Water cycle Flashcards
5 major stores of the water cycle ?
Groundwater, Atmosphere, Terrestrial water, Cryosphere, Oceanic water
What is oceanic water and how much does it hold ?
Water in the ocean - dominates the amount of available water, holds 97% of earths water.
What is the cryosphere and what are the locations of if ?
Portion of earth’s surface where water is in solid form - Permafrost, Sea ice, Ice caps, Alpine glaciers, Ice sheets
What is groundwater and its stores ?
Water that collects underground in the pore spaces of rocks - Soil water and biological water
What is terrestrial water stored in ?
Surface water
Groundwater
Soil water
Biological water
What is atmospheric water ?
Exists in three states most commonly water vapour.
What are the 6 processes that change waters state ?
Evaporation, Condensation, Melting, Freezing, Sublimation, Deposition
Process of evaporation and what is it dependant on ?
Occurs when energy from solar radiation hits water causing liquid to change to gas and is dependant on ; amount of solar energy, availability of water, temperature and humidity of air.
Process of condensation ?
It occurs when warm, moist air cools and loses its capacity to hold water vapor, leading to the formation of water droplets as water molecules condense on particles like smoke salt dust etc.
Water balance meaning ?
The equilibrium between the inputs and outputs of water in a system.
What is the general water balance equation ?
Precipitation = Evapotranspiration + run off + change in storage
What are the 4 components of water balance ?
Precipitation, Evapotranspiration, Run off, Water storage
Types of water balance ?
Global water balance, Regional water balance, Soil water balance
Groundwater flow ?
Slow movement of water through underlying rocks
Infiltration ?
Downward movement of water from surface to soil.
Interception store ?
Precipitation that falls on vegetation surfaces or human-made cover and temporarily stored on these surfaces.
Overland flow ?
Water that flows horizontally across land surfaces when rainfall has exceeded the infiltration capacity f the soil and all surface stores are full to overflowing.
Percolation ?
Downward movement of water within the rock under the soil surface.
Run off ?
All the water that enters a river channel and eventually flows out of te drainage basin.
Stemflow ?
Portion of precipitation intercepted by the canopy that reaches the ground before flowing down stems, stalks etc.
Through fall ?
Movement of water that reaches the ground directly through gaps in the canopy and drips from leaves, twigs etc.
What are the two main cryosphere processes ?
Accumulation ( build up of ice mass ) and ablation ( loss of ice mass )
What are 3 types of surface water ?
Rivers, Lakes, Wetlands
What is the process of cloud formation ?
Evaporation from earths surfaces - Rising air as warm air lighter than cool air so it carries water vapour high into atmosphere - Cooling and condensing of air, it then reaches its dew temperature where water vapour condenses and clusters together to form clouds - Water vapour condenses around particles called condensation nuclei which make up a cloud.
