Water BK 1 Flashcards
what are some examples of inputs in the water cycle?
Precipitation, light and heat energy from the Sun
what are some examples of output in the water cycle
Evapotranspiration and evaporation
what are some examples of transfers in the water cycle
Infiltration, through fall, surface run-off, Stemflow and percolation
what are some examples of stores in the water cycle?
interception, soilwater store , groundwater store, surface store
What is a process in the water cycle?
Evapotranspiration
what is an open system?
Where both energy and matter can enter and leave an open system, for example a drainage basin
What is a closed system?
A system where matter can’t enter or leave, energy can’t enter and leave, for example the carbon cycle
what is dynamic equilibrium?
Why there is a balance between the inputs and outputs in a system
is the global hydrological/water cycle it open or closed system and why?
Closed because water can’t leave as it is continuously circulated around the planet
Is a local drainage basin, an example of a open or closed system and why
Open because water is inputted by precipitation but outputted when discharged into the sea
What is positive feedback?
Negative impacts were the effects of an action amplified or multiplied by secondary effects. This is moving the system further away from its previous state and out of equilibrium.
what is negative feedback
This has positive impact where the effect of an action or nullified by secondary effects, which brings the system back to its original state of equilibrium
What does long-term changes to the balance of inputs and outputs cause to a System?
It can cause a system to change and establish a new dynamic equilibrium
what is climate change doing to the natural equilibrium in the world?
It’s happened so rapidly that it’s disrupting the natural equilibrium we have been in for millennia
what is the cryosphere
All parts of the Earth system, where it is cold enough for water to freeze such as glacial landscapes
what is the lithosphere?
Is the outermost part of the Earth made up of the crust and upper mantle?
what is the biosphere?
What living organisms are found such as plants, animals, birds, fungi, bacteria, et cetera
what is the hydrosphere?
all the water on earth, it may be in liquid form, solid form or gas form. Can we saline or fresh?
what is the atmosphere?
The layer of gas between the Earth surface and space held in place by gravity
on average, how much water vapour is found in the atmosphere in km3
12,900 km³
on average, how much oceanic water is there in the world?
1,320,000,000 kilometres cubed
what percentage of the earths water is the ocean
97%
what is a cascading system?
The fact that matter and energy move between the five different subsystems
how can water be stored in a solid form on Earth?
Permafrost, seaice, ice caps, ice sheet, and alpine glaciers
why is the cryosphere so important?
it can affect the planets climate and sea level for example, if ice sheets melt at Greenland the sea would rise by 60 m
what could happen to the cryosphere over time?
if global warming continues at a rapid rate, cryospheric water could cause, flooding and dramatic sealevel rise
which areas is the cryosphere most predominant in?
Antarctica/tundra locations, such as Greenland, Alaska and Iceland
what is terrestrial water?
Water that is found on the Earth surface, such as surface water, groundwater, soil water, and biological water
why is terrestrial water important?
It can cause serious, flood and drought, and this could have serious consequences for natural ecosystems and habitats
what does terrestrial water have an impact on over time?
Seasonal variations, such as in some seasons, there is more water discharge
what impact does terrestrial water have in Space (At the equator )
There is more rain near the equator where there is less seasonal variation
Do you see ice increase sea level when it melts
No, because it forms from the oceans water in the first place
what are ice shelves?
Platforms of ice, that form where ice sheets and glaciers move out into the oceans
where are ice shelves typically found
Antarctica and Greenland, as well as near Canada and Alaska
do ice shelves, raise the sea level
Only when they first leave the land and push into the water, but not once they melt
What is an ice sheet?
mass of glacial land ice extending more than 50,000 km²
what is atmospheric water?
Exists in all of the three states, most common is gas
What is latent heat?
The heat needed to convert a solid to a liquid and a liquid to water vapour without a change in temperature
why is atmospheric water important?
It’s important in terms of absorbing reflecting and scattering solar radiation and keeping our atmosphere at a temperature for living
Why is atmospheric water important over time?
An increase in global temperature equals more water vapour equals a warmer atmosphere equals increased global warming
what scale is frontal rainfall on?
National and regional scale, can be over multiple countries too
how does frontal rainfall work?
when cold air meets warmer air, it causes the warm air to rise, and then cool. This causes condensation which creates clouds and therefore precipitation.
Where in the UK Sees more frontal rainfall than another area in the UK?
The west sees more monthly and annual rain than in the east
how long does frontal rainfall usually last for?
It’s the longest time scale out of all the types of rain which is anywhere from 12 to 24 hours
does frontal rainfall has a big or small impact on an individual drainage basin?
Large
what is relief rainfall?
Wear warm air meet mountains which force is it to rise and cool. This turns into water vapour which condenses to create relief. Rain through cloud formation.
What is the scale of relief rainfall?
Small areas than frontal rainfall, but it depends on the size of the mountain/Hill range, and it tends to only affect Upland areas
What is the duration of relief rainfall?
short timescale, compared to frontal rainfall can last many hours rather than a full day
what is a small-scale and large-scale example of relief rainfall
Small scale is Darlington or the Pennines
large scale is Las Vegas(Nevada), or the Rockies
what is convectional rainfall?
When the land warms it, heats the air above, it cause an air to expand and rise, as it rises, it condenses, and turns into precipitation 
what is the scale of convectional rainfall?
Smaller scale impact out of all three types of rain but still causes significant rainfall
where does convectional rainfall 10 to happen?
In tropical regions also takes place in the UK Summers
describe how conventional rainfall occurs in tropical areas
intense solar radiation, which heats up the earths surface which results in huge amounts of conventional uplift, this causes storm clouds
describe how conventional rainfall occurs in tropical areas
intense solar radiation, which heats up the earths surface which results in huge amounts of conventional uplift, this causes storm clouds
describe how conventional rainfall occurs in tropical areas
intense solar radiation, which heats up the earths surface which results in huge amounts of conventional uplift, this causes storm clouds
describe convectional rainfall in the UK
uk summers create localised heating of the ground which causes convection, this causes heavy summer shows, localised thunderstorms and flash floods
describe the duration of conventional
rainfall
very short, only a few hours possibly even minutes
which type of rainfall is most significant
frontal rainfall, as it has the largest impacts in terms of scale and time
which type of rainfall do you think will become the most important eventually
conventional rainfall, as global warming is increasing
what are the two types of glaciers called
alpine glacier
continental glacier
describe an alpine glacier
found in mountainous areas, can end up flowing down valley, it’s uppermost layers are brittle and the ice beneath is a plastic like substance
what are some examples of alpine glaciers
gorner glacier, switzerland
the alps
furtwangler, tanzania
describe a continental glacier
vast masses of ice sheets covering large stretches of land, dome shape and it’s thickest part is its centre
what are two examples of continental glaciers
antarctica
greenland
describe cryospheric stores in the past
in the ice age 21,000+ yrs ago significant areas globally were covered in ice, such as the greenland ice sheet
britain and europe were covered in ice which caused sea levels to fall drastically (120m)
we’re inputs bigger than outputs in the last ice age?
yes
describe cryospheric stores now (present)
since 1850s global temp has increased by 1.5 degrees which has caused glaciers to melt, such as the scandinavian ice sheet which doesn’t exist anymore
isostatic sea level rise has also started
what effects has changes in the cryospheric had on eustatic sea level change
formation of ice sheets causes eustatic sea level fall, melting of ice sheets causes it to rise
what effects has cryospheric stores had on isostatic change
localised sea level change, melting of ice sheets has caused isostatic rebound because of the release of pressure
what does LGM stand for
last glacial maximum
what are the 8 human drivers of change in the water cycle
deforestation
afforestation
overgrazing
soil compaction due to farm machinery
irrigation + soil drainage
dams
urbanisation
climate change
how does deforestation impact the water cycle
-less trees leads to less rainfall as less evapotranspiration occurs
-removes interception layers and exposes soil to rainwater erosion
-infiltration rates can increase if ground is flat so soil stores may increase
how does deforestation impact the water cycle
-less trees may cause less evapotranspiration which can lead to less rainfall
-removing of interception layers can expose the soils to rainwater erosion
-infiltration rates can increase if land is flat so soil stores can increase
how does overgrazing impact the water cycle
-less grass means there’s less ground level interception, but more through flow
-trampling creates impermeable grounds which decreases infiltration and more surface run off
where is overgrazing a major problem
sub saharah , africa
how does the use of farming machinery impact the water cycle
soil compaction meals soil storage capacity and infiltration rates to be reduced
what’s the use of farm machinery been caused by
the intensification of farming over the last 70 years
how does irrigation and soil drainage impact the water cycle
-causes groundwater and soil stores to increase
-groundwater stores could also be decreasing as water could be being pumped from under the ground or from a river using pipes
what is irrigation
adding water to soil in order to grow crops because of little precipitation
what is a concern of irrigation
increasing due to climate change, which means river discharge levels to be reduced and overall water stores in rivers to be depleted
how are dams and resovoirs impacting the water cycle
-they have a big impact on local evaporation rates and river stores
-groundwater stores being depleted because of the use of aquifers
what are 3 reasons why dams and resovoirs are increasing
water scarcity
climate change
population growth
how is urbanisation impacting the water cycle
-the urban heat island means more heat is rising which creates more rainfall, but surface stores are increasing bc of increased impermeable surfaces
-less interception and soil stores
-transpiration rates decrease because of less vegetation
what percentage of rainfall could be reduced in the amazon by 2100 if we remove 30% of it
it could be reduced by 20%
why is the amazon being deforested
demand for beef and sugar
how is overgrazing impacting the amazon
the demand for beef is increasing, so cattle is increasing too which is causing more soil erosion and less interception in the amazon
how much in millionkm2 does india irrigate per year
667 million km2
how much does india irrigate per year
667 million km2
what has been created to reduce irragation
drip irrigation
how much does drip irragation reduce water by
30%
why is the drainage basin an open system
because it has both inputs and outputs and water can leave, such as into the ocean through estuaries
what is the main input in the drainage basin
preciptation
what’s the main input in the drainage basin
preciptiation
what are 6 stores in the drainage basin
interception
surface storage
soil water storage
groundwater storage
channel storage
vegetation storage
what are 6 transfers in the drainage basin
throughflow
stem flow
infiltration
surface run off
percolation
groundwater flow
channel flow
what are 3 outputs in the drainage basin
transpiration
evaporation
river run off
how is the water balance worked out
from the inputs and outputs
what does the water balance affect
how much water is stored in the basin
how is water balance usually shown
on a soil water budget
when is water surplus created on soil water budget graphs
when precipitation exceeds evapotranspiration
when is there a deficit of water
at the end of a dry season (summer)
what is water recharge
when ground stores are recharged during the next wet season (autumn)
define potential evapotranspiration
the amount of water that could be evaporated or transpired from an area of sufficient water is available
i what happens when the soil moisture budget is in surplus
flooding
what are some key headers on a storm hydrograph
peak flow
lag time
rainfall peak
rising limb and falling limb
time of rise
rainfall measurements
how does a large basin impact a storm hydrograph
a larger basin means theres further for water to travel which causes a bigger lag time
how does prolonged rainfall impact a storm hydrograph
the ground becomes saturated quicker and for a longer perioud of time which causes more surface run off
how does temperature impact a storm hydrograph
less infiltration (extreme hot and cold impacts this), which causes ‘ore surface run off
how does temperature impact a storm hydrograph
what’s an example of negative feedback in physical systems
as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, the earths temperature rises
this causes more photosynthesis, more CO2 removed from the atmosphere by plants
what’s an example of positive feedback in physical systems
as the earth warms-
ice cover melts which exposes soil and water
albedo decreases
more ice melts
global temps rise
