Water cycle and insecurity Flashcards
(89 cards)
1
Q
stores
A
reservoirs where water is held
2
Q
fluxes
A
the rate of flow between stores
3
Q
processes
A
the physical mechanisms that drive the fluxes of water between the stores
4
Q
cryosphere
A
areas of the Earth where water is frozen into snow or ice
5
Q
isolated systems
A
systems that don’t interact with anything outside the system boundary with no input or output of energy
6
Q
closed systems
A
systems that have energy transfers into and beyond the systems boundary but with no transfer of matter
7
Q
open systems
A
systems where energy and matter can be transferred into and beyond the system boundary
8
Q
dynamic equilibrium
A
state where the inputs and outputs of a system are the same, managed by feedback
9
Q
positive feedback
A
the effects of a change are amplified and can have multiplied or knock-on effects
10
Q
negative feedback
A
the effects of a change are nullified by its knock-on effects
11
Q
blue water
A
water stored in rivers, streams, lakes and groundwater in liquid form (visible part of the hydrological cycle)
12
Q
green water
A
water stored in soil and vegetation (invisible part of the hydrological cycle)
13
Q
residence time
A
the average time a water molecule will spend in a reservoir or store
14
Q
precipitation
A
the movement of water in any form from the atmosphere to the ground
15
Q
evaporation
A
the transformation of water droplets into water vapour by heating
16
Q
interception
A
the prevention of rain from reaching the Earth’s surface by trees and plants
16
Q
condensation
A
the process by which water vapour is converted to water
17
Q
transpiration
A
the loss of water into the atmosphere from the leaves of plants
18
Q
vegetation storage
A
the storage of water in the roots and stems of plants
19
Q
stemflow
A
the movement of water through plants into the soil
20
Q
surface storage
A
the total volume of water held on the Earth’s surface in takes, ponds and puddles
21
Q
infiltration
A
the downward movement of water into the soil surface
22
Q
soil water storage
A
the storage of water in the soil
23
Q
percolation
A
the gravity flow of water within the soil
24
groundwater storage
the storage of water underground in permeable rock strata
25
overland flow
the movement of water over the surface of the land, usually when the ground is saturated, frozen or precipitation is too intense for infiltration to occur
26
throughflow
the movement of water downslope within the soil layer
27
groundwater flow
the slow transfer of percolated water through permeable or porous rocks
28
channel storage
the storage of water in river channels
29
channel flow
the movement of water within a river channel
30
river runoff
the discharge of a river through the drainage basin
31
river runoff
the discharge of a river through the drainage basin
32
fossil water
ancient, deep groundwater from former pluvial (wetter) periods
33
drainage basin/ river catchment
the area of land drained by a river and its tributaries that is an open system
34
watershed
the highland which divides and separates waters flowing to different rivers determining the boundary of a drainage basin
35
saturation point
the point where air has absorbed the maximum amount of water vapour
36
dew point
the temperature to which air bust be cooled to become saturated with water vapour
37
convectional rainfall
associated with intense thunderstorms which occur in areas with ground heating such as the tropic, equatorial places, continental interiors and the UK in summers
38
orographic rainfall
rainfall concentrated on the windward slopes and summits of mountains
39
cyclonic rainfall
a period of sustained, moderately intensive rain associated with the passage of depressions
40
interception loss
water that is retained by plant surfaces and later evaporated or absorbed by the vegetation and transpired
41
throughfall
when rainfall persists or is relatively intense and water drops from leaves, twigs and needles
42
stemflow
when water trickles along twigs and branches and then down the trunk
43
infiltration
the movement of water from the ground surface into the soil
44
infiltration capacity
the maximum rate at which rain can be absorbed by a soil
expressed in mm/hr
45
surface run-off/ overland flow
the movement of water that is unconfined by a channel across the surface of the ground
46
throughflow
the lateral transfer of water down slope through the soil via natural pipes and percolines
47
percolines
lines of concentrated water flow between soil horizons to the river channel
48
percolation
the transfer of water from the surface or from the soil into the bedrock beneath
49
saturated overland flow
the upward movement of the water table into the evaporation zone
50
evapotranspiration
the combined effect of evaporation and transpiration
51
potential evapotranspiration
the water loss that would occur if there was an unlimited supply of water in the soil for use by vegetation
52
albedo
a measure of the proportion of the incoming solar radiation that is reflected by the surface back into the atmosphere and space
53
deforestation
the cutting down and removal of all or most of the trees in a forested area
54
afforestation
the planting of trees in an area that has not been forested in recent times
55
water budget
the balance between precipitation, evaporation and run-off across global, regional or local scales
56
river regime
the annual variation in discharge or flow of a river at a particular point or gauging station, usually measured in cumecs
57
rising limb
the part of a storm hydrograph in which the discharge starts to rise
58
peak discharge
the time when the river reaches its highest flow
59
lag time
the time interval between peak rainfall and peak discharge
60
falling or recessional limb
the part of a storm hydrograph in which the discharge starts to decrease
61
base flow
the normal, day-to-day discharge of the river usually available as surface flow may differ seasonally, especially in monsoonal areas
62
drought
a shortfall or deficiency of water over an extended time period
63
meteorological drought
shortfalls in precipitation as a result of short-term variability or longer-term trends
64
hydrological drought
associated with reduced stream flow and groundwater levels because of reduced precipitation and high rates of evaporation
65
agricultural drought
when rainfall deficiency from meteorological drought leads to deficiency of soil moisture and soil water availability which has a knock-on effect on plant growth and reduces biomass
66
famine drought
a humanitarian crisis in which the widespread failure of agricultural systems leads to food shortages and famines with socioeconomic and environmental impacts
67
teleconnection
climate anomalies which relate to each other at large distances
68
ENSO
El Nino Southern Oscillation. A meteorological phenomenon occurring every 3-7 years for 18 months
69
Southern Oscillation
a see-saw of atmospheric pressure between the Pacific and Indo-Australian area
70
trade winds/easterlies
east to west prevailing winds that flow in the equatorial region. NE in Northern Hemisphere and SE in Southern Hemisphere
71
walker loop
atmospheric circulation loop where warm air rises in in the western pacific ocean, travels eastward, cools and sinks over the eastern pacific where trade winds will push the water westward
72
rossby wave
continuous slow oceanic movements found along the thermocline that move with the rotation of the planet, influenced by the coriolis effect
73
thermocline
the marking of an oceanic temperature change from warmer surface water to cooler deep water
74
coriolis effect
deflects north-flowing winds to the rights in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere due to the earth's rotation and points at the equator moving faster than points at the poles
75
desertification
land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions from various factors, including variations and human activities
76
wetland
an area of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish, or salt
77
brackish water
water that is more saline than freshwater but less than saltwater
78
groundwater flooding
flooding that occurs after the ground has become saturated from prolonged heavy rainfall
79
surface water flooding
flooding that occurs when intense rainfall has insufficient time to infiltrate the soil, so flows overland
80
flash flooding
a flood with an exceptionally short lag time - often minutes or hours associated with intense convectional storms with limited infiltration
81
sinuous jet-stream
curving track meaning high pressure systems (anticyclones) can be blocked causing intense storms can flooding
82
jokulhlaup
a glacial outburst flood that occurs when the damn containing a glacial lake fails usually due to volcanic activity generating meltwater and ice instability
83
urbanisation
the increase in the number of people living in towns and cities compared to the number of people living in the countryside
84
flood return period
an estimate of the likelihood of a flood of a certain size recurring
85
morbidity
a state of ill health
86
eutrophication
excessive richness of nitrate and phosphate nutrients in a body of water due to run-off from farmlands causing a dense growth of plant life and agal blooms that block oxygen, killing aquatic life that can't survive in anoxic conditions
87
downwasting
thinning of a glacier due to the melting of ice
88
