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Physical geography > Water and carbon - key terms > Flashcards

Water and carbon - key terms Flashcards

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1
Q

What is acidification?

A

The gradual reduction of PH in oceans, due to dissolving CO2 from the atmosphere

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2
Q

What is afforestation?

A

Planting trees and vegetation aiming to increase forest cover

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3
Q

What is an anticyclone?

A

A system of high pressure, causing high temperatures and unseasonably high evaporation rates

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4
Q

What is an aquifer

A

A permeable or porous rock that stores water

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5
Q

What is biofuel

A

Burning crops and vegetation for heat and electricity

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6
Q

What is carbon capture and storage (CCS)

A

The capture of Co2 emissions directly from the factory, pumped into disused mines rather than being released into the atmosphere

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7
Q

What are carbon fluxes

A

The movement of carbon between stores

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8
Q

What is carbon neutral?

A

A process that has no net addition of CO2 to the environment

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9
Q

What are carbon stores

A

Places where carbon accumulates for a period of time such as rocks and plant matter

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10
Q

What is channel flow

A

Water flowing in a rivulet, stream or river

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11
Q

What are choke points

A

Points in the logistics of energy and fuel that are prone to restriction

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12
Q

What is combustion

A

Process of burning a substance, in the presence of oxygen to release energy

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13
Q

What is convectional precipitation

A

Solar radiation heats the air above the ground, causing it to rise, cool and condense forming precipitation (often presented as thunderstorms)

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14
Q

What is the cryosphere

A

The global water volume locked up within a frozen state (eg - snow and ice)

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15
Q

What is decomposition

A

The breakdown of matter, often by a decomposer which releases CO2 through their own respiration

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16
Q

What is depression

A

A system of low pressure, with fronts of precipitation where low and high pressure air masses meet

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17
Q

What is a desalination plant

A

The conversion of sea water to freshwater, suitable for human consumption

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18
Q

What is desublimation

A

The change of state of water from gas to solid without being a liquid

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19
Q

What is a drainage basin

A

The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries

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20
Q

What is drainage density

A

The total length of all rivers and streams divided by the area of the drainage basin

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21
Q

What is drought

A

An extended period of deficient rainfall relative to the average for that region

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22
Q

What is economic water security

A

When water resources are available but insufficient economic wealth limits access to

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23
Q

What is energy mix

A

The composition of a country’s energy sources

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24
Q

What is energy security

A

The ownership and full control of a country’s energy source, production and transportation

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25
Q

What is energy pathway

A

The movement of energy from its extraction or source through pipes, freight logistics or cabling

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26
Q

What are energy players

A

Key companies and individuals who own, distribute and sell energy and energy sources

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27
Q

What is the enhanced greenhouse effect

A

The build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, reducing the amount of solar radiation reflected into space

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28
Q

What is the ENSO Cycles

A

El Nino Southern Oscillations - Naturally occurring phenomena that involves the movement of warm water in the equatorial Pacific

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29
Q

What is evapotranspiration

A

The combined total moisture transferred from the earth to the atmosphere, through evaporation and transpiration

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30
Q

What is frontal precipitation

A

When air masses of different temperatures meet at a front, 1 mass will be forced over another, causing precipitation beneath the front

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31
Q

What is the global hydrological cycle

A

The continuous transfer of water between land, atmosphere and oceans. The Earth is a closed system

32
Q

What is groundwater flow

A

Water moving horizontally through permeable or porous rock due to gravity

33
Q

What is hydrological drought

A

Insufficient soil moisture to meet the needs of vegetation at a particular time

34
Q

What is infiltration

A

The movement of water vertically through the pores in soil

35
Q

WHat is integrated Drainage Basin Movement

A

Establishing a frame of coordinated efforts between administrations (eg - local government) and stakeholders (eg - business) to achieve balanced management of a basin (World Bank)

36
Q

What is inorganic carbon

A

Carbon stored in carbonated rocks

37
Q

What is interception

A

Raindrops are prevented from falling directly onto the ground, instead hitting the leaves of a tree

38
Q

What is Meteorological Drought

A

When long-term precipitation trends are below average

39
Q

What is a monsoon

A

The drastic variation between wet and dry seasons for sub-tropical areas, is caused by a changed prevailing wind. Can lead to annual flooding

40
Q

WHat is non-renewable

A

A source of energy that can only be used once to generate electricity or takes 1000s of years to replace like fossil fuels

41
Q

What is nuclear fusion

A

The process of joining atomic nuclei together, to produce energy

42
Q

What is OPEC

A

Oil and Petroleum exporting countries. An organisation that supports and coordinates fossil fuels exporting countries

43
Q

What s an open system

A

A system affected by external flows and inputs

44
Q

What is organic carbon

A

Carbon stored in plant material and living organisms

45
Q

What is outgassing

A

The release of dissolved CO2 (eg - at plate boundaries, warming oceans)

46
Q

What is percolation

A

Water moving vertically from soil into permeable rock

47
Q

What is photosynthesis?

A

The process of converting CO2 and water into glucose and oxygen. All plants and some organisms rely on this process to survuive

48
Q

What is Physical water scarcity

A

A physical lack of available freshwater which can’t meet demand

49
Q

What is phytoplankton

A

Small organisms that rely on photosynthesis to survive, so intake CO2 from the atomsphere

50
Q

What is primary enegery

A

The inital source of energy, it’s naturally found. This can be natural ores, water, crops or radioactive material

51
Q

WHats relief precipitation

A

Precipitation is caused when air masses are forced to rise over highland, determined by the relief / morphology of the land

52
Q

WHat is renewable

A

Primary energy that can be reused to produce electricity or has a short lifetime, therefore any used can be replaced quickly. Eg - Hydroelectric, biomass and solar

53
Q

What is respiration

A

The process of converting glucose and oxygen into CO2 and energy. Some organisms rely on respiration to survive

54
Q

What is river regime

A

The pattern of river discharge over a year

55
Q

What is runoff

A

Water flowing over the surface of the ground eg - after precipitation or snowmelt

56
Q

What is salinisation

A

Where salt water contaminates freshwater stores or soils, creating saline conditions and reducing human use / consumption

57
Q

What is saltwater encroachment

A

The movement of saltwater into freshwater aquifers or soils. This maybe caused by sea level rise, storm surges or over extraction

58
Q

What is secondary energy

A

The product of primary energy, mostly electricity

59
Q

What is sequestration

A

The transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to stores elsewhere - living biosphere, inorganic rocks etc.

60
Q

What is smart irrigation

A

Providing crops with a water supply less than optimal, to make crops resistant to water shortages

61
Q

What is a storm hydrograph

A

Variation of river discharge over a short period of time (days)

62
Q

What is sublimation

A

The change of state from solid to gas, without being a liquid

63
Q

What is Thermohaline circulation

A

The movement of volumes of seawater from cold deep water to warm water surface water

64
Q

What is throughflow

A

Water moving horizontally through the soil due to gravity

65
Q

What is tipping point

A

A critical threshold where any changes to a system after this point are irreversible

66
Q

What is transpiration

A

The process through which water evaporates through the stomata in leaves of plants

67
Q

What is urbanisation

A

The growth of populations through towns and cities

68
Q

What is water budget

A

The annual balance between inputs and outputs within a system

69
Q

What is water conservation

A

Strategies to reduce water usage and demand

70
Q

What is water recycling

A

The treatment and purification of wastewater to increase supply

71
Q

What is water scarcity

A

There are limited renewable water sources (between 500 and 1000 cubic metres per capita per year)

72
Q

What is water security

A

The ability to protect and access a sustainable source to meet demand

73
Q

What is water sharing treaty

A

International agreements for a transboundary sources

74
Q

What is water transfer

A

Hard engineering projects, such as pipelines or aqueducts that divert water between Bains to meet demand

75
Q

Waht is watershed

A

The boundary between neighbouring drainage basin

Physical geography (16 decks)

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