Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Physical Geography > Water Cycle > Flashcards

Water Cycle Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
U.S. Geography flashcards World Geography flashcards
1
Q

Why is water essential?

A

The water cycle is essential for life on earth. However it isn’t evenly distributed, whilst some regions enjoy lots of water others suffer from a lack of it resulting in human migration or famine.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What are the main stores in the water cycle and what’re their percentages?

A

Oceans(saltwater) 97.5%
Freshwater 2.5%. Of this 2.5% ice caps and glaciers are 79% and groundwater at 20%.
Leaving 1% of freshwater left, of this 1%. 52% is lakes, 0.49% is rivers, 38% in soil and 3% in the atmosphere as water vapour and 0.26% living organisms

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Why is it concerning that only 2.5% of the earths water is fresh?

A

Humans survive off of freshwater and with the majority of it being locked away in ice caps, it leaves about 1% of all freshwater being surface water, which serves human life

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

How much of the earths surface does oceanic water cover?

A

72%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What’s cryospheric water?

A

Frozen water e.g snow, ice, permafrost

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What’s lithosphere? And terrestrial water

A

Water on the surface e.g rivers, lakes and wetlands

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What’s atmospheric water?

A

Water that exists in the atmosphere in 3 states; liquid, gas and solid. Mainly it’s stored as a gas in the form of water vapour

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What’s an aquifer?

A

This is where just over 30% of all freshwater is stored in rocks deep below the ground surface. Causing vast underground reservoirs.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Why are aquifers crucial?

A

They sustain civilisations across the world

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What type of rocks are aquifers normally found in?

A

Rocks such as chalk or sandstone as they’re porous (aide pockets) and permeable allowing water to pas through

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

How are aquifers formed?

A

Water enters the rock either directly, when they’re exposed on the ground or slowly as the water seeps through overlying soil.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What’s soil water budget?

A

Soils vary a lot when it comes to their capacity to store and transfer water.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Which two soils vary in water storage?

A

Sand soils hold little water so transfer it easily compared to clay soils that store water with little transfer

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What’s the water table?

A

The upper level of saturated rock, which rises and falls in response to inputs (additional water flowing in) and outputs (abstraction by humans)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

How will we keep the water table to remain in a state of equilibrium?

A

Through careful management.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What’re fossil aquifers?

A

Aquifers in Africa, Australia and the Middle East which formed thousands of years ago when the regions were much wetter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Why do saline aquifers exist?

A

When water from the ocean infiltrates through rocks often due to abstraction

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

List some aquifers and where they come from

A

South American Guarani aquifer
North-West Sahara aquifer system
North central USA high plains aquifer (smallest)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

How long does water remain in deep and shallow groundwater?

A

Deep-10,000 years

Shallow-100-200 years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

How long does water stay in glaciers for?

A

20-100 years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

How long does water stay in soil water for?

A

1-2months

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

How long does water stay in rivers for?

A

2-6months

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

How long does water stay in rivers for?

A

50-100years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

How long does water remain in seasonal snow cover for?

A

2-6months

25
Q

How can human activity such as farming practices change stores and flows?

A

Ploughing breaks up the top soil and allows greater infiltration resulting in less runoff. Poor ploughing can result in an increase of runoff resulting in soil erosion.

26
Q

How can urbanisation affect stores and flows?

A

Urbanisation is the replacement of vegetation with impermeable surfaces such as tarmac. Water can’t infiltrate creating greater runoff and could possibly result in flooding. Soil and groundwater reduce because most settlements are designed to remove water as quickly as possible to the nearest river.

27
Q

What was the El Niño?

A

It was the warming of the Pacific Ocean developing unusually warm waters between the coast of South Africa and the international date line. Which affected parts of the world. This included droughts in Venezuela, Australia and significant flooding in Pacific islands.

28
Q

What’s the discharge equation?

A

Discharge(m3 per seconds)= cross-sectional area (m2) X velocity (metres per second)

29
Q

What happened in Brazil when there was a drought caused by deforestation?

A

No water for a month (in pipes)
10%capacity of reservoir
The worst it’s been in 80years
Effected economy like aluminium factories

30
Q

Lost some facts about Cali droughts?

A 
Half the reservoir capacity used for drinking, farming
20% of normal rainfall
Farmers crops ruined
$3.5billion drop in agriculture
Bush fires more common 
Told to reduce water usage by 20%
31
Q

List physical factors affecting the water cycle

A

Storms
Drought
Seasonal changes e,g temp, soil moisture and type and amount of precipitation

32
Q

List human factors changing the water cycle

A 
Ploughing 
Drainage systems
Irrigation
Livestock 
Land use change
Urbanisation/ deforestation
Water abstraction
33
Q

What’s the water balance and what does it depend on?

A

The amount of water in a drainage basin will vary over time depending on the balance of inputs and outputs.

34
Q

What does the water balance show?

A

It shows the state of equilibrium in the drainage basin between the inputs (precipitation) and the outputs (runoff and evapotranspiration) and changes in the ground storage

35
Q

What can the water balance change with?

A

Seasons

36
Q

Why can the water table change with seasons?

A

In the U.K. There’s usually water surplus during the winter, in early spring leaving high runoff

37
Q

Why is there water surplus in the winter?

A

Because precipitation is high and temperatures are low meaning there’s less evaporation as well as less interception to take up the water.

38
Q

What happens to the water balance in the summer?

A

There may be moisture deficit as temperature rises, increasing evaporation and vegetation is growing meaning more infiltration and interception. This causes the water table to fall, as discharge from spring continues to replenish river flows.

39
Q

What’s soil moisture recharge?

A

It’s when the water goes out due to evaporation and then fills up again due to precipitation

40
Q

What’s soil moisture utilisation?

A

It’s when vegetation uses the water to grow causing a loss of water

41
Q

What’s soil moisture deficit?

A

It’s when there’s a lack of water so the vegetation has to find an alternative to survive

42
Q

What’s soil moisture surplus?

A

It’s when there’s too much water which could possibly cause run-off

43
Q

What’s the water balance equation?

A

Precipitation= Q(runoff) + E evapotranspiration (+/- change in storage)

44
Q

Why are precipitation and evaporation used to work out the water balance?

A

Because both are different at different times of the year for example in the summer there’s more evaporation and less precipitation and vice versa in the winter.

45
Q

Why is the water balance important?

A

If you want to understand how runoff changes throughout the year, because the water balance equation is the total runoff. It’s the measure of the amount of water that enters streams and rivers. The runoff will vary in different river basins and will depend on a range of factors e.g vegetation or climate

46
Q

What’s a field capacity?

A

The amount of soil moisture that a field can hold

47
Q

What’s the drainage basin?

A

It’s the catchment area from which a river system gets it water. An imaginary line separates one drainage basin from another. It generally follows a ridge of highland, any water that falls into it will flow to the drainage basin

48
Q

Give one example of a small drainage basin and an example of a large drainage basin

A

Small- river tees

Big- Mississippi

49
Q

List facts about the Mississippi River

A

3,734km long, it’s widest point is seven miles, the mouth is the Gulf of Mexico

50
Q

Which water store has the lowest residence time?

A

Atmospheric moisture has the lowest residence time because when the water vapour cools down it falls as precipitation.

51
Q

Why does deep groundwater have the highest residence time?

A

Because it’ll take a long time for the water that is stored in rocks to travel through them. When the water percolates it goes into aquifers meaning it can’t evaporate

52
Q

Suggest how ice caps store may change magnitude overtime

A

Overtime the amount of water stored in ice caps will decrease as global warming is increasing

53
Q

Rivers have a very short residence time. What are the implications of this for the other stores and for human uses of rivers

A

It has a short residence time because the others store more water, meaning that over time we’d have to find another place to store water e.g the ocean because it has a longer residence time

54
Q

What’s sublimation?

A

The change of waters state from a solid to a gas caused by latent heat

55
Q

What’s precipitation measured in?

A

Cumecs (cubic meters per second)

56
Q

What’s the rivers discharge?

A

The amount of water in a river passing at a given point at a given time measured in cumecs

57
Q

If there’s a steep rising limb and small lag time what could this indicate if the factor is vegetation cover?

A

There’s less vegetation. Meaning there’ll be low levels of interception, less transpiration and therefore it’ll reach the river quicker

58
Q

If there’s a gentle rising limb and a long lag time what does it indicate if the factor is soil and type of rock/permeability?

A

Unsaturated soil and rocks such as chalk or limestone will allow water to infiltrate and percolate downwards. The water would take longer to reach the river via throughflow or as groundwater flow and some may remain in storage for sometime

59
Q

Describe the location of the river Exe catchment

A

It’s in southwest England. It rises in the moorland of Exmoor and travels 82.7km to reach the sea at Exmouth on the south coast of Devon flowing through towns such as Tiverton and Exeter.

Physical Geography (6 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions