Water And Carbon Cycles Flashcards
What is the Definition of a System?
A simplified way of representing a complex process (usually with inputs, outputs, and transfers)
What is an open system?
A system that has inputs and outputs of matter and energy
What is a closed system?
A system that has inputs and outputs of energy, but not matter
What is an isolated system?
A system with no inputs or outputs of energy or matter
What is the only true isolated system?
The universe
Is the water cycle/carbon cycle an open or closed system?
Closed
Is a drainage basin an open or closed system?
Open
Outline the key differences between an open and closed system (4)
- An open system has inputs and outputs of energy and matter
- For example, a drainage basin has inputs and outputs of matter (water) and energy (solar radiation)
- A closed system has inputs and outputs of energy but not matter
- For example, the water cycle has inputs and outputs of energy (solar radiation), but not matter
What is transpiration?
The movement of water through the stem of a plant from roots to leaves (transfer)
What is precipitation?
The falling of water from the sky in any form e.g. snow, rain, hail (input)
What is evapotranspiration?
The movement of water up a plant, then evaporating from the leaves (input)
What is through-flow?
The movement of water through soil (transfer)
What is percolation?
Water flowing from soil to rock (transfer)
What is infiltration?
Water flowing from the surface into soil or a permeable layer (transfer)
What is dynamic equilibrium?
Where there is a balance between inputs and outputs
What is a positive feedback cycle?
Change amplifies change in inputs and outputs
What is a negative feedback loop?
Change nullifies change in inputs and outputs
Give an example of a positive feedback loop
- Temperature increases
- Ice cover decreases
- Albedo rate decreases (reflectiveness)
- Surface absorbtion increases
Give an example of a negative feedback loop
- More carbon dioxide in the air
- Temperature increases
- Rates of photosynthesis increases
- Less carbon dioxide in the air
What are the 5 subsystems of water?
- Hydrosphere
- Atmosphere
- Cryosphere
- Lithosphere
- Biosphere
Which store has the highest % of water and what % does it hold?
Oceans - 96.5%
What % of water is fresh water?
2.5%
What is latent heat?
Energy absorbed or released by a substance during a change in its physical state
Is latent heat absorbed or released as water turns from liquid to solid?
Released
Is latent heat released or absorbed when water turns from liquid to gas?
Absorbed
Is latent heat released or absorbed when water turns from solid to gas?
Absorbed
What are the 3 different scales of the water cycle?
- Hill slope
- Drainage basin
- Global
What is temporal change?
The time period water is stored for
What is spatial change?
How much water, and where it is stored
What are the 3 factors that affect the temporal and spatial change of water?
- Evaporation
- Condensation (and precipitation)
- Cryospheric processes
What 4 physical factors affect evaporation?
- Amounts of solar energy
- Availability of water
- Humidity
- Temperature
How does humidity affect rates of evapotranspiration?
The more humid the air - the closer it is to the saturation point - the slower the rate of evaporation
How does temperature affect the rate of evapotranspiration?
Warmer air can hold more water than cooler air
What is the dew point?
The temperature at which the air is cooled sufficiently to a point where it can no longer hold water
How are clouds formed? (4)
- Heat from the sun evaporates water, moving it from the hydrosphere to the atmosphere
- In the atmosphere, water vapour particles constantly move around each other and collide with aerosols
- As the water vapour rises it cools to the dew point, and condenses onto aerosols
- When the air becomes saturated and cannot hold any more water, clouds form, and eventually as water droplets group together they become heavy, and gravity pills them into raindrops
What are aerosols?
Tiny particles of salt and dust
Under what circumstances 2 can condensation occur?
- When the temperature of the air reduces to the dew point, but the volume remains constant
- e.g. during night, heat is radiated out to space and the ground gets colder, cooling the air directly around it - When the volume of air increases but there is no addition of heat
- e.g. when air rises and expands in the lower pressure of the upper atmosphere
Name 3 ways precipitation can occur
- Frontal effect
- Orographic effect
- Conventional effect
What it the frontal effect?
When air of different temperatures and densities meet, the less dense warm air rises over the denser cold air
What is the orographic effect?
When air is forced to rise over hills
What is the conventional effect?
When localised warm surfaces heat the air above, which expands, becomes less dense and rises
What is accumulation?
Where the mass of an ice sheet increases over a year, as inputs exceed outputs (usually in the upper parts of the glacier)
What is ablation?
When more mass is lost that gained over a year, when outputs exceed inputs (usually in the lower parts of the glacier)
What is sublimation?
When water vapour condenses onto a surface that is below freezing sublimation occurs, as the water turns directly from gas to solid, forming hoar frost
What happens during a glacial period?
Accumulation exceeds ablation - sea level was approximately 120m lower than present - hydrological cycle interrupted
What happens during an interglacial period?
Ablation exceeds accumulation - hydrological cycle returns to the same as today
What is the water balance equation?
Precipitation (P) = discharge (Q) + evapotranspiration (E) +/- changes in storage (S)
What is a drainage basin?
The physical area of land drained by a particular river
What is watershed?
The physical boundary of a drainage basin
What is water surplus?
When precipitation is greater than potential evapotranspiration leading to a period of soil moisture recharge
What is water deficit?
When outputs of water are greater than precipitation
What is abstraction?
When water is taken from stores of water surplus (generally rural areas with high rates of precipitation) to areas of water deficit (generally urban areas where population density is high)
What is soil moisture utilisation?
When the water store is used by plants, as potential evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation
What is field capacity?
The level of soil moisture held in soil, after excess water has been drained away
What is river flow?
The volume of water passing a measured point at a given time
What is bank full?
The maximum discharge a river channel is capable of carrying without flooding
What is base flow?
The normal day to day discharge of a river
How is the base flow sourced?
Slow moving soil through flow and groundwater seep into a river channel
Name 7 Factors that Affect Runoff Variation
- Season
- Storm Conditions
- Vegetation Cover
- Soil Saturation levels
- Topography and Relief
- Agriculture
- Urban Land Use
In what 2 ways does agriculture affect runoff variation?
- In pastoral farming, animals will compact soil, making it impermeable and increasing the runoff
- Combiners will plough the soil, mixing it up, and increasing permeability, decreasing the runoff
Name 9 characteristics of a drainage basin that affects a Hydrograph
- Shape
- Size
- Topography/Relief
- Geology
- Drainage density
- Length and Intensity of rain period
- Snowfall
- Saturation of drainage basin
- Vegetation
How does shape affect a Hydrograph?
- Circular drainage basins lead to more flashy hydrographs as water reaches the main channel at the same point
- Elliptical/Elongated drainage basins lead to less flashy hydrographs as the water reaches the main channel at different points
How does size affect a Hydrograph?
Larger drainage basins have less flashy hydrographs but higher peak discharge
How does topography affect a Hydrograph?
Steeper drainage basins have more flashy hydrographs, as water reaches the main channel faster
How does geology affect a Hydrograph?
The more porous and permeable a rock is, the more subdued the hydrograph will be
How does drainage density affect a Hydrograph?
The more surface streams acting as tributaries a drainage basin has, the more likely there is to be a flashy hydrograph