Water Cycle Flashcards
Water molecule properties
- Covalently bonded oxygen and two hydrogens
- Bent molecule at 104.5 degrees
- polar with being more negative at the oxygen and more positive at the hydrogen
The transition between water’s phases releases ___
latent heat (of melting and vaporization)
Energy is absorbed by water when going to a ____ ordered phase.
more
Water’s polarity makes it
have good surface tension and an excellent solvent
Properties of ice
- a mineral (fixed composition, defined structure, inorganic, naturally occurring solid
- expands as it freezes (open crystal lattice with a density lower than water).
Hydrological pathways
Condensation, precipitation, evaporation, surface runoff, infiltration, transpiration
Infiltration
Water infiltrates into the ground, where it joins the groundwater reservoir and may eventually be locked up in the lithosphere in the form of hydrous minerals.
Hydrological reservoirs
places in the water cycle where water is stored
Examples of hydrological reservoirs
oceans, atmosphere, lakes, rivers, ground
Fresh surface water bodies, such as lakes, rivers, and wetlands, comprise less than ___ of the total water on earth.
0.01%
Residence time
The average amount of time that a water molecule stays in a particular reservoir
Flux
The rate at which water moves between reservoirs
Overland flow
Rainfall and meltwater on the landscape begin to flow across the surface once the soil is saturated. The initial sheet-like movement of water downhill with gravity is called overland flow.
Streamflow
When the flow of water occurs in an established, as the overland flow becomes channelized due to erosion. channel
Surface runoff is comprised of
streamflow and overland flow
Streams are organized into
river systems
Small streams called tributaries typically merge
downstream
Drainage basin
an area drained by a major river and its tributaries
Drainage basins are separated by
drainage divides
Continental divides
topographical highs which typically separate water drainage basins that flow into different oceans
River behaviour is controlled by
- average width and depth of channel (area)
- channel gradient
- average flow/velocity
- discharge (a measure of the amount of flow moving through a river)
Width and depth ____ downstream
increases
Gradient ____ downstream
decreases
Velocity _____ downstream
increases
Discharge ____ downstream
Increases
How to determine discharge
Calculating the cross-sectional area of a river (width and depth) and then multiplying that area by the velocity of the river giving units of m^3/day
River systems are transport routes for
dissolved ions in solution, suspended sediments, the bed load of a stream or river
Major ions in rivers primarily come from:
dissolution of minerals
Major cations in rivers
Calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium
Major anions in rivers
bicarbonate, sulfate, chloride
Suspended load is comprised of
particulate matter such as clays that remain in suspension
Smaller particles settle more _____ than larger ones and so are transported _____
slowly, farther
Bedload
The bed load is comprisd of typically larger particles in a river system that are transported by moving along the bed.
Ways that the bed load moves
- Rolling (rotating along the bed without leaving it)
- Slide (move along bed without leaving it)
- Salination (hopping along the bed)
Hydrographs
a record of river discharge at one point in the river continuously over many years
Suspended load is deposited where the flow
stops or slows
Dissolved load is typically carried to
sea
