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Physical Geography - P1 > The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity EQ1 > Flashcards

The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity EQ1 Flashcards

1
Q

What type of system is the global hydrological cycle?

A

Closed system of linked processes.

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2
Q

What is the global hydrological system driven by?

A

Solar energy and gravitational potential energy.

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3
Q

Summarise what the global hydrological cycle is.

A

The circulation of water around the earth.

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4
Q

Explain what is means that the hydrological cycle is a closed system of linked processes.

A
  • There are no external inputs or outputs.
  • So the amount of global water is finite and constant.
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5
Q

What is the only thing that changes in relation to water in the hydrological cycle?

A
  • The state in which the water exists
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6
Q

Does the proportions of global water held in each state vary?

A

Yes

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7
Q

What does the proportions of global water held in each state vary because of?

A

Over time with changes in climate.

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8
Q

How does solar energy drive the hydrological cycle?

A

in the form of heat

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9
Q

How does gravitational potential energy drive the hydrological cycle?

A

Causes rivers to flow downhill and precipitation to fall to the ground.

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10
Q

What are stores?

A

Reservoirs where water is held.

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11
Q

What are the four main stores?

A
  • Oceans
  • Glaciers and ice sheets
  • Surface runoff
  • The atmosphere
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12
Q

What is the largest store?

A

Oceans

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13
Q

What is the second largest store?

A

Glaciers and ice sheets (cryosphere, second largest)

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14
Q

What is surface run off an umbrella term for?

A

A number of land-based stores
- including rivers, lakes, groundwater and the moisture held in soils and vegetation.

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15
Q

What is the largest fresh water store?

A

The cryosphere is the largest

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16
Q

What % of global freshwater is held by the cryosphere?

A

69%

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17
Q

What % of global freshwater is held by groundwater?

A

30%

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18
Q

What % of freshwater is stored in the biosphere?

A

Less than 1%

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19
Q

What are flows?

A

The transfers of water from one store to another.

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20
Q

What are flows measured in?

A

km cubed per year.

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21
Q

What are the flows in the hydrological cycle?

A
  • Oceans and atmosphere
  • Atmosphere and landmasses
  • Landmasses and oceans
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22
Q

Describe the flows in the atmosphere and landmasses (km cubed / year).

A
  • Evaporation 60,000
  • Precipitation 90,000
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23
Q

Describe the flows in the oceans and atmosphere (km cubed / year).

A
  • Evaporation 400,000
  • Precipitation 370,000
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24
Q

Describe the flows in the landmasses and oceans (km cubed / year).

A
  • Surface runoff 30,000
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25
Q

What are fluxes?

A

Rates of flow between stores.

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26
Q

Where do the greatest fluxes occur?

A

Over the oceans.

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27
Q

What is the global water budget?

A

Takes into account all the water that is held in stores and flows of the global hydrological cycle.

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28
Q

What is the most significant feature of the global water budget?

A

Only 2.5% of it is freshwater; the rest is in oceans.

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29
Q

What % of fresh water is ‘easily accessible surface freshwater’?

A

1%

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30
Q

Where is the majority of freshwater locked?

A

Glaciers and ice sheets.

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31
Q

What is a residence time?

A

The average time a molecule of water will spend in one of the stores

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32
Q

Describe the variation of residence times

A
  • From 10 days in the atmosphere
  • 3,600 years in the oceans
  • 15,000 years in an ice cap.
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33
Q

What are the two non-renewable water stores?

A

Fossil water and the cryosphere.

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34
Q

What is fossil water?

A

Ancient, deep groundwater made from pluvial periods in the geological past.

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35
Q

What are pluvial periods?

A

Wetter

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36
Q

What is the cryosphere made up of?

A

Areas of the world where water is frozen into snow or ice.

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37
Q

What % of water is stored in oceans?

A

97.5%

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38
Q

What % of water is freshwater?

A

2.5%

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39
Q

What % of freshwater is stored in ice caps?

A

69%

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40
Q

What % of freshwater is stored in groundwater?

A

30%

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41
Q

What % of freshwater is stored as easily accessible surface water?

A

1%

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42
Q

What % of easily accessible surface water is stored in lakes?

A

52%

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43
Q

What % of easily accessible surface water is stored as soil moisture?

A

38%

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44
Q

What % of easily accessible surface water is stored as atmospheric water vapour?

A

8%

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45
Q

What % of easily accessible surface water is stored in rivers?

A

1%

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46
Q

List What are the flows in the hydrological cycle?

A

Interception, infiltration, direct runoff, saturated overland flow, throughflow, percolation, groundwater flow

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47
Q

What are the outputs of the hydrological cycle?

A

Evaporation, transpiration and channel flow.

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48
Q

What is the main input in the hydrological cycle?

A

Precipitation

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49
Q

How can precipitation vary?

A
  • Form
  • Amount
  • Intensity
  • Seasonality
  • Distribution
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50
Q

What forms of precipitation are there?

A

Rain, snow, hail

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51
Q

What effect does the form of precipitation have on the drainage cycle?

A

With snow, entry of water into the drainage system will be delayed.

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52
Q

How does the amount of precipitation affect the drainage cycle?

A

Affects the amount of water in the drainage basin and the fluxes within it.

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53
Q

How does the intensity of precipitation effect the drainage cycle?

A

The greater the intensity, the greater the likelihood of flooding.

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54
Q

How does the seasonality of precipitation effect the drainage cycle?

A

Likely to result in the drainage basin system operating at different flow levels at different times of the year.

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55
Q

When does the distribution of precipitation have a more significant impact on the drainage cycle?

A

In very large drainage basins, such as the Nile and the Ganges, where tributaries start in different climate zones

56
Q

What is interception?

A

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

57
Q

What is infiltration?

A

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

58
Q

What is percolation?

A

A deeper transfer of water into permeable rocks.

59
Q

What is throughflow?

A

The lateral transfer of water downslope through the soil.

60
Q

What is groundwater flow?

A

The very slow transfer of percolated water through pervious (permeable) or porous rocks.

61
Q

What is surface runoff?

A

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

62
Q

What can surface runoff also be known as?

A

Overland flow

63
Q

What is river or channel flow?

A

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

64
Q

What is evaporation?

A

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

65
Q

What is transpiration?

A

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

66
Q

What is discharge (channel flow)?

A

into another, larger drainage basin, a lake or the sea.

67
Q

What do physical factors within drainage basins determine?

A

The relative importance of inputs, flows and outputs.

68
Q

What is a drainage basin?

A

The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.

69
Q

What is the boundary of a drainage basin defined by?

A

The watershed

70
Q

What is the drainage basin, within the global hydrological system?

A

A subsystem.

71
Q

What type of system is the drainage basin?

A

An open system with external inputs and outputs

72
Q

What does it mean that the inputs within a drainage basin vary overtime?

A

So does the amount of water in the drainage basin.

73
Q

How do drainage basins vary in size?

A

From that of a small local stream up to a huge river such as the Amazon.

74
Q

What does climate mainly impact within the drainage basin?

A

Inputs and outputs

75
Q

What physical factors work within a drainage basin?

A

Climate, soils, vegetation, geology, relief

76
Q

What else does climate impact within the hydrological system and drainage basin?

A
  • Type and amount of precipitation overall and the amount of evaporation
  • vegetation type
77
Q

What do soils largely affect within the drainage basin?

A

The relative importance of the different flows within the system
(of these flows perhaps the most important is surface runoff)

78
Q

What do soils determine within the drainage basin?

A

The amount of infiltration and throughflow, and indirectly, the type of vegetation

79
Q

What does geology largely affect within the drainage basin?

A
  • Largely affects the relative importance of the different flows within the system
    (of these flows perhaps the most important is surface runoff)
80
Q

What else can geology impact within the drainage basin?

A
  • Subsurface processes such as percolation and groundwater flow (and, therefore, on aquifers)
    Indirectly, geology affects soil formation.
81
Q

What does relief largely affect within the drainage basin?

A

The relative importance of the different flows within the system
(of these flows perhaps the most important is surface runoff)

82
Q

What else does relief impact within the drainage basin?

A
  • The amount of precipitation
  • Slopes can affect the amount of runoff
83
Q

What does vegetation largely impact within the drainage basin?

A
  • The relative importance of the different flows within the system
    (of these flows perhaps the most important is surface runoff)
84
Q

What else does the presence or absence of vegetation impact within the drainage basin?

A
  • The amount of interception, infiltration and occurrence of overland flow, as well as on transpiration rates.
85
Q

What physical factors largely affects the relative importance of the different flows within the system?

A

Soils, geology, relief, vegetation

86
Q

What human changes disrupt the drainage basin cycle often by accelerating its processes?

A
  1. rivers and drainage
  2. the character of the ground surface (its shape, texture and covering)
87
Q

What factors affect the drainage basin?

A
  • River management
  • Deforestation
  • Changing land use - urbanisation
  • Changing land use - agriculture
88
Q

River management:
- How does construction of storage reservoirs affect the drainage basin cycle?

A

Holds back river flows

89
Q

River management:
- How does abstraction of water for domestic flow and industrial use affect the drainage basin cycle?

A

Reduces river flows

90
Q

River management:
- How does abstraction of groundwater for irrigation affect the drainage basin cycle?

A

Lowers water tables

91
Q

What is a water table?

A

The boundary between water-saturated ground and unsaturated ground.

92
Q

Deforestation:
How does the clearance of trees affect the drainage basin cycle?

A

Reduces evapotranspiration, but increases infiltration and surface runoff

93
Q

Changing land use - Agriculture:
How does a shift from arable to pastoral affect the drainage basin cycle?

A

Compaction of soil by livestock increases overland flow

94
Q

What are arable farms?

A

Those which produce crops

95
Q

What are pastoral farms?

A

Those where animals are raised for meat, wool or dairy products.

96
Q

Changing land use - Agriculture:
How does a shift from pastoral to arable affect the drainage basin cycle?

A

Ploughing increases infiltration by loosening and aerating the soil

97
Q

Changing land use - Urbanisation:
How do urban surfaces affect the drainage basin cycle?

A

Speed surface runoff by reducing percolation and infiltration

98
Q

Changing land use - Urbanisation:
How do drains affect the drainage basin cycle?

A

Deliver rainfall more quickly to streams and rivers, increasing chances of flooding.

99
Q

What components of the drainage basin are most affected by humans?

A
  • Evaporation and evapotranspiration
    -Interception
  • Infiltration
  • Groundwater
  • Surface runoff
100
Q

What case study can be used to show how deforestation has disrupted the drainage basin?

A

The Amazonia

101
Q

What does the Amazon basin contain?

A

The world’s largest area of tropical rainforest.

102
Q

How has deforestation disrupted the drainage basin cycle in the Amazon?
Less….

A
  • Less precipitation
103
Q

How has deforestation disrupted the drainage basin cycle in the Amazon?
A lowering of…

A

​- A lowering of humidities

104
Q

How has deforestation disrupted the drainage basin cycle in the Amazon?
More…

A
  • More surface run off and infiltration
  • More evaporation, less transpiration
  • More soil erosion and silt being fed into rivers.
105
Q

What do the water budgets show?

A

The annual balance between inputs (precipitation) and outputs (evapotranspiration) and runoff.
their impact on soil water availability

106
Q

What are water budgets influenced by?

A

Climate type (tropical, temperate or polar examples)

107
Q

What is the formula for the water budget?

A

P = E + R +/- S

108
Q

What is the water budget at a national or regional scale useful for?

A

A useful indication of the amount of water that is available for human use
(for agriculture, domestic consumption etc.)

109
Q

What is the water budget at a local scale useful for?

A

Available soil water.

110
Q

What is available soil water?

A

The amount of water that can be stored in the soil and is available for growing crops.

111
Q

Why is it valuable for farmers to understand available soil water?

A

Can use it to identify when irrigation might be required, and how much.

112
Q

What is a river regime?

A

The annual variation in the discharge or flow of a river at a particular point

113
Q

What is a river regime usually measured in?

A

cumecs

114
Q

What is the character of a river regime influenced by?
1.

A
  1. the size of the river and where discharge measurements are taken along its course
115
Q

What is the character of a river regime influenced by?
1. the size of the river and where discharge measurements are taken along its course
2.

A
  1. the amount, seasonality and intensity of the precipitation
116
Q

What is the character of a river regime influenced by?
1. the size of the river and where discharge measurements are taken along its course
2. the amount, seasonality and intensity of the precipitation
3.

A
  1. The temperatures, with possible meltwater and high rates of evaporation in the summer
117
Q

What is the character of a river regime influenced by?
1.
2.
3. The temperatures, with possible meltwater and high rates of evaporation in the summer
4.

A
  1. the geology and soils particularly their permeability and porosity;
    groundwater noted in permeable rocks is gradually released into the river as base flow
118
Q

What is the character of a river regime influenced by?
1.
2.
3.
4. the geology and soils particularly their permeability and porosity;
groundwater noted in permeable rocks is gradually released into the river as base flow
5.

A
  1. The type of vegetation cover: wetlands can hold water and release it slowly into the river
119
Q

What is the character of a river regime influenced by?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. The type of vegetation cover: wetlands can hold water and release it slowly into the river

A
  1. Human activities aimed at regulating a river’s discharge
120
Q

What do storm hydrographs show?

A

discharge changes over a short period of time, often no more than a few days.

121
Q

What do storm hydrographs’ shape depend on?

A

Physical features of drainage basins as well as human factors

122
Q

What are physical features of a drainage basin?

A

Size, shape, drainage density, rock type, soil, relief and vegetation

123
Q

What human factors affect drainage basins?

A

Land use and vegetation

124
Q

What two things do storm hydrographs plot?

A

The occurrence of a short period of rain over a drainage basin
And the subsequent discharge of a river.

125
Q

What is the variation in the shape of storm hydrographs linked to?

A

The nature of the rainfall event.

126
Q

What are the main features of a storm hydrograph?

A
  • Rising limb
  • Peak discharge
  • Lag time
  • Falling / recessional limb
  • Base flow
127
Q

What is a rising limb?

A

Once the rainfall starts, the discharge begins to rise

128
Q

When is peak discharge reached?

A

Some time after the peak rainfall

129
Q

Why is peak discharge reached some time after the peak rainfall?

A

Because the water takes time to move over and through the ground to reach the river.

130
Q

What is lag time?

A

The time interval between peak rainfall and peak discharge

131
Q

What does the recessional or falling limb show?

A

Once the input of rainwater into the river starts to decrease, so does the discharge

132
Q

What is base flow?

A

The river’s discharge returns to its normal level

133
Q

Urbanisation and the hydrological cycle:
How does construction work impact surface runoff?

A
  • Construction work leads to the removal of the vegetation cover. This exposes the soil and increases vegetation cover
  • Bare soil is eventually replaced by a covering of concrete and tarmac, both of which are impermeable and increase surface runoff
134
Q

Urbanisation and the hydrological cycle:
What is the impact of high density buildings ?

A
  • Rain falls on roofs and is then swiftly fed into drains by gutters and pipes.
  • Drains and sewers reduce the distance and time rainwater travels before reaching a stream or river channel.
135
Q

Urbanisation and the hydrological cycle:
How do drains and sewers impact rainwater travel?

A

Reduce the distance and time rainwater travels before reaching a stream or river channel.

136
Q

Urbanisation and the hydrological cycle:
How do urban rivers impact flooding?

A

Urban rivers are often channelised with embankments to guard against flooding. When floods occur, they can be more devastating.

137
Q

Urbanisation and the hydrological cycle:
How do bridges impact floods?

A

Bridges can restrain the discharge of floodwaters and act as local dams, thus prompting upstream floods.

Physical Geography - P1 (17 decks)

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