energy or matter with other systems.
51
Define orographic rainfall.
## Footnote
Glossary
When moist air is forced to rise over a barrier e.g. a mountain
52
Define peak discharge.
## Footnote
Glossary
The time of the highest river channel level.
53
Define percolation.
## Footnote
Glossary
The downward movement of water through soil to rock.
54
Define perennial river
## Footnote
Glossary
A permanent river characterised by continuous flows
55
Define permeable.
## Footnote
Glossary
Liquid can move through it
56
Define physical water scarcity.
## Footnote
Glossary
It is when more that 75% of a country or regions river flows are being used.
57
Define precipitation.
## Footnote
Glossary
The water released from clouds in the form of rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, or hail.
58
Define 'residence time'.
## Footnote
Glossary
The average time a molecules of water will spend in one of the stores
59
Define river discharge.
## Footnote
Glossary
The volume of water passing a certain point in the channel over a period of time.
60
Define river regime.
## Footnote
Glossary
It is the annual pattern/variation of a rovers flow ( or discharge)
61
Define saltwater incursion.
## Footnote
Glossary
The movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers.
62
Define saturation.
## Footnote
Glossary
How full of water something is.
63
Define smart irrigation.
## Footnote
Glossary
Uses weather data or soil moisture data to determine the irrigation need of the landscape.
64
Define stem flow.
## Footnote
Glossary
The flow of intercepted water down the stem or trunk of a plant/tree.
65
Define storm flow.
## Footnote
Glossary
The water that arrives in the river via surface runoff or rapid throughflow through the rock.
66
Define subdued hydrograph.
## Footnote
Glossary
A hydrograph with a long lag time and low peak discharge.
67
Define surface runoff.
## Footnote
Glossary
Water from rain/snow melt travels over land to the river.
68
Define territorial integrity.
## Footnote
Glossary
' It is our right to receive the same amount of water as in the past' e.g. Egypt.
69
Define territorial sovereignty.
## Footnote
Glossary
' It is our water, so it is our right' e.g. Ethiopia.
70
Define throughfall.
## Footnote
Glossary
When wet leaves shed excess water onto the Earths surface (after interception)
71
Define throughflow.
## Footnote
Glossary
Water travels through soil towards the stream channel.
72
Define transpiration.
## Footnote
Glossary
Movement of water from plants in the atmosphere.
73
Define urbanisation.
## Footnote
Glossary
The increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities.
74
Define virtual water.
## Footnote
Glossary
All of the water used in the production of a product or service.
75
Define water abstraction.
## Footnote
Glossary
The process of taking or extracting water from a natural source to use it.
76
Define water budget.
## Footnote
Glossary
The annual balance between inputs and outputs. Also known as water balances.
Can be positive (surplus) or negative (deficit)
77
Define water diplomacy.
## Footnote
Glossary
Treaties and agreements negotiated to try to resolve conflicts.
78
Define water scarcity.
## Footnote
Glossary
When the supply of water per person per year falls below 1000m^3 which leads to demand not being met,open tension and conflicts between usage, competition over water and abstraction.
79
Define water stress
## Footnote
Glossary
When the annual supply of water per person per year falls below 1700m^3, which leads to usage restrictions, tensions and conflicts.
80
Define 'water shed'.
## Footnote
Glossary
The ridge of high land separating drainage basins.
81
What are warm fronts represented by on synoptic charts?
Line of red semicircles
82
What are the three types of river regime?
Ephemeral
Intermittent
Perennial
83
What are the three types of water scarcity?
> Physical scarcity
> Economic scarcity
> Absolute scarcity
84
What are ‘hard engineering’ water management schemes?
A water management may involve the use of technological/artificial structures to increase water supplies e.g. dams and desalination
85
What are some causes of flooding?
— Meteorological Causes: Intense storms, mid latitude depressions, extreme monsoonal rainfall, snowmelt, ENSO
— Physical Causes: Heavy rainfall, antecedent rainfall, saturated ground, hard/dry/impermeable ground
86
Freshwater flooding affects over ……… of the worlds land area.
1/3
87
How are mid-latitude depression formed?
- Air rises, cools and condenses to form precipitation.
- They affect the mid-latitudes
88
What is the main cause of river flooding in the UK?
Prolonged rainfall caused by mid-latitude depressions.
89
How are warm fronts represented on synoptic charts?
Red semi-circles
90
How are cold fronts represented on synoptic chart?
Blue triangles.
91
What are the black lines on synoptic charts?
They are isobars. The lines that join together have equal atmospheric pressure. The closer together, the faster the wind is blowing.
92
What do the Hs mean on synoptic charts?
High pressure systems (anticyclones)
93
What do Ls mean on synoptic charts?
Low pressure systems (depressions)
94
During the summer monsoon in SE Asia (between … and …….. ) about ..% of average annual rainfall occurs in 100 days. This is linked to the movement of the ……
May, September, 70, ITCZ
95
What is La Niña?
It is the intensification of normal conditions.
96
How does urbanisation and population growth affect flood risk?
- The expansion of impermeable surfaces (e.g. concrete) increase surface run off into rivers.
- River lag times are shortened by urban drainage systems so water reaches channels faster.
- Sediment and debris can collect in channels and drains and contribute to flood risks in some urban areas.
- Bridges and culverts (underground channels) often reduce river capacity.
97
How does deforestation affect flood risk?
- Reduces interception and evapotranspiration resulting in greater surface run-off.
- Precipitation reaches rivers faster causing a more flashy hydrograph.
- (combined with intensive agriculture) exposes soil to greater erosion, which increases river sediment load and deposition. This reduces the rivers capacity.
- E.G. deforestation in Nepal and Tibet has increased frequency and magnitude of floods n Bangladesh from the Ganges & Brahmaputra rivers.
98
How does hard engineering and channelisation affect flood risk?
- Hard engineering is designed to reduce risk e.g. embankments increase river channel capacity
- Channelisation involves widening and deepening rivers for navigation, straightening them and building levees.
- E.G. in the River Mississippi, it increased flood risk.
- Lack of dredging can also cause channel capacity to decrease.
99
How does changing land-use patterns affect flood risk?
- Population pressures encourage vegetation removal for agriculture, this increases surface run-off and mismanagement of drainage basins and floodplains.
- Overgrazing cause bare slopes, reducing lag time and increasing discharge.
- Expanding urban areas (10000 new home every year in UK) means more impermeable surfaces
100
………. people live in flood prone areas.
900 million
101
… percent of flood deaths and … percent of the economic damages occur in Asia.
Ninety, fifty
102
…….. are the most frequent natural disaster in Europe.
Floods
103
In the 2015-16 winter flooding in the UK, what is the name of the warm moist air mass responsible for continuous rain over 48 hours across Cumbria?
Warm conveyor
104
In the 2015-16 winter flooding in the UK, how many houses were flooded in Cumbria?
Five thousand and two hundred
105
Name the river in Carlisle that burst its banks during Storm Desmond.
River Eden
106
Name the river in Croston that burst its banks during storm Eva?
River Yarrow
107
Which part of the UK was particularly affected by Storm Frank?
NW Scotland
108
What heigh did River Greta reach in Keswick when it burst its banks in 2015?
5.9 m
109
Name 4 soft engineering solutions proposed by the Environment Agency to reduce flood risk.
Afforestation, restoration of river channels, restoration of flood plains, refusal of planning permissions.
110
In the 2015-16 winter flooding in the UK, how much government aid money was provided to Cumbria and Lancashire county councils?
Fifty million pounds
111
What is the case study for privatisation?
Bolivia
112
What was unique about Bolivia’s President, Evo Morales?
He was the first ever indigenous president.
113
Why is neoliberalism seen by Morales’ supporters as having been bad for Bolivia?
It was a type of free market economy that was forced on Bolivia by international organisations like the World Bank.
114
3. What is the name of the free-market model followed by Bolivia since the 1980s?
The Washington Consensus - privatising all state owned enterprise and opening up domestic markets to international investment and competition.
115
What proportion of homes in El Alto do not have access to safe running water and why?
1/4 because since privatisation the water company has failed to provide poorer people with water.
116
How do the citizens of El Alto get access to water – what are the negative consequences of this?
They did their own wells with pickaxes and shovels (usually around 8m deep).
They also dig wells for sewage water, this can contaminate the drinking wells meaning children get ill with diarrhoea and may be hospitalised.
117
Why was water privatised in Bolivia in 1997?
It was a condition of the renegotiation of the debt imposed by the World Bank and the IMF. Almost all public services were to be privatised, especially water and sewage systems in the cities of El Alto and Le Paz.
They convinced Bolivians it would help them economically. The WB and IMF offered more loans and years to repay debt if Bolivia followed these conditions.
118
Where is the headquarters of the TNC that successfully bid for the contract to run La Paz and El Alto’s water and sewage supplies?
France
119
What problems has a privatised water supply caused in Bolivia?
Companies would not get much money if they invested in infrastructure in poorer areas so there is no incentive to do it. The price to connect your house is much higher than what people make.
Private companies care more about profit than the wellness of the people.
120
What happened in Bolivia in January 2005?
City-wide strike against privatisation of water.
Blockades in streets, no cars can go in or out.
Government decided to end contract with private water company.
121
What is Bolivia’s link to colonialism?
Spanish (and others) conquered and plundered the land in ways that benefitted them and not native people. (Gold in rivers, silver mines, tin mining and rubber tapping)
122
When and why was gas privatised?
Gas was privatised in 1996 due to pressure from the IMF. It was said the poorest countries had intervened too much in the economy which brought disadvantages. However, the state company that controlled gas in Bolivia was a profitable company. It is thought that the reason was actually so that multinational companies would control the resources inseatd.
123
What amount of tax was placed on gas reserves in Bolivia?
18% (far below international law)
124
What problems are caused by Bolivia’s privatised gas industry?
Bolivia is now able to extract gas but multinational companies get the profits. The deals were made without sharing how big the gas industry was to Bolivians.
125
How much are Bolivia’s gas reserves worth?
$250 billion
126
What happened when people protested in El Alto against Bolivia’s privatised energy industry in 2003?
Protests with blockades in streets, cutting off fuel supplies and bringing La Paz to a stand still for nearly 2 weeks.
The army intervened and 80 people got shot, which caused pain to many families. People then started to protest against the president and he resigned.
127
What percentage of the worlds population lives in transboundary water basins, according to the UN?
40%
128
How many states does the Colorado river flow through?
7 states
129
How many countries does the river flow through? Name them!
2 = USA + Mexico
130
How many HEP (hydro-electric power) stations does the river run through?
11
131
What was the name and year of the agreement to share and manage the waters of the Colorado?
Colorado Compact Agreement of 1922
132
What is the main reasons for water shortages in the Colorado river?
- 22 years of drought
- climate change
- over usage of water
133
What will happen if a federal water shortage is declared?
Nevada and Arizona will have their water supplies cut back, with California and Mexico following if conditions worsen.
133
How has the mega-drought affected Las Vegas?
It has had to implement water-saving infrastructure such as a progressive waste water recycling system.
134
What tribe (the one we are studying) has depended on the Colorado River for centuries and how is drought affecting them?
The Quechan Tribe (there are over 21 others). Their culture relies on the river so as the river disappears so does their culture.
135
When are the Colorado River agreements to be renegotiated?
2026
136
