Water and Carbon Cycles Flashcards
Why are drainage basins described as open and closed systems?
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).
What is discharge? and how is it measured?
Discharge is the amount of water passing over a specific point over a given length of time
What is water regime?
The variation in discharge of a river over the course of a year
Permafrost information (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.
Sea ice information (4+)
- 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.
Ice caps information (4+)
- 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.
Ice sheet information (4+)
- 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.
Alpine glacier information (4+)
- 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).
Types of water stores and examples (4)
- 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)
Explain why vegetation cover changes during the year (link to atmospheric circulation modal)
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.
Is the air rising or falling where Hadley and Ferrel cells meet? Does this bring wet or dry weather?
- 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.
What is frontal rainfall?
- 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
What is orographic/relief rainfall?
- 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
What is convective rainfall?
- 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
What is accumulation?
The build up of a glacier due to snow being compacted of ice over many years
What is ablation?
The melting of ice (during summer months), usually at the snout of a glacier
What government conferences were held with the subject being climate change?
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.
What is INORGANIC CARBON?
carbon found in non-living things such as sedimentary rocks and coal.
What is ORGANIC CARBON?
carbon found in living things such as plants and trees (organisms).
How much carbon is stored in the lithosphere as marine sediments and sedimentary rocks?
100 million GTC
How much carbon is stored in the atmosphere?
700-800 GTC
What is carbon sequestration?
the transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to plants, soils, rock formations and oceans. It is both a natural and human process.
Examples of carbon sequestration
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
What is a net carbon sink.
When something takes in more carbon than it produces
What is a net carbon source.
When something produces more carbon than it takes in
Key data facts for Indonesia Case Study (write down)
- 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.
What is the affect of forest fires on the pedosphere and local water stores
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.
what is interception
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
what is surface storage
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
what is soil water
water held in the soil
what is ground water
water found underground in the soil and rocks that has percolated through over time
what is channel storage
the volume of water that is temporarily held within a river channel
what is stemflow
water from precipitation that flows down a plant’s/tree’s stem after it has been intercepted from a plants canopy
what is throughfall
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
what is infiltration
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
what is percolation
water passing through a filter or porous material, in this case soil, towards the rock beneath
what is through flow
the lateral movement of water through the soil, usually downhill wit the force of gravity.
what is baseflow
water that reaches a channel largely though flow throughflow and permeable rock below the water table
what is the water table
the boundary between soi surface and the area where groundwater saturates the ground below
what is evapotranspiration
the process of water moving from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere through both evaporation from water bodies and transpiration of plants
what is overland flow
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
what is channel flow/run off
the movement of water within a channel, such as water is rivers, drainage systems, and streams
what is the water balance
this describes the changes in soil water store during the course of a year
describe the general pattern of the water balance of the soil throughout the year, using as much terminology as possible
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
what is water discharge
the amount of water passing a point over a given length of time
what is a river regime
the variation in the discharge of a river over the course of a year
what are river regimes useful for
- 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)
What is decomposition
the breakdown of plant material into simpler organic molecules, facilitated by enzymes
What is respiration
the process plants and bacteria use as an energy source to carry out life functions
what is combustion
using oxygen to burn organic substances that releases carbon in form of carbon oxide gases into the atmospehre
what is burial and compaction
the burning of organic molecules that releases carbon molecules such as carbon monoxide and CO2
What is chemical weathering
process of rocks being eroded by acidic water, releasing and making carbonic acid along with other acidic molecules containing carbon
what is drought
a period of below-average precipitation in a given region, resulting in prolonged shortages of water supply
what does deforestation do to the water cycle
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.
What is the effect of deforestation on a hydrograph
can cause more ‘flashy hydro graphs’ and an increased discharge of water
what is the effect of extensive deforestation after deforestation on a site
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
carbon is the … most common element on the earth
6th
water balance definition
the difference in the inputs (precipitation) and outputs (evapotranspiration and runoff)
main way of clearing forests in Indonesia
slash and burn to clear the lands for palm oil plantations
main reason for clearing land in Indonesia
space for palm oil plantations
Where is the river Wey and where does it flow
South east England, flowing through Surrey and eventually joins the River Thames
Describe some flood management schemes in Guildford for the River Wey
- 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
How much water is abstracted a day from the river Wey catchment
340 million litres a day
What is the main use of water that is abstracted from the River Wey catchment
Public water supply
What are some future challenges that might arise for the water catchment for the river Wey
- 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
Outline how human factors impact upon the water cycle (4)
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)
Outline how human factors impact upon the carbon cycle
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)
