Water and Carbon Cycles: The water cycle Flashcards
Define anticyclone:
A system of high pressure, causing high temperatures and unreasonable high evaporation rates.
Define aquifer:
A permeable or porous rock which stores water
Define choke points:
Points in the logistics of energy and fuel that are prone to restriction.
Define convectional precipiation:
Solar radiation heats the air above the ground causing it to rise, cool and condense forming precipitation.
Define desalination plant:
The conversion of seawater to freshwater, suitable for human consumption.
Define desublimation:
The change of state of water from a gas to a solid, without being a liquid.
Define economic water scarcity:
When water resources are available but insufficient economic wealth limits access to it.
Define energy pathway:
The movement of energy from its extraction or source, through pipes, freight logistics or cabling.
Define energy players:
Key companies and individuals who own, distribute and sell energy and energy sources.
Define ENSO cycles
Naturally occurring phenomena that involves the movement of warm water in the equatorial pacific.
Define global hydrological cycle:
The continuous transfer of water between land, atmosphere and the oceans (closed system)
Define inorganic carbon:
Carbon stored in carbonated rocks.
Define meteorological drought:
When long term precipitation trends are below average
Define monsoon:
The drastic variation between wet and dry seasons for sub-tropical areas, caused by a changed prevailing wind.
Define percolation:
Water moving from the ground/soil into porous rock or rock fractures.
Define physical water scarcity:
A physical lack of available freshwater which cannot meet demand.
Define phytoplankton:
Small organisms that rely on photosynthesis to survive, so intake carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Define relief precipitation:
Precipitation caused when air masses are forced to rise over high land, determined by the relief of the land
Define river regime:
The pattern of river discharge over a year
Define saltwater encroachment:
The movement of saltwater into freshwater aquifers or soils.
Define smart irrigation:
Providing cops with a water supply les than optimal, to make crop resistant to water shortages.
Define storm hydrograph:
Variation of river discharge over a short period of time.
Define sublimation:
The change of state of water from solid to gas, without being a liquid.
Define thermohaline circulation:
The movement of volumes of seawater from cold deep water to warm water surface water
Define through flow:
Water moving horizontal through the soil, due to gravity
Define tipping point:
A critical threshold where any changes to a system after the threshold are irreversible.
Define water budget:
The annual balance between inputs and outputs within a system
