Water Cycle Flashcards
what system is the earths hydrological system
the earth is a closed hydrological system, this is because negligible amounts of water enter or leave the atmosphere but solar energy can
what are the top 3 stores of water
oceans
ice caps
groundwater
what is percolation
the movement of water through the soil itself
what is river discharge
the volume of water flowing through a river chanel
what two things power the hydrological cycle
sunlight and gravity
what is an aquifier
any rocks that are underground and can hold water
what is the cryosphere
anything frozen in the water cycle
what is residency times
the average amount of time a water molecule will stay in a store
why are residency times important
stores with longer turn over are more vulnerable to pollution
argument for water stores being rewnewable
water resources can be renewable if used in a sustainable way, where replenishment of sores is equal or greater than water that is being extracted
argument for water stores being non-renewable
some stores can be deemed as non-renewable, such as water sourced from snow/ice. as this store melts
what is a drainage basin
area of land being drained by one river system
what factors affect the inputs, stores, flows and outputs
climate, soils, relief, vegetation, geology and human
what is a watershed
the boundary of a drainage basin
what are the 3 main causes of preciptitation
orographic, convectional and frontal
what is orographic rainfall
caused by the relief of the land forcing water vapor to rise and cool
what is convectional rainfall
caused by the heating of the earths surface leading to more buoyant parcels of humid air rising
what is frontal rainfall
caused by warmer air masses rising above denser, colder air masses
human activities that influence the hydrological system
over abstraction, deforestation, reservoir, urbanisation
example of human activities influencing the hydrological system
Aswan Dam: the flooding is largely controlled further downstream but has had negative impacts on farming
what is an impact of deforestation on the hydrological system
decreases interception, so less evapotranspiration will take place, so less water vapor locally
what can happen to the amazon before it collapses into a drier system
would be able to handle losing 20-25 percent of its forest area
what is soil moisture surplus
When the soil becomes saturated, excess water will have difficulty infiltrating into the ground
what is soil moisture utilisation
When evapotranspiration is greater than precipitation there is a reduction in the amount of water stored with the soil
what is soil moisture deficiency
Eventually all the available water stored in the soil will have been used up
what is soil moisture recharge
When precipitation is greater than evapotranspiration the pores of the soil are refilled with water
what is a river regime
the difference in the discharge of the river throughout the year
what is a simple river regime
has a distinctive wet and dry season
what is a complex river regime
doesn’t have distinctive season, as they are mostly large, they will run through different climate zones
what influences river regimes
area
altitude
geology
precipitation
land use
what is a flood hydrograph
A graph to show how river discharge responds to a rainfall event
what influences the shape of a hydrograph
geology
soil
relief
shape of drainage basin
describe a flashy hydrograph
short lag time
high peak discharge
describe a flat hydrograph
long lag time
less peak discharge
what are SUDS
sustainable drainage systems: introduced to reduce runoff produced from rainfall
examples of SUDS
green roofs
infiltration basins
permeable pavements
detention basins
wetlands
define drought
a deficit in the hydrological cycle
what is the order of severity of droughts
meteological
hydrological
agricultural
famine
what measurements could be used for a drought
precipitation
rainfall
water levels in reservoirs
timescales
example of physical causes of a drought
long periods without rainfall
heatwaves
late monsoon season
example of human causes of a drought
high demand-over extraction
deforestation
changes in land use
big infrastructure
what is an ENSO cycle
a good example of a longer term physical cause of drought in some regions
what happens in el nino
warm water moves closer to the Americas, reducing rainfall in the western pacific
what happens in la nina
warm water moves to the extreme west of the tropical pacific, reducing rainfall in the western parts of the Americas
what are the implications of the ITCZ
the position of the ITCZ is important in the tropics as many of there places rely on the movement for seasonal rainfall
what is a monsoon
a particularly wet season lasting several months and happens in a number of regions around the planet
what is a blocking high pressure system
a system that can block more unstable weather from moving in. some high pressure systems can stay stationary over an area for several days, weeks and even months
physical causes of the Brazil drought
high pressure systems blocked and diverted rain- bearing low pressure systems, dry air remained over Brazil
human factors in the Brazil drought
as water levels dropped, home owners and industries increasingly illegally abstracted groundwater
there was also climate change and deforestation exacerbating the risk
physical causes of Australian drought
extreme positive Indian dipole
forests being more flammable
human causes of Australian drought
human-caused climate change
over abstraction of groundwater
impacts of Australian drought
cost 100 billion
burnt 18 million hectars
role of climate change
it shortens the gap between extreme positive Indian dipole, as climate change causes the western side of the Indian ocean to warm faster than the last
what is an ecosystem
a community of organisms that interacts with each other and their environment
why are ecosystems important
carbon storage, hydrological systems, human uses cultural/spiritual value
what is the impact of drought on forests
forest fire increase
foliage loss
increased susceptibility to pests/diseases
value of a wetland
they store more carbon than forests.
hold flood water to help reduce river levels
impacts of droughts on wetlands
dry out and release carbon
physical causes why some areas experience surpluses in water
frontal rainfall at mid-latitudes
intense rainfall above infiltration capacity
snow melt
tropical thunderstorms
monsoon rains
why do places experience flooding (human)
mismanagement
deforestation
urbanisation
what caused northern England flooding
A series of low pressure systems swept across the UK in December
Largely controlled by a strong jet stream remained over the North of the UK for longer than normal
how will climate change influence the hydrological system
rain will be more intense as the atmosphere will hold more water
change in storm patterns
why is water demand growing faster than the population of the world
we use lots of water for agriculture and manufacturing, which is growing rapidly in emerging economies
what words help to describe water scarcity
consistent, clean , sustainable
physical causes of water stress
changes in rainfall
ENSO cycles
extreme weather
human causes of water stress
political conflicts
mismanagement
increasing population
agriculture
what role does agriculture play in water demand?
by far the largest user of water, current demands are unsustainable
what is economic water scarcity
not being able to afford to collect, store, distribute and purify water
what is privatisation
the selling of water infrastructure to the private sector
why cant you have development without water?
eco development requires lots of water for energy production. industrialisation scale farming, manufacturing
why are there internal conflicts in Spain
communities are having to sell off their water networks due to the economic decline. water companies can increase prices->economic water scarcity
explain conflicts in the Euphrates and Tigres
turkeys dam and hydropower construction has reduced flows to Iraq and Syria
gulf war made water supply worse
Iraq have “poor water management”
conflicts that exist within the nile basin
4.2 billion has been invested by the Chinese on the largest dam in Africa
could reduce flow to Egypt
little progress with international agreements
what is desalinisation
removal of salt and minerals from seawater and using it for drinking water
pros of desalinisation for Israel
not reliant of one source of water
reduced dependency on rainfall
cons of desalinisation for Israel
large quantities of salt being dumped back into the sea
high-energy consumption
water management used by Israel
drip irrigation
low flow toilets
national campaign
water management in China
water transfer scheme- water from south to north
3 gorges dam- control flooding and improve water supply
cons of water management in China
345000 will have to relocate for water transfer
risks of draining too much from the south
pros of water management in China
reduced water shortages risk
reduce abstraction of groundwater
examples of soft engineering
permeable surfaces
rainwater harvesting
drip irrigation
recycling sewage
examples of water management in singapore
leakages have been cut to 5%
desalinisation
subsides for poor
explain conflicts in the Colorado river
river has decreased by 20%, due to climate change and an increasing population
states wont compromise
what stores will climate change effect
snow pack
glacier mass
reservoirs
permafrost
soil moisture
what flows will climate change effect
evaporation
precipitation
streamflow
causes of economic water scarcity
poor management
lack of finances available to develop
affordability
