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Geography > Water Cycle > Flashcards

Water Cycle Flashcards

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1
Q

what system is the earths hydrological system

A

the earth is a closed hydrological system, this is because negligible amounts of water enter or leave the atmosphere but solar energy can

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2
Q

what are the top 3 stores of water

A

oceans
ice caps
groundwater

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3
Q

what is percolation

A

the movement of water through the soil itself

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4
Q

what is river discharge

A

the volume of water flowing through a river chanel

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5
Q

what two things power the hydrological cycle

A

sunlight and gravity

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6
Q

what is an aquifier

A

any rocks that are underground and can hold water

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7
Q

what is the cryosphere

A

anything frozen in the water cycle

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8
Q

what is residency times

A

the average amount of time a water molecule will stay in a store

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9
Q

why are residency times important

A

stores with longer turn over are more vulnerable to pollution

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10
Q

argument for water stores being rewnewable

A

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

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11
Q

argument for water stores being non-renewable

A

some stores can be deemed as non-renewable, such as water sourced from snow/ice. as this store melts

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12
Q

what is a drainage basin

A

area of land being drained by one river system

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13
Q

what factors affect the inputs, stores, flows and outputs

A

climate, soils, relief, vegetation, geology and human

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14
Q

what is a watershed

A

the boundary of a drainage basin

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15
Q

what are the 3 main causes of preciptitation

A

orographic, convectional and frontal

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16
Q

what is orographic rainfall

A

caused by the relief of the land forcing water vapor to rise and cool

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17
Q

what is convectional rainfall

A

caused by the heating of the earths surface leading to more buoyant parcels of humid air rising

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18
Q

what is frontal rainfall

A

caused by warmer air masses rising above denser, colder air masses

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19
Q

human activities that influence the hydrological system

A

over abstraction, deforestation, reservoir, urbanisation

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20
Q

example of human activities influencing the hydrological system

A

Aswan Dam: the flooding is largely controlled further downstream but has had negative impacts on farming

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21
Q

what is an impact of deforestation on the hydrological system

A

decreases interception, so less evapotranspiration will take place, so less water vapor locally

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22
Q

what can happen to the amazon before it collapses into a drier system

A

would be able to handle losing 20-25 percent of its forest area

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23
Q

what is soil moisture surplus

A

When the soil becomes saturated, excess water will have difficulty infiltrating into the ground

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24
Q

what is soil moisture utilisation

A

When evapotranspiration is greater than precipitation there is a reduction in the amount of water stored with the soil

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25
Q

what is soil moisture deficiency

A

Eventually all the available water stored in the soil will have been used up

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26
Q

what is soil moisture recharge

A

When precipitation is greater than evapotranspiration the pores of the soil are refilled with water

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27
Q

what is a river regime

A

the difference in the discharge of the river throughout the year

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28
Q

what is a simple river regime

A

has a distinctive wet and dry season

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29
Q

what is a complex river regime

A

doesn’t have distinctive season, as they are mostly large, they will run through different climate zones

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30
Q

what influences river regimes

A

area
altitude
geology
precipitation
land use

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31
Q

what is a flood hydrograph

A

A graph to show how river discharge responds to a rainfall event

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32
Q

what influences the shape of a hydrograph

A

geology
soil
relief
shape of drainage basin

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33
Q

describe a flashy hydrograph

A

short lag time
high peak discharge

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34
Q

describe a flat hydrograph

A

long lag time
less peak discharge

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35
Q

what are SUDS

A

sustainable drainage systems: introduced to reduce runoff produced from rainfall

36
Q

examples of SUDS

A

green roofs
infiltration basins
permeable pavements
detention basins
wetlands

37
Q

define drought

A

a deficit in the hydrological cycle

38
Q

what is the order of severity of droughts

A

meteological
hydrological
agricultural
famine

39
Q

what measurements could be used for a drought

A

precipitation
rainfall
water levels in reservoirs
timescales

40
Q

example of physical causes of a drought

A

long periods without rainfall
heatwaves
late monsoon season

41
Q

example of human causes of a drought

A

high demand-over extraction
deforestation
changes in land use
big infrastructure

42
Q

what is an ENSO cycle

A

a good example of a longer term physical cause of drought in some regions

43
Q

what happens in el nino

A

warm water moves closer to the Americas, reducing rainfall in the western pacific

44
Q

what happens in la nina

A

warm water moves to the extreme west of the tropical pacific, reducing rainfall in the western parts of the Americas

45
Q

what are the implications of the ITCZ

A

the position of the ITCZ is important in the tropics as many of there places rely on the movement for seasonal rainfall

46
Q

what is a monsoon

A

a particularly wet season lasting several months and happens in a number of regions around the planet

47
Q

what is a blocking high pressure system

A

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

48
Q

physical causes of the Brazil drought

A

high pressure systems blocked and diverted rain- bearing low pressure systems, dry air remained over Brazil

49
Q

human factors in the Brazil drought

A

as water levels dropped, home owners and industries increasingly illegally abstracted groundwater
there was also climate change and deforestation exacerbating the risk

50
Q

physical causes of Australian drought

A

extreme positive Indian dipole
forests being more flammable

51
Q

human causes of Australian drought

A

human-caused climate change
over abstraction of groundwater

52
Q

impacts of Australian drought

A

cost 100 billion
burnt 18 million hectars

53
Q

role of climate change

A

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

54
Q

what is an ecosystem

A

a community of organisms that interacts with each other and their environment

55
Q

why are ecosystems important

A

carbon storage, hydrological systems, human uses cultural/spiritual value

56
Q

what is the impact of drought on forests

A

forest fire increase
foliage loss
increased susceptibility to pests/diseases

57
Q

value of a wetland

A

they store more carbon than forests.
hold flood water to help reduce river levels

58
Q

impacts of droughts on wetlands

A

dry out and release carbon

59
Q

physical causes why some areas experience surpluses in water

A

frontal rainfall at mid-latitudes
intense rainfall above infiltration capacity
snow melt
tropical thunderstorms
monsoon rains

60
Q

why do places experience flooding (human)

A

mismanagement
deforestation
urbanisation

61
Q

what caused northern England flooding

A

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

62
Q

how will climate change influence the hydrological system

A

rain will be more intense as the atmosphere will hold more water
change in storm patterns

63
Q

why is water demand growing faster than the population of the world

A

we use lots of water for agriculture and manufacturing, which is growing rapidly in emerging economies

64
Q

what words help to describe water scarcity

A

consistent, clean , sustainable

65
Q

physical causes of water stress

A

changes in rainfall
ENSO cycles
extreme weather

66
Q

human causes of water stress

A

political conflicts
mismanagement
increasing population
agriculture

67
Q

what role does agriculture play in water demand?

A

by far the largest user of water, current demands are unsustainable

68
Q

what is economic water scarcity

A

not being able to afford to collect, store, distribute and purify water

69
Q

what is privatisation

A

the selling of water infrastructure to the private sector

70
Q

why cant you have development without water?

A

eco development requires lots of water for energy production. industrialisation scale farming, manufacturing

71
Q

why are there internal conflicts in Spain

A

communities are having to sell off their water networks due to the economic decline. water companies can increase prices->economic water scarcity

72
Q

explain conflicts in the Euphrates and Tigres

A

turkeys dam and hydropower construction has reduced flows to Iraq and Syria
gulf war made water supply worse
Iraq have “poor water management”

73
Q

conflicts that exist within the nile basin

A

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

74
Q

what is desalinisation

A

removal of salt and minerals from seawater and using it for drinking water

75
Q

pros of desalinisation for Israel

A

not reliant of one source of water
reduced dependency on rainfall

76
Q

cons of desalinisation for Israel

A

large quantities of salt being dumped back into the sea
high-energy consumption

77
Q

water management used by Israel

A

drip irrigation
low flow toilets
national campaign

78
Q

water management in China

A

water transfer scheme- water from south to north
3 gorges dam- control flooding and improve water supply

79
Q

cons of water management in China

A

345000 will have to relocate for water transfer
risks of draining too much from the south

80
Q

pros of water management in China

A

reduced water shortages risk
reduce abstraction of groundwater

81
Q

examples of soft engineering

A

permeable surfaces
rainwater harvesting
drip irrigation
recycling sewage

82
Q

examples of water management in singapore

A

leakages have been cut to 5%
desalinisation
subsides for poor

83
Q

explain conflicts in the Colorado river

A

river has decreased by 20%, due to climate change and an increasing population
states wont compromise

84
Q

what stores will climate change effect

A

snow pack
glacier mass
reservoirs
permafrost
soil moisture

85
Q

what flows will climate change effect

A

evaporation
precipitation
streamflow

86
Q

causes of economic water scarcity

A

poor management
lack of finances available to develop
affordability

Geography (9 decks)

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