Water Cycle Flashcards
What’s is a drainage basin
An area of land drained by a river and its tributaries
What is interception
Precipitation is prevented from reaching the ground by vegetation
What is through fall
The water that drips off of vegetation toward the ground
What is stem-flow
The water that flows down the stems of plants and trunks of trees into the soil below
What is infiltration
The downward movement of water from the surface into the soil below
What is percolation
Downward movement of water through porous rock
What is groundwater flow
The slowest transfer of percolated water over permeable rock
What is overland flow
The movement of water of saturated or impermeable land
What is through flow
The downslope movement of water through soil
What is runoff
All the water that flows out of a drainage basin
What is groundwater store
Water that collects underground in the pore spaces of rock
What are the major stores of water
Hydrosphere
Biosphere
Atmosphere
Lithosphere
Cryosphere
What sphere stores the most water
Hydrosphere - 96.5% of all water
What is evaporation
The process of liquid chaining to a gas
Can happen on land a sea
70% ocean
30% land
What is transpiration
The transfer of water vapour from vegetation to the atmosphere
What is condensation
When a gas turns into a liquid
What are the main processes in the water cycle
Evaporation
Transpiration
Evapotranspiration
Condensation
Precipitation
Infiltration
Percolation
Runoff
Groundwater flow
What are the main flows in the water cycle
Precipitation
Evaporation
Transpiration
Evapotranspiration
Infiltration
Percolation
Overland flow
Through flow
Groundwater flow
What are the inputs into the water cycle
Precipitation
What are the outputs of the water cycle
Evaporation
Transpiration
How do humans affect the water cycle
S - soil drainage - removes water so plants can no longer grow
A - abstraction of water - causes droughts
D - deforestation - less transpiration
Burning fossil fuels - increases evaporation
What percentage of water is on earth
Fresh water - 3%
Saline water - 97%
What percentage of water is in fresh water
Glaciers and ice caps - 69%
Groundwater - 30%
Surface water - 1%
What percentage of water is in surface water
Ground ice and permafrost - 70%
Lakes - 20%
Soil moisture - 4%
Atmosphere - 3%
Other 3%
What affects the rate of infiltration
Through fall - vegetation prevents water reaching the soil
Percolation - the less permeable a rock is, the harder it is for water to travel down through it
What are the different types of floods
Flash flood
Single event flood
Multiple event flood
Seasonal flood
What is a flash flood
Occurs due to an excess of water over a short period of time
What is a single event flood
Occurs due to a single input of additional water
What is a multiple event flood
Occurs due to many single event floods closely spaced together
What is a seasonal flood
Occurs more in winter as snow melting meaning there is more water
What are natural variations that affect the water cycle
Air temperature - hotter conditions mean more evaporation-less water
Wind - transports water
Storm events - some areas receive more water
What is positive feedback in the water cycle
Burning fossil fuels
Increases global temps
Increases evaporation
Means more water vapour in the atmosphere
Increases global temps
What is negative feedback in the water cycle
Precipitation
Increases plant growth
Increases transpiration, due to more plants
Less surface runoff
What are the different types of rainfall
Frontal
Relief
Connectional
What is frontal rainfall
Warm air meets cool air
Warmer less dense air rises
Warm air cools
The cooling in the air causes the water vapour to condense into droplets forming a cloud
When the water droplets becomes to heavy it falls as precipitation
What is relief rainfall
Warm air meets with mountain
Warm air rises up the maintain
The air cools and condenses due to altitude, forming a cloud
When water droplets become to heavy they fall on the opposite side of the mountain
What is conventional rainfall
Sun heats the ground
Causes rapidly rising pockets of warm air, know as convention currents
Air cools and condenses into water droplets forming a cloud
When the water droplets become too heavy they fall as heavy rainfall, often with thunderstorms