Water & Carbon - Processes in the water cycle Flashcards
What are the four global stores of water?
1) Hydrosphere - liquid water on the Earth’s surface
2) Cryosphere - frozen areas of the planet
3) Lithosphere - water stored in rocks 4) Atmosphere - water stored in the air
What percentage of water is stored in the hydrosphere?
96.5%
What percentage of water is stored in the cryosphere?
1.7%
What percentage of water is stored in the lithosphere?
1.7%
What percentage of water is stored in the atmosphere?
0.001%
Whata are some examples of inputs/outputs to the water cycle?
Precipitation
Evaporation
Transpiration
Condensation
What is precipitation?
Any form of water falling from the atmosphere to the earth’s surface - includes rain, snow, sleet and hail.
What is evaporation?
Sun heats the surface of water changing it from a liquid to a gas.
What is transpiration?
Water released from plants into the air. When combined with evaporation, it forms evapotranspiration.
What is condensation?
Water vapour in the air cools (dew point) and changes into liquid water - this leads to cloud formation.
Is the water cycle an open or closed system?
Closed
Is a drainage basin an open or closed system?
Open
What are some examples of stores and flows in the water cycle?
Surface stores, groundwater, water table, interception, absorption
What are surface stores?
Water stored in lakes and river channels.
What is groundwater?
Water stored within porous rock underground.
What is the water table?
The upper level of saturated rock.
What is interception?
Leaves, stems and trunks can stop water from reaching the ground - temporary hold water.
What is absorption?
Vegetation takes up water through the root system.
What are some examples of transfers in the water cycle?
Surface run-off, infiltration, percolation, throughflow, groundwater flow, stem flow, channel flow
What is surface run-off?
Water flowing over the earth’s surface (overland flow) - when ground is waterlogged or impermeable
What is infiltration?
Downward movement of water into soil - affected by the soil type, vegetation type, land use
What is percolation?
Downward movement of water through rocks underground - important for replenishing groundwater stores
What is throughflow?
Horizontal movement of water through soil to return to a river, can be accelerated by plant roots or animal activity.
What is groundwater flow (base flow)?
Slow, horizontal flow of water through sub-surface rock - helps maintain river flow during dry periods
What is stem flow?
Water dripping from leaves or flowing down stems and trunks to reach the ground.
What is channel flow?
Movement of water within the river channel - driven by gravity and influenced by channel gradient, shape and roughness.
What are the three types of rainfall?
1) Frontal rainfall
2) Convectional rainfall
3) Orographic (Relief) rainfall
When does frontal rainfall occur?
Occurs when two air masses of different temperatures meet.. The warmer, less dense air is forced to rise over the cooler, denser air. As the warm air rises, it cools and condenses to form clouds, leading to rainfall.
When does convectional rainfall occur?
Occurs when the ground is heated by the sun, causing warm air to rise rapidly. As the air rises, it cools and condenses to form clouds, leading to heavy rain.
When does orographic (relief) rainfall occur?
Occurs when moist air is forced to rise over a mountain range. As the air ascends, it cools and condenses to form clouds, resulting in precipitation on the windward side of the mountains. The windward side recieves heavy rainfall, while the leeward side (rain shadow) remains dry.
