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Physical geography > Water and carbon cycle 2 - The water cycle > Flashcards

Water and carbon cycle 2 - The water cycle Flashcards

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1
Q

How much water does the hydrosphere contain

A

1.4 sextillion litres

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2
Q

What kind of water is this

A

Most is saline in the oceans

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3
Q

How much is freshwater

A

less than 3%

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4
Q

How much of the earths freshwater is frozen in the cryosphere?

A

69%

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5
Q

How much of the earths freshwater is in the groundwater?

A

30%

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6
Q

What does groundwater mean

A

Water stored underground in the lithosphere

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7
Q

How much of the earths freshwater is liquid freshwater?

A

0.3%

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8
Q

What is liquid freshwater

A

freshwater on the earths surface in lakes and rivers

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9
Q

How much of the earths freshwater is stored as water vapour in the atmosphere?

A

0.04%

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10
Q

What must water be

A

Pgtsically and economically accessible for humans to use

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11
Q

What is the problem with groundwater?

A

Its hard to accsess so not as cost effective as a result only a small percentage can be used by humans

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12
Q

What forms does water change in

A

Solid, liquid and gas

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13
Q

What happens when waters boils or melts

A

It has to gain energy from the sun

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14
Q

What happens when water condenses or freezes

A

It loses energy

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15
Q

What happens to water on a global scale

A

It is continuously cycled between different stores

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16
Q

What is this known as

A

Global hydrological cycle

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17
Q

What kind of cycle is this

A

closed

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18
Q

Why is it closed

A

There are no inputs or outputs of water. Energy in imputed from the sun and lost to space

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19
Q

What does the amount of water depend on

A

Dependent on whether it is a local or global scale

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20
Q

What does the magnitude of each store depend on

A

The amount of water flowing between them

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21
Q

Where do different flows occur

A

At a range of spatial and temporal scales

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22
Q

When does evaporation occur

A

When liquid changes to a gas

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23
Q

What is this gas called

A

water vapour

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24
Q

How does the liquid change to a gas

A

It gains energy from solar radiation

25
Q

What does evaporation do

A

Increases the amount of water stored in the atmosphere

26
Q

What does the magnitude of the evaporation flow vary with

A

Location and season

27
Q

What happens if there is a lot of solar radiation

A

A large supply of water and warm dry air the amount of evaporation is high

28
Q

What happens if there isn’t much solar radiation

A

Little available liquid water and cool air that is nearly saturated evaporation will be low

29
Q

What does saturated mean

A

How ut is able to absorb water vapour

30
Q

When does condensation occur

A

Water vapour changes state to become a liquid - it loses energy to its surroundings

31
Q

When does it happen

A

When air containing water vapour cools to its drew point

32
Q

What is drew point

A

The temperature when it changes from gas to liquid

33
Q

What happens to the water droplets

A

They stay in the atmosphere or flow to other sub systems

34
Q

What does the magnitude of condensation flow depend on

A

The amount of water vapour in the atmosphere and the temperature

35
Q

What are 2 essential parts of the water cycle

A

Cloud formation and precipitation

36
Q

What is the importance of precipitation

A

It’s the main flow of water from the atmosphere to the ground

37
Q

When do clouds form

A

When warm air cools down, causing the water vapour in it to condense into water droplets, which gather as clouds. When the droplets are big enough they fall as precipitation

38
Q

What 3 things cause warm air to cool

A
  • Other air masses
  • Topography
  • Convection
39
Q

How do other air masses influence precipitation

A

Warm air is less dense than cool air. As a result when warm air meets cool air the warm air is forced up above the cool air. It cools down as it rises

40
Q

What does this result in

A

Frontal precipitation

41
Q

How does topography influence precipitation

A

When warm air meets mountains it is forced to rise causing it to cool

42
Q

What does this result in

A

Orographic precipitation

43
Q

How does convection influence precipitation

A

When the sun heats up the ground, moisture on the ground evaporates and rises up in a column of warm air. As It gets higher it cools

44
Q

What does this result in

A

Convective precipitation

45
Q

Why can’t water droplets caused by condensation form clouds

A

They are too small

46
Q

What has to be present for clouds to form

A

Tiny particles of other substances (like dust) to act as a cloud condensation nuclei

47
Q

What does a cloud condensation nuclei do

A

They give water a surface to condense on

48
Q

Why is this important

A

It encourages clouds to form, rather than allowing moist air to disperse

49
Q

What are 2 examples of cryospheric processes

A

Accumulation and ablation

50
Q

How does cloud formation and precipitation vary

A

Seasonally and by location

51
Q

What do cryospheric processes do

A

Change the amount of water stored as ice in the cry-sphere

52
Q

What does the balance of accumulation and ablation vary with

A

Temnperature

53
Q

What happens in periods of global cold

A

Inputs into the cryosphere are greater than the outputs - water is transferred as snow snd less ware is transferred away due to melting

54
Q

What happens in periods of global warmth.

A

The magnitude of the cry-sphere store reduces as losses due to melting are larger than inputs of snow

55
Q

What is happening to the earth

A

It;’s emerging from a glacial period that reached its maximum 21,000 years ago

56
Q

Where are the extensive stores of ice

A

Antartica, Greenland and a number of alpine glaciers

57
Q

How do variations in cryospheric processes happen

A

Over different time scales

58
Q

What is an example of a short time scale variation

A

Annual temperature fluctuations mean that snow falls more in winter than summer

Physical geography (16 decks)

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