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A level geography > water + carbon > Flashcards

water + carbon Flashcards

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1
Q

what is a system?

A
  • a way of simplifying the world
  • idealised representation of reality
  • a set of interrelated events of components working together
  • components forming a unified whole
  • a description of energy transfers
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2
Q

what is a model used for?

A
  • a model is used to show change and helps you to visualise it, so it’s simplified
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3
Q

describe a system

A
  • a system is a particularly useful kind of model
  • systems are very widely used in geography
  • an assemblage of interrelated parts that work together by a way of some driving force
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4
Q

what are the 3 types of system:

A
  • open
  • closed
  • isolated
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5
Q

what are the 5 components of geographical systems:

A
  • stores / components
  • flows / transfers
  • attributes
  • energy
  • inputs + outputs
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6
Q

what are the stores / components in a geographical system?

A

the individual elements or parts of the system

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7
Q

what are the flows / transfers in a geographical system?

A

links between the components

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8
Q

what are the attributes in geographical systems?

A

characteristics of the components

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9
Q

what is the energy in geographical systems?

A

power or driving force of the system

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10
Q

what are the inputs and outputs in geographical systems?

A

what goes in and out

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11
Q

describe balance and feedback in a pond

A
  • a pond is a closed system, but in reality it’s an open system because if it rains the water level will increase
  • however if it’s really hot the water may evaporate
  • a series of ponds with waterfalls that link is dynamic equilibrium
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12
Q

what happens to the inputs and outputs during dynamic equilibrium ?

A
  • if the inputs and outputs are equal, the weather will pass through the systems and the amounts of water in the stores (ponds) remain the same
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13
Q

what happens if inputs rise?

A

if the inputs rise and the outputs do not the equilibrium has been upset. this change in stores, as a result of changes in the inputs or outputs is known as feedback k

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14
Q

what is positive feedback?

A

where the effects of an action are amplified (increased) or multiplied by subsequent or secondary ‘knock-on’ effects

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15
Q

what is negative feedback?

A

where the effects of an action are nullified (reduced or stopped) by its subsequent knock-on effects

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16
Q

what are the 7 earth cycles?

A
  • nitrogen
  • atmospheric
  • rock
  • carbon
  • energy
  • oceanic
  • water
17
Q

what are the 5 spheres?

A
  • atmosphere
  • hydrosphere
  • cryosphere
  • biosphere
  • lithosphere
18
Q

what is the global distribution of water stores?

A
  • just over 30% of all freshwater in rocks deep below the ground surface forming vast underground resivours called aquifers
  • aquifers most commonly form in rocks such as chalk and sandstone which are porous + permeable to pass through
  • water enters the rock either directly, where they are exposed on the ground, or very slowly as water drains through the overlying soil
  • soil vary enormously in their capacity to store and transfer water - this is the soil water budget
  • porous, sandy soils hold little moisture as water is easily transferred through the pore spaces
  • clay soils tend to store water, with very limited water transfer
19
Q

how long does water remain in the water cycle stores?

A
  • water in soil doesn’t stay for very long it usually stays around 1-2 months
  • it maybe soaked quickly into the underlying soil and be transported by plants, be transferred into rivers by through flow or simply evaporated back into the atmosphere
  • groundwater replacement is the opposite and can take hundreds or even thousands of years. These varying time scales are extremely important in understanding the complexity of transfers within the water cycle
20
Q

What are the processes of change

A
  • the amount of water held in each store is largely determined by the transfer processes that act as inputs
  • it’s important to appreciate that the magnitude of water held within a store will vary overtime and space. Consider the seasonal changes that occur in the artic, with the annual cycle of freezing + melting of sea ice
  • passage of frontal systems with their associated bands of rain + the recent trend of shrinking glaciers around the world
21
Q

How does cloud formation affect the cause of precipitation?

A
  • cloud formation and subsequent precipitation varies considerably with the time + space. Clouds are very unevenly distributed, as is precipitation
  • the driving force behind cloud formation + precipitation is the global atmospheric circulation model
  • at the equator high temp results in high rates of evaporation. The warm, moist air rises, cools and condenses to form towering banks of cloud and heavy rainfall in a low pressure zone the ITCZ (inter-tropical convergence zone)
  • seasonally this zone moves north and south
  • in the mid latitudes, cloud formation is mostly driven by the convergence of warm air from the tropics and cold air from the arctic. The boundary of these two distinct air masses - the polar front- results in rising air and cloud formation
  • strong upper level winds drive these unstable weather systems across the mild latitudes, establishing the largely changeable conditions experienced in the UK
22
Q

What are the cryospheric processes?

A
  • after oceanic water, the largest store of water on waste take the form of frozen water - 95% is locked up in the worlds 2 great Ice sheets covering Antarctica and Greenland
  • while the earths ice masses may seem stable + lacking in change, it’s far from the case, it’s all a matter of the timescale involved
  • snow falling on glaciers + ice sheets become compressed and enters long term storage, forming layers of glacial ice
  • in the summer, melting occurs or ice calves (breaks away). On a glacier, the equilibrium line marks the altitude where annual accumulation and melting are equal
  • in recent decades the climate has warmed, causing the equilibrium line to move to even higher altitudes
  • the melting of freshwater ice has a profound impact on sea levels - the total melting of all the polar ice sheets result in a 60m rise in sea level, adding a great deal of water to the ocean store
23
Q

What are the 4 changes of state?

A
  • fusion (solid —> liquid)
  • freezing (liquid —> solid)
  • vaporisation (liquid —> vapour)
  • condensation (vapour —> liquid)
24
Q

When does conventional rainfall occur?

A
  • the surface of the earth is heated by the sun
  • the warm surface than heats the air above it. Hot air always rises so this newly heated air does so
  • as it rises the air cools and begins to condensate
  • further rising and cooling causes a large amount of condensation to occur and rain is formed
  • convection tends to produce towering cumulonimbus clouds, which produce heavy rain and possible thunderstorms
25
Q

When does frontal rainfall occur?

A
  • when 2 air masses meet, one a warm air mass and one a cold air mass
  • the lighter, less dense, warm air is forced to rise over the denser, cold air
  • this causes the warm air to cool and begin to condense
  • as the warm air is forced to rise further, condensation occurs and rain is formed
  • frontal rain produces a variety of clouds, which bring moderate to heavy rainfall
26
Q

When does relief rainfall occur?

A
  • when prevailing winds pick up moisture from the sea as they travel across it, making the air moist
  • the moist air reaches the coast and is forced to rise over mountains and hills
  • this forces the air to cool and condense, forming clouds
  • the air continues to be forced over the mountains and so it drops its moisture as relief rain
  • once over the top of the mountain the air will usually drop down the other side, warming as it does so. This means it has a greater ability to carry water moisture and so there is little rain on the far side of the mountain. This area is the rain shadow

A level geography (2 decks)

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