Unit 1 Keywords Flashcards
Precipitation
Falling of water from the sky
Interception
Water landing on vegetation before it hits the ground
Surface storage
Lakes, ponds and puddles
Soil storage
Water stored in the soil
Groundwater storage
Water stored in subsurface rocks
Surface runoff
Water flowing over the ground surface
Infiltration
Water soaking into the soil from the surface
Throughflow
Water flowing through soul
Percolation
Water infiltrating from the soil to the groundwater
Groundwater flow
Water flowing through subsurface rocks
Evaporation
Water turning from a liquid to a gas
Transpiration
Evaporated water leaving the leaves of vegetation
Condensation
Water turning from a gas to a liquid
Discharge
Volume of water flowing in a river at a given point and time
Drainage basin
Area of land drained by a single river system
Watershed
Areas of high land that separate drainage basins
Pipeflow
Water flowing along the paths of roots of vegetation
Stemflow
Precipitation running down stems and trunks of vegetation to the ground
Vegetation storage
Water stored within vegetation
Water balance
Balance between precipitation and evapotranspiration
Graded profile
Cross section of a river cut lengthways from source to mouth
Cross profile
Cross section of a river across its width at a certain point
Wetted perimeter
The length of the cross profile where the water is in contact with the river bed
Hydraulic radius
Cross sectional area / wetted perimeter
Erosion
Wearing away and/or breaking down of material
Transportation
Movement of material
Deposition
A loss of energy causing material to be dropped
Abrasion
Erosion between load and sea/river bed
Hydraulic action
Air trapped in small gaps causing material to be blown out under pressure
Corrosion
Erosion of soluble rocks due to solution
Attrition
Erosion of load against load
Traction
Rolling of larger material at times of high energy
Saltation
Bouncing of stones along the sea/river bed
Suspension
Small particles being carried
Solution
Dissolved load
Capacity
Max volume of load a river can carry at a given point
Competence
Max diameter of largest possible piece of load a river can carry
Calibre
Diameter of load
Dynamic equilibrium
Balance between erosion and deposition
Rejuvenation
When a river has an increase in it’s erosive power due to a change in its base level
Eustatic change
Changing sea level due to melting of ice sheets
Isostatic change
Change in land height caused by weight of ice building up or released
Knickpoint
An irregularity in gradient between rejuvenated and non-rejuvenated sections
River terrace
A succession of downcutting into the floodplain due to rejuvenation
Incised meanders
Downcutting of meanders
V shaped valleys
Steep sided valleys caused by downcutting
Interlocking spurs
When a river winds around bands of hard rock
Waterfalls
When water falls down a ledge created through erosion
Gorge
Very steep sided valleys caused by waterfall retreat
Potholes
The drilling of high velocity pebbles into the river bed
Meanders
Winding of a river due to changes in velocity in its cross profile
Oxbow lake
When a meander is cut off from the main river channel
Floodplain
Area of flat land surrounding river where a river will flood
Braided channels
Small, semi permanent islands found in the river channel
Levees
Land beside beside the river that has built up by deposition during flood events
Deltas
Deposition at the mouth
Rapids
More rapid river flow
Alluvium
Deposited silt and clays
Sediment accretion
Build up of alluvium
Meander migration
Downstream movement of meanders caused by headward erosion
Arcuate deltas
When sediment is deposited out into the sea forming distributaries
Cuspate deltas
Occur when prevailing winds prevent distributaries from forming
Birds foot deltas
When sediment is deposited in finger like structured
Bluff line
The edge of a floodplain
Population distribution
The spread of population
Population structure
The make up of the population
Population pyramid
Breakdown of population into age and sex
Life expectancy
Average years of life
Population density
Population per unit area
Infant mortality rate
Deaths of children under 1 per thousand live births per year
Natural change
Change in population caused by BR and DR
Death rate
Number of deaths per thousand people per year
Migration rate
Inflow or outflow per thousand inhabitants per year
Fertility rate
Average number of children women can expect to have in their lifetime in a specific area
Birth rate
Number of live births per thousand people per year
DTM stage 1
High fluctuating
DTM stage 2
Early expanding
DTM stage 3
Late expanding
DTM stage 4
Low fluctuating
DTM stage 5
Declining
DTM stage 6
Ooooh spooky spooky doot doot, thank Mr Skeltal
Carrying capacity (pop.)
Max number of people an area can support
Optimum population
The ideal number of people living and working in a given area
Underpopulation
When resources could support a larger population
Overpopulation
When population is greater than optimum population
Positive checks
Increases in mortality such as famine or civil war
Preventative checks
Policies to curb population growth
Migration
A change of residence of an individual or group
Immigration
Moving into an area
Emigration
Moving out of an area
Net migration
Difference between immigration and emigration
Voluntary migration
When a migrant choses to move
Forced migration
When a migrant has to move due to circumstances
Social welfare
The social well being of people in an area
Longshore drift
Moving of material along a coastline due to direction of waves
Fetch
Distance over which prevailing wind acts where waves can gain energy
Swash
Movement of water up beach
Backwash
Movement if water down beach
Constructive waves
Waves that have a stronger swash
Destructive waves
Waves that have a stronger backwash
Wave refraction
Bending of waves near the coastline due to friction
Beaches
Where deposition occurs coastally
Tides
Periodic rise and fall of sea caused by gravitational pull of moon and sun
Spring tide
Highest tide when the sun and moon are alligned
Neap tide
Lowest high tide when sun and moon are perpendicular to each other
Storm surge
Stormy, low pressure conditions causing abnormally high sea level and dangerous conditions
Sediment cell
Area in which sediment moves along coastline, separated by bays, headlands and eastauries
Concordant coastlines
Where rocks bands run parallel to the coastline
Discordant coastlines
When rock bands are perpendicular to coastline
Headland
Area of land that juts out into sea, usually made of harder rock
Bay
Inlet caused by erosion of softer rock
Freeze thaw
When water enters fractures and freezes, causing fracture to enlarge
Pressure release
When pressure of overlying rock is released, causing rock to expand
Biological weathering
Plant seeds entering fractures and germinating, causing fracture to enlarge
Oxidation
Oxygen in the air reacting to form oxides
Hydration
Rocks absorbing water causing them to swell
Carbonation
Carbon dioxide reacting with rainwater, leading to acid rain
Hydrolysis
Oxygen and hydroxide ions reacting with the rocks
Organic weathering
Plant acids
Acid rain
Human produced compounds which react with rainwater to weather rocks
Rockfall
Rapid free fall of rock from steep cliff face
Mudflow
Rapid and sudden movement of mud down a steep slide
Earthflow
Movement of soil down slopes
Soil creep
Movement of soil down gentle slope
Solicluction
Permafrost preventing infiltration and leading to saturation, causing movement of ground
Debris slide
Rapid downward sliding and rolling of dry earth and rocky debris
Slump
Where one layer of ground slides over another
Spit
Where material has been pushed out into the sea forming a peninsula
Bar
Where a spit goes across a bay
Tombolo
When a spit goes from the mainland to an island
Halosere/salt marsh
Area of sediment build up in low energy areas, usually behind spits
Emergence
Landforms that have formed by relative falls in sea level
Submergence
Landforms formed by relative rise in sea level
Ria
Drowned coastal river valley
Fjords
Drowned glacial valleys
Fjards
Submerged glacial lowlands
Dalmatian coasts
Submerged valleys running parallel to coastline, creating a chain of islands
Psammaseres/sand dunes
Where sand has been transported and deposited, causing mounds to form and vegetation to take hold
Berms
Ridges built up by constructive waves that mark points of high tide
Cusps
Semi circular depressions
Runnels
Channels caused by the drainage of water into the sea
Cove
A bay formed on a concordant coastline where a fault has been exploited
Pandemic
An epidemic occurring over a wide area and affecting a large number of people
Endemic
The constant presence of a disease in area or population group
Morbidity
Illness and the reporting of disease
Attack rate
The number of cases of a disease diagnosed in an area
Mortality
The death of people
Case mortality
Number of people dying from disease per the number diagnosed
Malnutrition
An improper diet when the body does not receive the right amount of vitamins, minerals and nutrients
Stunting
Shortness for age, reduced growth due to low calorie intake
Periodic famine
Regional failure of food production or distribution systems
Overnourishment
Excessive food consumption
Undernourishment
The status of people whose diet does not contain enough calories to meet physiological needs
Famine
A semi permanent shortage of food
Obesity
Abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health
Transnational corperation
A company that operates in multiple countries
Drainage basin hydrological cycle
Cycle of water on a drainage basin scale, open system with inputs and outputs.
