Water and carbon Glossery Flashcards
Aquifer
A vast underground reservoir most commonly formed in rocks such as chalk and sandstone
Atmosphere
The air that surrounds the earth
Burial and compaction
Where organic matter becomes buried and is then compressed by the overlaying sediment
Carbon budget
A way of using data to describe the amount of carbon that is stored and transferred within the carbon cycle
Carbon capture and storage (CCS)
The technology ‘capturing’ of carbon emitted from power stations
Carbon farming
Where one type of crop is replaced by another that has greater productivity and can absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
Carbon sequestration
An umbrella term used to describe the long-term storage of carbon in plants, soils, rock formations and oceans
Carbon sink
Anything that absorbs more carbon than it realeases
Carbon source
Anything that releases more carbon than it absorbs
Closed system
A system with no inputs or outputs
Combustion
The process where carbon is burned in the presence of oxygen and converted to energy, carbon dioxide and water
Components
The individual elements or parts of a system (also known as stores)
Condensation
Transfer of water from a gaseous state to a liquid state, for example, the formation of clouds
Cryosphere
Frozen parts of the earth’s surface including Ica caps, frozen oceans, glaciers and snow cover
Decomposition
The process where carbon from the bodies of dead organisms is returned to the air as carbon dioxide
Deforestation
The removal of trees, leading to surface runoff and soil erosion and reducing soil water stores
Desertification
Turning marginal land into a desert by destroying its biological potential
Discharge
A measurement of runoff at a moment in time, it is measured in cumecs and worked out by multiplying the cross-sectional area by velocity
Drainage basin
The area of land that is drained by a river and its tributaries
Dynamic equilibrium
A state of balance where inputs equal outputs in a system that’s constantly changing
Evaporation
Water from liquid to gas. Majority occurs from oceans to the atmosphere
Evapotranspiration
When evaporation is combined with transpiration (water loss from plants)
Flood (storm) hydrograph
A graph showing the discharge of a river following a particular storm event
Flows
The process of moving water or carbon from one store to another (also known as transfers)
Gauging station
A site used o monitor and collect data about streams, rivers and other land-based bodies of water
Groundwater flow
Transfer of water very slowly through rocks
Halosere
Vegetation succession that originates in an area of saline water
Hillslope system
The way in which water moves down a typical hillslope towards a river, involving stores and transfers
Hydrocarbons
Compounds of carbon and hydrogen which are the basis of fossil fuels such as oil and gas
Hydrosphere
All of the water on or surrounding the earth, including oceans, seas, lakes, rivers and the water in the atmosphere
Impermeable
Doesn’t allow water to pass through
Infiltration
Transfer of water from the ground surface into soil where it may then percolate into underlying rocks
Input
An input into the system from outside, such as precipitation into a drainage basin
Interception
Water intercepted and stored on the leaves of plants
Irrigation
The supply of water to the land by means of channels, streams and sprinklers in order to permit the growth of crops
Lithosere
A vegetation succession that originates on a bare rocky surface
Lithosphere
The outermost solid layer of the Earth, approx 100km thick, comprising the crust and upper mantle
Negative feedback
A cyclical sequence of events that clamps down or neutralises the effects of a system. Caused by the equilibrium becoming upset and unbalanced
Open system
A system with inputs from and outputs to other systems
Output
An output from the system to the outside, such as runoff
Overland flow
Transfer of water over the land surface
Percolation
Water soaking into rocks
Permeable
Allows water to pass through
Photosynthesis
The process whereby plants use the light energy from the sun to produce carbohydrates in the form of glucose
Positive feedback
A cyclical sequence of events that amplifies or increases change. Caused by the equilibrium becoming upset and unbalanced
Precipitation
Transfer of water from the atmosphere to the ground. It can take forms such as rain, hail and dew
Psammosere
Vegetation succession that originates in a coastal sand dune area
Recharge
Additional water flowing into rock
Respiration
A chemical process that happens in all cells, which converts glucose into energy
River regime
The pattern of discharge over the course of a year
Runoff
A type of flow that transfers both water and sediment from one store to another
Seral stage
A stage within a sere
Sere
A complete vegetation succession
Soil moisture (water) budget
Describes the changes in the soil water store during the course of a year
Store
An accumulation or quantity of water or carbon
Sublimation
Transfer from a solid to a gas and vice versa
Throughflow
Water flowing through soil towards a river channel
Transfers
The process of moving water or carbon from one store to another (also known as flows)
Urbanisation
The increasing proportion of people living in towns and cities as opposed to the countryside, leading to the replacement of vegetated ground with impermeable concrete and tarmac
Vegetation succession
The sequence of changes that take place as plant life colonises bare rock, sand, water or salty areas
Water abstraction
The extraction of water from rivers or groundwater aquifers
Water balance
An equation used to express the relationship between the main water stores- the lithosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere and atmosphere
Water table
The upper level of saturated rock
Watershed
The edge of a river basin
Weathering
The breakdown or decay of rocks in their original place at, or close to, the surface. Chemical weathering involves the absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
System
A set of interrelated components working together towards some kind of Process
