Water and Carbon Cycles

Question 1

Why are drainage basins described as open and closed systems?

Answer 1

They have both inputs of water from mountain water run off, whilst having outputs acting within them (sediments, dissolved substances and smaller channels that branch off).

Question 2

What is discharge? and how is it measured?

Answer 2

Discharge is the amount of water passing over a specific point over a given length of time

Question 3

What is water regime?

Answer 3

The variation in discharge of a river over the course of a year

Question 4

Permafrost information (4+)

Answer 4

• formed where grounds remains below 0 degrees Celsius for at least 2 consecutive years.
• thickness varies from less than 1 metres to 1,500 metres.
• most permafrost today was formed during glacial periods.
• sub-sea permafrost occurs over the Arctic continental shelf during the last glacial period on exposed shelf landscapes when sea levels were lower.

Question 5

Sea ice information (4+)

Answer 5

• formed when sea water is cooled to temperatures below freezing.
• doesn’t raise sea levels when melting
• ice platforms form where ice sheet and glaciers move out into the ocean.
  ice shelves mostly exist in Antarctica and Greenland, as well as near Canada and Alaska.
• icebergs are chunks of ice shelves and drift in the ocean, and they only raise sea levels when first entering.

Question 6

Ice caps information (4+)

Answer 6

• thick layers of ice on land that are SMALLER than 50,000 km3.
• usually found in mountainous areas such as the Himalayas and the Andes.
• tend to be dome-shaped and are centered over the highest points in high relief areas.
• they flow outwards.
• the FURTWANGLER GLACIER on Kilimanjaro is Africa’s only remaining ice cap.

Question 7

Ice sheet information (4+)

Answer 7

• mass of ice that extends over 50,000 km3.
• forms where snow falls in winter and doesn’t melt over the summer.
• snow and ice layers compress as new layers of snow pile up and accumulate.
• 2 major ice sheets reside over Greenland and Antarctica.
• they hold enormous amounts of water, so much that scientists believe that is the Antarctica ice sheet melted, sea levels would rise by 60 metres.

Question 8

Alpine glacier information (4+)

Answer 8

• thick masses of ice that are found deep in valleys or upland hollows.
• most are fed from ice and ice caps, or smaller corrie glaciers.
  Glaciers are particularly important in the Himalayas where about 15,000 glaciers form a unique reservoir.
• this supports perennial rivers such as the Brahmaputra, Ganges and Indus which in turn are the lifeline for millions of people in South Asian countries (link to Sundarbans).

Question 9

Types of water stores and examples (4)

Answer 9

• Surface waters: Rivers (Amazon River, South America), Lakes (Lake Baikal, Siberia), and Wetlands (The Pantanal, South America).
• Ground water (Kola Peninsula, South America)
• Soil water (anywhere with SOIL)
• Biological water (Cacti)

Question 10

Explain why vegetation cover changes during the year (link to atmospheric circulation modal)

Answer 10

Seasonal changes influenced by the Earth’s axial tilt changes the atmospheric circulation pattern. These patterns affect temperature, precipitation and daylight duration which will influence the growth and dormancy cycles of plants in different regions.

Question 11

Is the air rising or falling where Hadley and Ferrel cells meet? Does this bring wet or dry weather?

Answer 11

• air is falling which causes high pressure.
• brings hot, dry conditions due tot he air pressure being high, creating areas of little clouds and low rainfall –> due to little clouding there are freezing temperatures at night as there’s less of a barrier from the surface of the earth to space.

Question 12

What is frontal rainfall?

Answer 12

• occurs when two air masses meet
• warm air gets forced over the colder air
• warm air cools as it rises, as well as being next to the cold air so makes it cool more
• condensation occurs and clouds form
• rain falls along the front

Question 13

What is orographic/relief rainfall?

Answer 13

• clouds and rainfall formed from the shape of the land (the topography)
• moist, warm air is forced up the sides of mountains/hills and condenses, so rain forms
• on the other side, the air descends and so it warms up and becomes drier

Question 14

What is convective rainfall?

Answer 14

• the sun causes moisture on the surface and in soils to rise, so the water vapour rises and forms clouds when it cools and condenses
• this tends to give short bursts of rain with clear spells inbetween

Question 15

What is accumulation?

Answer 15

The build up of a glacier due to snow being compacted of ice over many years

Question 16

What is ablation?

Answer 16

The melting of ice (during summer months), usually at the snout of a glacier

Question 17

What government conferences were held with the subject being climate change?

Answer 17

PARIS CONFERENCE was the first attempt to establish tough, binding greenhouse gas emission targets on all member states of the UN across the world. Member countries agreed to report every five years on their efforts, and there’s an aim for a target of no more than a 1.5 degree Celsius global average temperature rise on preindustrial levels.

The KYOTO PROTOCOL set binding targets for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It also established the concept od trading carbon emissions between member countries. HOWEVER, not all established nations signed up such as CHINA AND BRAZIL, and some subsequently withdraw, whereas others that have recognised their target but will have declined to make it legally enforceable.

Question 18

What is INORGANIC CARBON?

Answer 18

carbon found in non-living things such as sedimentary rocks and coal.

Question 19

What is ORGANIC CARBON?

Answer 19

carbon found in living things such as plants and trees (organisms).

Question 20

How much carbon is stored in the lithosphere as marine sediments and sedimentary rocks?

Answer 20

100 million GTC

Question 21

How much carbon is stored in the atmosphere?

Answer 21

700-800 GTC

Question 22

What is carbon sequestration?

Answer 22

the transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to plants, soils, rock formations and oceans. It is both a natural and human process.

Question 23

Examples of carbon sequestration

Answer 23

Carbon capture and storage involves the technological ‘capturing’ of up to 90% of the CO2 emissions produced from the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation and industrial processes
Photosynthesis
Formation of permafrost locks methane gases in the soils
Ocean absorbs Co2

Question 24

What is a net carbon sink.

Answer 24

When something takes in more carbon than it produces

Question 25

What is a net carbon source.

Answer 25

When something produces more carbon than it takes in

Question 26

Key data facts for Indonesia Case Study (write down)

Answer 26

- 13.7% of the regions work sector is for agriculture - Nearly all forest fires in Indonesia are human caused. In 2015, 6.4 million hectares were burnt. - untouched forests are becoming increasingly more threatened - 2.4 million acres of land are cleared yearly in Indonesia.

Question 27

What is the affect of forest fires on the pedosphere and local water stores

Answer 27

Rain will wash ash into the soil, increasing carbon content within that store (pedosphere). Carbon in runoff will also increase and so water becomes more acidic. - more acidic water means more acidic rainfall which can kill even more vegetation. - surface flow becomes more rapid and therefore a faster output of water out of the system. As a result, the grounds become drier and people/animals struggle to find food.

Question 28

what is interception

Answer 28

where precipitation hits vegetation, making the time between the precipitation falling to it hitting land longer, and from here can either fall down to the soil or evaporate off the surface of the leaves

Question 29

what is surface storage

Answer 29

the amount of water that is held on the Earth's surface in lakes, ponds, and puddles, holding for less than 1% of all of the earth's water

Question 30

what is soil water

Answer 30

water held in the soil

Question 31

what is ground water

Answer 31

water found underground in the soil and rocks that has percolated through over time

Question 32

what is channel storage

Answer 32

the volume of water that is temporarily held within a river channel

Question 33

what is stemflow

Answer 33

water from precipitation that flows down a plant's/tree's stem after it has been intercepted from a plants canopy

Question 34

what is throughfall

Answer 34

precipitation that reaches the ground after passing through the canopy of leaves and branches, and how wet leaves shed excess water onto the ground surface

Question 35

what is infiltration

Answer 35

the flow of water from the ground surface into the soil, moving from the surface of the earth and into the soil towards groundwater stores

Question 36

what is percolation

Answer 36

water passing through a filter or porous material, in this case soil, towards the rock beneath

Question 37

what is through flow

Answer 37

the lateral movement of water through the soil, usually downhill wit the force of gravity.

Question 38

what is baseflow

Answer 38

water that reaches a channel largely though flow throughflow and permeable rock below the water table

Question 39

what is the water table

Answer 39

the boundary between soi surface and the area where groundwater saturates the ground below

Question 40

what is evapotranspiration

Answer 40

the process of water moving from the earth's surface into the atmosphere through both evaporation from water bodies and transpiration of plants

Question 41

what is overland flow

Answer 41

the movement of water across the land surface, as the amount of water on the earth's surface has overcome the soil's ability to absorb it (as it has become saturated)/antecedent rainfall), causing water to flow downhill without being contained within a defined channel like a river or stream

Question 42

what is channel flow/run off

Answer 42

the movement of water within a channel, such as water is rivers, drainage systems, and streams

Question 43

what is the water balance

Answer 43

this describes the changes in soil water store during the course of a year

Question 44

describe the general pattern of the water balance of the soil throughout the year, using as much terminology as possible

Answer 44

winter - spring = SOIL MOISTURE RECHARGE - more rain than evapotranspiration, so soils become replenished with moisture via infiltration spring - summer = SOIL MOISTURE SURPLUS - the soil becomes saturated and no more water can infiltrate, causing increased surface runoff summer - autumn = SOIL MOISTURE UTILISATION - the soil water store is used up by respiring plants and evaporated as the sun is at its highest, rivers may start drying up and there is less throughflows, overland flows etc autumn - winter = SOIL MOISTURE DEFICIT - soils will start filling with ore water again as levels of moisture and water have dropped, therefore there is more infiltration and less throughflows/overland flows

Question 45

what is water discharge

Answer 45

the amount of water passing a point over a given length of time

Question 46

what is a river regime

Answer 46

the variation in the discharge of a river over the course of a year

Question 47

what are river regimes useful for

Answer 47

- flood predictions and management (flood management strategies such as sandbags and flood barriers) - managing water supply and consumption (needing to turn hoses off, storing excess water for later use)

Question 48

What is decomposition

Answer 48

the breakdown of plant material into simpler organic molecules, facilitated by enzymes

Question 49

What is respiration

Answer 49

the process plants and bacteria use as an energy source to carry out life functions

Question 50

what is combustion

Answer 50

using oxygen to burn organic substances that releases carbon in form of carbon oxide gases into the atmospehre

Question 51

what is burial and compaction

Answer 51

the burning of organic molecules that releases carbon molecules such as carbon monoxide and CO2

Question 52

What is chemical weathering

Answer 52

process of rocks being eroded by acidic water, releasing and making carbonic acid along with other acidic molecules containing carbon

Question 53

what is drought

Answer 53

a period of below-average precipitation in a given region, resulting in prolonged shortages of water supply

Question 54

what does deforestation do to the water cycle

Answer 54

less vegetation means less interception of precipitation, and less evapotranspiration, so throughful increases and often the ground can become saturated and water logged, so over land flow increases.

Question 55

What is the effect of deforestation on a hydrograph

Answer 55

can cause more 'flashy hydro graphs' and an increased discharge of water

Question 56

what is the effect of extensive deforestation after deforestation on a site

Answer 56

precipitation levels fall as there's less evapotranspiration due to lack of vegetation and all the water mainly leaving the site through channel flows. Therefore, there's less rainfall and eventually the site will have less channel flow too

Question 57

carbon is the ... most common element on the earth

Answer 57

6th

Question 58

water balance definition

Answer 58

the difference in the inputs (precipitation) and outputs (evapotranspiration and runoff)

Question 59

main way of clearing forests in Indonesia

Answer 59

slash and burn to clear the lands for palm oil plantations

Question 60

main reason for clearing land in Indonesia

Answer 60

space for palm oil plantations

Question 61

Where is the river Wey and where does it flow

Answer 61

South east England, flowing through Surrey and eventually joins the River Thames

Question 62

Describe some flood management schemes in Guildford for the River Wey

Answer 62

- looking at how they can enhance the river side environment whilst reducing the risks of flooding into the city town centre - aiming to be able to keep the city open in times of flooding - Surrey council spent £1 million clearing the river to try and reduce the risk of flooding - Temporary flood defences have been placed to try and reduce the damage from flood

Question 63

How much water is abstracted a day from the river Wey catchment

Answer 63

340 million litres a day

Question 64

What is the main use of water that is abstracted from the River Wey catchment

Answer 64

Public water supply

Question 65

What are some future challenges that might arise for the water catchment for the river Wey

Answer 65

- global temperature rises - means more evaporation out of the water - evaporation could exceed precipitation at times - however, if the abstraction has always been in excess then this shouldn't matter if less water should be abstracted

Question 66

Outline how human factors impact upon the water cycle (4)

Answer 66

Deforestation will typically reduce transpiration (1) There will be a lack of interception, which may lead to increased likelihood of flooding (1) Effects of urbanisation means there is less infiltration due to impermeable surfaces (1) Global warming may increase the amount of precipitation in the atmosphere leading to even more intense downpours (1)

Question 67

Outline how human factors impact upon the carbon cycle

Answer 67

In Indonesia, slash and burn is the main way of clearing the land, which results in a huge switch from the rainforest being a carbon sink to a carbon source (1) The combustion of wood for energy creates CO2, which shifts the store of carbon from the biological stores of forest to atmospherical stores. (1) Another human impact is the fracking and burning of fossil fuels. This is the extraction of huge carbon sources from the earth's crust, to burning and using them for energy and placing all the carbon into the atmosphere. (1) This causes more carbon cycles between atmospheric stores and biological stores rather than the lithosphere. (1)