Water and Carbon cycles Flashcards
Acidification
The gradual reduction of pH of the oceans, due to dissolving carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Afforestation
Planting trees and vegetation in the aim of increasing forest cover.
Anticyclone
A system of high pressure, causing high temperatures and unseasonably high evaporation rates.
Aquifer
A permeable or porous rock which stores water.
Biofuel
Burning crops and vegetation for electricity and heat.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS)
The capture of carbon dioxide emissions
directly from the factory, pumped into disused mines rather than being released into the atmosphere.
Carbon fluxes
The movement of carbon between stores.
Carbon neutral
A process that has no net addition of carbon dioxide to the environment.
Carbon Stores
Places where carbon accumulates for a period of time such as rocks and plant matter.
Channel flow
Water flowing in a rivulet, stream or river.
Choke points
Points in the logistics of energy and fuel that are prone to restriction.
Combustion
The process of burning a substance, in the presence of oxygen, to release energy.
Convectional precipitation
Solar radiation heats the air above the ground,
causing it to rise, cool & condense forming precipitation (often as thunderstorms).
Cryosphere
The global water volume locked up within a frozen state (i.e. snow and ice)
Decomposisiton
The break down of matter, often by a decomposer which releases carbon dioxide through their own respiration.
Depression
A system of low pressure, with fronts of precipitation where low and high pressure air masses meet.
Desalination plant
The conversion of seawater to freshwater, suitable for human consumption
Desublimation
The change of state of water from gas to solid, without being a liquid (the opposite process to sublimation).
Drainage basin
The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.
Drainage density
The total length of all rivers & streams divided by the area of the drainage basin.
Drought
An extended period of deficient rainfall relative to the statistical average for the region (UN).
Economic water scarcity
When water resources are available but insufficient economic wealth limits access to it.
Energy mix
The composition of a country’s energy sources.
Energy security
The ownership and full control of a country’s energy source, production and transportation.
Energy pathway
The movement of energy from its extraction or source, through pipes, freight logistics or cabling.
Energy players
Key companies and individuals who own, distribute and sell energy and energy sources.
Enhanced greenhouse effect
The build-up of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere, reducing the amount of solar radiation reflected into space.
ENSO cycles
El Niño Southern Oscillations - naturally occurring phenomena that involves the movement of warm water in the Equatorial Pacific.
Evapotranspiration
The combined total moisture transferred from the Earth to the atmosphere, through evaporation and transpiration.
Frontal precipitation
Where air masses of different temperatures meet at a front, one mass will be forced over another, causing precipitation beneath the front.
Global hydrological cycle
The continuous transfer of water between land, atmosphere and oceans. The Earth is a closed system.
Groundwater flow
Water moving horizontally through permeable or porous rock due to gravity.
Hydrological drought
Insufficient soil moisture to meet the needs of vegetation (crops, trees, plants) at a particular time
Infiltration
The movement of water vertically through the pores in soil.
Integrated drainage basin management
Establishing a frame of coordinated efforts between administrations (e.g. local government) and stakeholders (e.g
businesses) to achieve balanced management of a basin (World Bank).
Inorganic carbon
Carbon stored in carbonated rocks
Interception
Raindrops are prevented from falling directly onto the ground, instead hitting the leaves of a tree.
Meteorological drought
When long-term precipitation trends are below average.
Monsoon
The drastic variation between wet and dry seasons for sub-tropical areas, caused by a changed prevailing wind. Can lead to annual flooding.
Non-renewable
A source of energy that can only be used once to generate electricity or takes thousands of years to replace e.g. Fossil Fuels.
Nuclear fusion
The process of joining atomic nuclei together, to produce energy.
OPEC
Oil and Petroleum exporting countries. An organisation that supports and coordinates fossil fuel exporting countries.
Open system
A system affected by external flows and inputs (such as a drainage basin, or a sediment cell).
Organic carbon
Carbon stored in plant material and living organisms.
Outgassing
The release of dissolved carbon dioxide (e.g. at plate boundaries, warming the oceans).
Percolation
Water moving vertically from soil into permeable rock.
Physical water scarcity
A physical lack of available freshwater which cannot meet demand.
Phytoplankton
Small organisms that rely on photosynthesis to survive, so intake carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Primary energy
The initial source of energy, as it is naturally found. This could be natural ores, water, crops or radioactive material.
