Water cycle Flashcards

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1
Q

How much emissions from wildfire in the Amazon? (2003-2015)

A

1 billion tonnes of CO2

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2
Q

How much of the worlds rainforest does the Amazon account for?

A

60%

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3
Q

How much rainforest lost in last 20 years in the Amazon?

A

54 million hectares

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4
Q

What year was the big dry?

A

1996-2016

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5
Q

causes of the big dry?

A

High pressure reduced precipitation, el nino, climate change caused warmer temperatures and changing rainfall patterns

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6
Q

Which area was worst affected by the Big dry?

A

Murray-Darling river catchment

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7
Q

How much of Australia’s produce comes from Murray-Darling catchment?

A

40%

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8
Q

How much did farm GDP fall by during the Big Dry?

A

25%

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9
Q

How much did agricultural income fall by during the Big Dry?

A

46%

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10
Q

How many people lost their jobs because of the Big Dry?

A

Around 100,000 agricultural workers

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11
Q

How many farmers commited suicide because of the big dry?

A

1 male farmer every 4 days

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12
Q

By how much did water bills rise in 2008 Australia?

A

20%

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12
Q

By how much did stream-flows lower in Western Victoria?

A

80%

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13
Q

what % of red river gum trees died throughout the Murray-Darling basin?

A

70%

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13
Q

What were some individual responses to the big dry?

A

Recycling grey water from showers and baths. Farmers could claim 400-600 dollars per fortnight

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14
Q

Local government responses to the big dry?

A

Subsiding rainwater storage for houses. Banning car washing and showers longer than 4 minutes.

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15
Q

National government responses to the big dry?

A

New multi-million dollar desalination plant was built. $1.7 Million a day paid to farmers for drought relief.

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16
Q

What type of drought was the Sahelian drought?

A

Famine drought

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17
Q

What factors exacerbated the effects of the drought?

A

Rain-fed crops account for 95% of agriculture in the Sahel.

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18
Q

How many died because of the Sahelian drought?

A

100,000

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19
Q

In 1991 how many people faced starvation in the Sahel?

A

4.3 million

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20
Q

How does population growth compare to food production?

A

population growing at 3.1 % but food is only increasing by 1.6%

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21
Q

What happened to grain production in Niger, Chad, and Mauritania?

A

went down by almost a third.

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22
Q

What happened to farmers because of the drought?

A

widespread crop failure.

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23
Q

What responses to the drought from charitable organisation?

A

The WFP sent 30,000 tonnes of grain.

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24
Q

What individual responses to the drought?

A

Many had to migrate away from the agricultural areas to make a living.

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25
Q

What year was the Boscastle flood?

A

2004

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26
Q

How did antecedent conditions affect the flooding?

A

Above average rainfall caused the soil to become saturated before the flood.

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27
Q

What caused the flooding in boscastle?

A

Two opposing air masses met and went up, cause them to condense and release large amount of precipitation.

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28
Q

During the storm event how much rain fell?

A

Estimated 130mm of precipitation.

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29
Q

How many rivers burst their banks?

A

2

30
Q

How many cars were destroyed in the boscastle flood?

A

50

30
Q

How many properties were flooded because of the boscastle flood?

A

58

31
Q

What areas were affected by the 2007 floods?

A

England and Wales

32
Q

Over 3 months in the 2007 Summer how much prec. fell?

A

400mm (double the average)

33
Q

What was significant about July 2007?

A

It was the wettest July on record.

34
Q

How many deaths were caused by the flooding of 2007?

A

12

35
Q

How much did the 2007 flooding cost?

A

£6 million

36
Q

By how much did river levels rise in 2007?

A

4.5m above normal levels.

37
Q

Which area was worst affected by the 2007 flooding?

A

Along the lower Severn where it joins the Avon.

38
Q

What impacts did the 2007 flood have?

A

homes and business were flooded, water supplies were cut off, and power supplies were damaged.

39
Q

What is the Aral sea?

A

Lake on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

40
Q

What happened at the Aral sea?

A

During the Soviet union water was extracted for irrigation of Cotton

41
Q

What effect did agriculture have on the Aral sea

A

Caused the sea to shrink by 80% from 1960-1998

42
Q

Why is cotton monoculture a problem in the Aral sea basin?

A

Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan’s economies are reliant on it.

43
Q

How much water is needed for 1 kg of cotton?

A

1,000L

44
Q

What happened to the Aral sea when the USSR broke up?

A

Before the breakup the USSR managed the basin. The problem of the basin was passed off to the 5 countries.

45
Q

What was the Almaty agreement?

A

An agreement between Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan made in 1992.

46
Q

What were the provisions of the Almaty agreement?

A

Water resources were to be shared

47
Q

What does the Almaty agreement state is to happen during the summer?

A

Upstream countries release water downstream for cotton, and in exchange downstream countries give upstream countries oil and gas.

48
Q

What does the Almaty agreement state is to happen during the winter?

A

Upstream countries may retain water in reservoirs and use it for HEP.

49
Q

In the event of drought what happens to the Almaty agreement?

A

new agreements must be made

50
Q

How long is the Nile and how many countries does it pass through?

A

6700 km and 11 countries

51
Q

What are the two tributaries of the Nile

A

The white Nile and the blue Nile.

52
Q

How much of the flow does the white Nile account for?

A

30%

53
Q

How many people live in the Nile river basin?

A

300 million.

54
Q

Why is the Nile important to Egypt?

A

Egypt relies on the Nile for 95% of its water needs

55
Q

What is the Grand Ethiopian renaissance dam?

A

$5 billion dam costing standing at 170m tall.

56
Q

How much will the GERD decrease the flows of the blue Nile?

A

filling the reservoir will decrease flows of the Blue Nile by 25%

57
Q

Why is the South-North transfer project necessary?

A

to redistribute surplus water from the south to the north.

58
Q

what type of engineering is the south-north transfer project?

A

hard engineering

59
Q

how much will the south north transfer project cost?

A

100 billion USD

60
Q

How much water will the scheme transfer?

A

45 billion cubic metres

61
Q

How does the south-north transfer project work?

A

Three canals three canals that run 1300 km link the Yangtze, Yellow, Han, and Huai rivers.

62
Q

Why are critics concerned about the South- North transfer project?

A

There is a lot of uncertainty with the effect of resettlement, worsening water quality.

63
Q

what is wrong with the Yellow and Yangtze rivers?

A

the Yellow river is undrinkable and the Yangtze is severely polluted.

64
Q

Why is water self sufficiency important in Singapore?

A

it is an island city-state with no access to freshwater lakes

65
Q

How much of the cities water supply is from rain?

A

20%

66
Q

What facilities does Singapore have for its water collection?

A

19 freshwater reservoirs, 9 water treatment plants, and 17 reservoirs for purified water.

67
Q

What did the city open in 2002?

A

A production plant for recycled water, which provides 30% of the city’s water.

68
Q

When did Singapore open its first desalination plant?

A

2005 and this accounts for 10% of the country’s water supply

69
Q

How is water consumption kept low in Singapore?

A

through campaigns and economic incentives

70
Q

How much water is lost in Singapore through spillage?

A

only 5%

71
Q

What are Singapore’s goals for the future?

A

to become completely self-sufficient for water.

72
Q

What will be Singapores water mix in the future?

A

40% from recycling, 30% from desalination, and 20% from rainwater collection