Water and Carbon Cycles Key Terms

Question 1

Open system

Answer 1

A system with inputs, outputs and flows (energy/mass)

Question 2

Closed system

Answer 2

A system without inputs or outputs which cycles energy/mass in a closed loop

Question 3

Drainage basin/catchment area

Answer 3

The area of land that provides water to a river system

Question 4

Hydrology

Answer 4

The study of water on Earth’s surface

Question 5

Condensation

Answer 5

The change in state from water vapour to liquid due to cooling

Question 6

Evaporation

Answer 6

The change in state from liquid to water vapour due to heating

Question 7

Watershed

Answer 7

The edge of a drainage basin

Question 8

Water budget

Answer 8

The overall balance of inputs and outputs over time in a drainage basin

Question 9

Saturated

Answer 9

When soil pore spaces are filled with water

Question 10

Water table

Answer 10

The maximum extent of the saturated soil zone

Question 11

Precipitation

Answer 11

The movement of water from the atmosphere to the ground surface (rain, snow, hail, sleet)

Question 12

Response

Answer 12

How a river responds following the input of precipitation (‘flashy’ rivers rise quickly and others rise and fall more slowly)

Question 13

Transpiration

Answer 13

The loss of water from plants through stomata in their leaves to the atmosphere

Question 14

Infiltration capacity

Answer 14

The rate at which water is able to pass through a soil in mm/hr (high for sandy soils, low for clay soils)

Question 15

Impermeable

Answer 15

A surface through which water cannot pass

Question 16

Groundwater flow

Answer 16

The movement of water through the soil

Question 17

Throughflow/interflow

Answer 17

The slow movement of water through the rocks beneath the soil

Question 18

Permeable

Answer 18

A surface through which water can pass

Question 19

Overland flow/surface runoff

Answer 19

The movement of water over the ground surface (impermeable surfaces or infiltration excess)

Question 20

Channel flow

Answer 20

Movement of water in surface water channels

Question 21

Evapotranspiration

Answer 21

The loss of water from both transpiration and evaporation combined

Question 22

Runoff

Answer 22

Water and sediment moved down the channel and out of the catchment area

Question 23

Hydrograph

Answer 23

A graph of water level or base flow in a river over time (shows response to a precipitation event)

Question 24

Base flow

Answer 24

The regular daily flow of a river

Question 25

Discharge

Answer 25

Water flowing through a channel at any given point (measured in cubic metres per second or cumecs)

Question 26

Rising limb

Answer 26

The section of a hydrograph where the river's flow increases

Question 27

Lag time

Answer 27

The time difference between peak rainfall and the peak discharge it causes

Question 28

Falling limb

Answer 28

The section of a hydrograph where the river's flow decreases

Question 29

Organic

Answer 29

Matter derived from living things (e.g. plants and animals)

Question 30

Non-organic

Answer 30

Compounds deriving from non-living matter

Question 31

Sedimentary rocks

Answer 31

Rocks created by pressure and the lithification of deposited material on the sea floor

Question 32

Lithification

Answer 32

The compression of sediments into solid rock due to pressure

Question 33

Carbon source

Answer 33

A store in which carbon is released faster than it is absorbed

Question 34

Carbon sink

Answer 34

A store in which carbon is absorbed faster than it is released

Question 35

Fast carbon cycle

Answer 35

Transfers of carbon compounds over years, decades or centuries

Question 36

Slow carbon cycle

Answer 36

Transfers of carbon compounds over extensive timescales (millions of years)

Question 37

Ocean-atmosphere exchange

Answer 37

The ability of the ocean to both absorb and release CO2 depending on conditions

Question 38

Terrestrial

Answer 38

Applying to the land

Question 39

Marine

Answer 39

Applying to the oceans

Question 40

Carbon sequestration

Answer 40

The removal of carbon from active cycles because of artificial or natural transfers as well as burial in long-term stores

Question 41

Methane hydrate

Answer 41

A crystalline structure of methane within a cage of ice molecules (found in polar or permafrost regions)

Question 42

Dynamic equilibrium

Answer 42

The relative stability in a cycle when there is an overall state of balance

Question 43

Feedback loop

Answer 43

A positive or negative chain of events which can either amplify or nullify the original change

Question 44

Anthropogenic

Answer 44

Caused by human activity

Question 45

Carbon offsetting

Answer 45

A deliberate scheme to reduce atmospheric CO2 through absorption or reduced emissions

Question 46

Greenhouse gas

Answer 46

A gas that absorbs IR and contributes to global warming

Question 47

Albedo

Answer 47

The reflectivity of a surface which reflects solar radiation away from Earth's surface and absorb a limited amount of heat energy

Question 48

Marine calcification

Answer 48

The uptake of soluble carbon compounds by marine organisms and subsequent conversion to solid carbonate compounds

Question 49

Carbon budget

Answer 49

The surplus or deficit of carbon (inputs - outputs)

Question 50

Flux

Answer 50

A flow of gas, liquid or solid (transfer between two locations)

Question 51

Phytoplankton

Answer 51

The 'plant' form of plankton which uses sunlight in surface waters to photosynthesise

Question 52

Zooplankton

Answer 52

The 'animal' form of plankton which is found at a range of depths and feeds on phytoplankton remains

Question 53

Carbon pump

Answer 53

A natural energy force resulting in a carbon flux (e.g. descending cold currents transfer plankton remains from surface waters to seabeds)

Question 54

Biogeochemical systems

Answer 54

Systems in which chemicals are transferred between living organisms and the environment

Question 55

Carbonation

Answer 55

The chemical conversion of solid carbon compounds to soluble carbon compounds

Question 56

Hydrocarbon

Answer 56

A range of chemical compounds consisting of carbon and hydrogen

Question 57

Regime

Answer 57

A river's pattern of flow (influenced by catchment characteristics and climate)

Question 58

Riparian

Answer 58

Habitats associated with land alongside flowing water