Water Flashcards
What is the cryosphere
water in the form of ice
How much of the worlds water is in oceans/is saline
96.5%
How many people do not have access to freshwater
1/10
How much freshwater do we have access to
2.5%
Name the three freshwater stores and why we can/can’t use them
glaciers - dont want to melt
groundwater - not always renewable source and have to be careful of salt water intrusion
other - can use but only makes up 1.2%
What 4 things make up a system
inputs, outputs, flows and stores
Is the global water system open or closed
closed as we cannot create or destroy water
Are localised systems open or closed
open as there are outputs out of the system
What is the global water budget
annual balance of water fluxes and the size of the stores
What are residence times
how long water spends in one store
Name the three types of rain
frontal, relief and convectional
Describe frontal rain
when a cold and warm air mass meet and forces hotter air up
Describe relief rain
steep relief causes air to rise
Describe convectional rain
sun heats air and causes it to rise
Where is most of the worlds rainfall created
the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)
What is an albedo
the reflectivity of the ground
What is the pressure and rainfall like in the ITCZ
low pressure with lots of convectional rainfall which creates monsoons
Which regions drive the global hydrological cycle and why
the polar regions through circulation of water and transfer of heat
What is thermohaline circulation
movement of water around the world
How does water move around the planet
cold water sinks in the polar regions due to being colder and more saline therefore denser, which drags warm water from the tropics
What are fossil water reserves
reserves of water that have not been recharged or extracted for a long time
How are these reserves more accessible and is this a good thing
due to new technology, which is not good as it is becoming a non-renewable source
What is a drainage density
total length of all streams and rivers divided by the total area of drainage basin
What are the three pathways of rainfall
infiltration, overland flow, evaporation
What do water budgets show
the balance between the inputs and outputs of a river over a year
What do they allow us to compare
the natural water supply and human demand
What are water balance estimations used for
used to assess current status and trends in water resource availability
What is soil moisture surplus
when soil is saturated and excess water cannot infiltrate
What is soil moisture utilisation
when evapotranspiration is greater than precipitation
What is soil moisture deficit
when eventually all water stored is used up
What is soil moisture recharge
when precipitation is greater than evapotranspiration so pores in soil are refilled
What are river regimes
seasonal patterns of rivers as they respond to precipitation
What is a simple regime
regimes for shorter rivers that only go through one climatic zone
What is a complex regime
where larger rivers cross multiple different reliefs and climatic zones
What do regimes reflect changes in
precipitation
temp
evapotranspiration
land use
What are the two types of storm hydrographs
flashy and subdued
Explain flashy hydrographs
short lag time
urbanised area so little infiltration
Explain subdued hydrographs
vegetated area so more infiltration
longer lag time
What does cuMEC’s stand for
cubic metres per second
What is base flow
the portion of the discharge of a stream contributed by groundwater flow
Name the three players in the hydro cycle
planners, environmental agency and local councils
Explain why local councils need to know about the hydro cycle
to check they have flood management in place
Define drought
a slow onset hazard that involves an extended period of reduced rainfall
What percentage of the world is exposed to drought
38%
What are the four types of drought
meteorological
agricultural
hydrological
socio-economic
Explain meteorological drought
lower precip than normal in a specific region
Explain agricultural drought
soil does not have enough moisture for crops
Explain hydrological drought
when water supplies such as rivers and groundwater are deficient
Explain socio-economic drought
when demand for water exceeds availability due to low supply or overuse
What is flash flood
floods that come with no warning, caused by heavy rainfall and poor drainage
Name 3 other causes of flooding
snow melt
river flooding
lake/reservoir release
Which river used to rely solely on snowmelt
South Platte river, Colorado
What can snow melt flooding trigger
landslides and debris flow
What is a monsoon
seasonal changes in prevailing winds that cause distinct wet and dry seasons particularly in areas close to oceans
When is monsoon season in India
April to September
Name 2 times there were many deaths in Indian monsoon season
5000 in 2014
Indus burst banks 2010, 2000 dead
What did the Indian government do that caused political unrest in terms of flood management
used dynamite to destroy dykes
this destroyed large farming areas and displaced many families
Which country accused India of not controlling surges
Pakistan
What does India need more of
HEP plants
Name 6 reasons why humans make flooding worse
deforestation urbanisation intensive crop growing climate change mismanagement of rivers using hard engineering
How does intensive farming increase flood risks
drier soils, change in water movement eg irrigation
What is permafrost
permanently frozen soil at high altitudes
How does ice’s high albedo create a positive feedback loop
melts because of high temps, meaning less reflection and more increased temps
What 5 things does loss of sea ice lead to
altered migration paths increased flooding in low lying areas loss in reflexivity permafrost melting dynamic glacial thinning
Why is altering migration paths bad
as the inuits lose their income through hunting
Why is melting permafrost bad
releases carbon and causes house to collapse
Why is modelling climate change trends hard
because climate dynamics are only partially understood and global records are very incomplete
Which two companies look at climate change
IPCC and LWEC
Name 4 futures and uncertainties that climate change is bringing with drought
- greater projected increase in drought exposure from el nino and la nina on equator and south africa
- diminishing snow pack in western usa leading to drought through decreased soil moisture
- annual losses of drought in usa projected to be $9 billion
- more snow falling as rain leading to demands outweighing supply as it will evaporate quicker
Name 4 futures and uncertainties that climate change is bringing with flooding
- moisture holding capacity of atmosphere is increasing at a rate of 7% per degrees celsius of warming
- sea levels to rise by 4 inches by 2030, and flooding may be increased up to 25x in tropics
- 50 year floods could strike twice as frequently
- climate change increased 2015 uk’s winter devastating flood risk by 40%
Which 4 other factors should decision makers consider when making plans
water uses
water resources
pressures
life and livelihood
What do high water prices deter
unnecessary consumption of water
Give an example of when water consumption was decreased
Denmark, water price from 2 euros to 7
decrease of 56 litres per day per person
What do a lot of developing coutries do with thier water companies
privatise them to make money which usually increases the pricing
Which 5 factors does water poverty index look at
resources - how readily available access capacity - managed for affordability use environment - sustainability
What is the water availability gap
gap between demand and supply
predicted to be 40% globally by 2030
Where is there little to no water scarcity
Europe, North and South America
Where is there physical water scarcity
Middle East approaching that
Where is there economic water scarcity
Middle fo Africa and North India
What are 3 factors affecting price of water
privatisation
change in weather causing drought
covering costs of desalination
What are 3 positives of privatisation of water
Creates more opportunities to improve the systems by upgrading pipelines
Can provide clean and safe water
Manage supply better to help meet demand
What are 3 negatives of privatisation of water
Prices are dramatically increased
Companies don’t have the public interest at heart, more about profit
Cause conflict as many cannot afford the water
Name 3 ways we can manage water supply through hard engineering
mega dams
desalination
water transfers
Name and explain a water transfer scheme
Three Gorges Dam, China
Hai basin holds half population, 2/3 farming land but only 20% of water
overuse made levels drop 300m since 1970
high pollution on drinking water
25 billion m3 of fresh water from Yangtze costing $62 billion
What are some issues with this transfer
social displacement
complaints that it is mismanagement that is the issue and not shortage so better management would be more efficient
harsh effects on eco systems
expensive to build and maintain
What are the 3 ways we can manage water supply
hard engineering
intergrated river basin management
sustainable management
What is a intergrated river basin management
when all stakeholders are involved in management and planning that is balanced
What are soem challenges for intergrated river basin management
cultural and political barriers
inadequate funding
working across international boundaries
What are the key elements to a successful intergrated river basin management
a long term vision agreed by all stakeholders
strategic decision making at local levels
effective timing
active participation from all stakeholders
What river has an intergrated river basin management on it
Colorado river
Explain the colorado river scheme
7 states made agreement in 2007 to divide up shortages
reduced usage in California by 20%, everyone gets a proportion
2012 agreement with mexico that it can use some water from lake mead
in return, states can buy water conserved by improving mexicos canals
What are two ways we can sustainably manage water supplies
smart irrigation
rainwater harvesting
Who are using smart irrigation
Australia Wide Open Agriculture
use only 10% of water required
roofs that open and close to control evaporation
water is sourced from runoff
What is smart irrigation
giving plants less water than they need to induce stress
save 25% of water and not affect yield at certain growing times
Where are they harvesting rainwater
Uganda
tanks are easy to install on roofs of homes, schools and communities
girls no longer have to spend time collecting water
Why is the pedal powered water pump good for African countires
reduces suffering caused by heavy loads
improves hygiene and health
more time for economic activities and education
improves morale and personal dignity
What is sustainable water management
schemes working with local people to develop soft engineering projects that work with natural processes to restore water supplies
Where is using sustainable management
Singapore
abundant rainfall but limited land for collection and storage
water scarcity due to high evaporation rate
PUB have invested in technology for water management
What have PUB invested in
local catchment water, imported water, recycled water (NEWater) and desalinated water
Where does Singapore import water from
Malaysia
What is local catchment water
collecting rainwater through drains, canals, rivers
What percentage of Singapores water demand can be made up from the 4 NEWater plants
30%, wants to go to 55%
