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A Level Geography > Water cycle and Water security > Flashcards

Water cycle and Water security Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a closed system?

A

inputs and outputs are cycled and there are no losses or gains to the system

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2
Q

What is a biosphere?

A

the living system (plants and animals)

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3
Q

What is a cryosphere?

A

the ice system (ice sheets and glaciers)

  • Made up of those areas of the world where water is frozen into snow and ice
  • non renewable
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4
Q

What is a residence times?

A

how long water stays in a particular store

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5
Q

What is fossil water?

A

water that is no longer being naturally replenished, may have been stored for a long time

  • ancient, deep underground groundwater made from pluvial (wetter) periods in the geological past
  • non-renewable
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6
Q

What affects the rate of evaporation?

A
  • sea surface temperature
  • surface winds
  • air temperature - when the air temperature is warmer, it can hold more water
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7
Q

How does the atmosphere store or transfer water?

A
  • atmosphere does not store a large quantity of water compared to the ocean, rivers and lakes
  • it can transport water quickly from one place to another
  • low-lying regions in the atmosphere with high moisture and strong winds can form atmospheric rivers, transporting water horizontally
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8
Q

How do clouds form?

A
  • formed as water vapour cools and condenses into droplets and ice crystals
  • clouds and water vapour acts like insulators in the atmosphere
  • clouds help shield the Earth from the sun and trap heat
  • when cloud particles grow large enough, they fall out as rain or snow
  • under the right conditions, areas of precipitation can grow into large storms
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9
Q

How do areas of precipitation form storms?

A
  • under the right conditions, areas of precipitation can grow into large storms
  • as storms grow, they transfer heat vertically into the upper atmosphere
  • the migration of storms helps to distribute heat between the equator and the poles - shaping wind patterns globally
  • how storms grow and intensify depends on atmospheric moisture, surface temperatures and wind patterns
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10
Q

what does the availability of water affect?

A
  • the type and abundance of vegetation
  • the primary source of food for animals and people
  • extreme water cycle variability, unusually dry or wet impacts humans worldwide
  • hazards affect human life and economic costs
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11
Q

How can some melt water and rainfall be stored?

A
  • some water can be stored/absorbed by plant roots or drains into the water table
  • eventually the water will evaporate to the atmosphere or return to the ocean is streams and rivers, providing a source of nutrient rich water that supports ocean life
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12
Q

Stores in size order

-big to small

A
  • Ocean -96.9% - RT 3,600
  • Cryosphere 1.9% - RT 15,000
  • Groundwater 1.1% - RT 10,000
  • Rivers and lakes 0.01% - RT 2wks-2yrs
  • soil moisture 0.01% - RT 2-50wks
  • atmosphere 0.001% - RT 10 days
  • vegetation 0.0001% - RT 1 week
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13
Q

Fluxes in size order

  • big to small
  • transfers
A

(10 3 km 3 per year)

  • Ocean evaporation - 413
  • Ocean precipitation - 373
  • Land precipitation - 113
  • Evapotranspiration - 73
  • Surface flow - 40
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14
Q

How does solar energy affect the water cycle?

A

It heats water and turns it from liquid to gas, rises into the atmosphere and cools and condenses to form clouds

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15
Q

How does gravitational potential affect the water cycle?

A

The Earths gravitational pull is converted into kinetic energy and accelerates water through the cycle
-falling as precipitation, flowing across the land and infiltrating and percolating

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16
Q

What is the global water budget?

A
  • limits available for human use

- takes into account all the water that is held in stores and flows of the global hydrological cycle

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17
Q

What are some key facts about the global water budget?

A
  • only 2.5% of budget is freshwater
  • the rest is in oceans
  • only 1% of all freshwater is easily accessible surface freshwater - nearly 70% is locked up in the glaciers and ice sheets
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18
Q

How is the water budget and water security changing?

A
  • water is considered to be a renewable resource
  • climate change is altering the budget, the cryosphere is melting and increasing proportion stored in ocean
  • many populations rely on glacier fed rivers
  • global population is rising and projected to rise to 10cm by 2055 - there is larger demand for water extraction
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19
Q

What is most water stored in the water budget?

A

most water is in the oceans - saltwater isn’t drinkable by humans unless it is desalinated which is an expensive process

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20
Q

What is groundwater renewability?

example of aquifer

A
  • groundwater reservoirs called aquifers hold the majority of accessible freshwater that can be used for drinking water
  • many aquifers refill naturally as water at the surface seeps into the ground after heavy rainfalls
  • aquifers in arid climates are not being recharged e.g. The Nubian Aquifer in Libya - The great man made river project in Libya is tapping into this resource to bring water to arid communities
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21
Q

What implications are there for future water security?

A
  • conflict over water sources (transboundary)
  • drought and famine
  • environmental refugees
  • price of water increases
  • more use of technology e.g. desalination = further carbon emissions
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22
Q

why does the global water budget limit water available for human use?

A
  • only small % available for human use (96% salt water)
  • 2/3 freshwater locked in cryosphere (Long RT)
  • most of the rest of it is in soil, vegetation or deep underground (some in fossil water)
  • very small proportion available in rivers and lakes and accessible ground water
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23
Q

Orographic precipitation

A

(relief rainfall)
caused when air is forced to rise creating an area of low pressure, cools, condenses and forms clouds when it meets land especially in mountains and hills

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24
Q

Frontal precipitation

A

caused when warm air meets cold air and forces warm air to rise - low pressure

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25
Q

Convectional precipitation

A

caused when moisture evaporates and rises when heated by the sun - low pressure 3 c’s

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26
Q

Saturated overland flow

A

surface run off caused when soil is saturated

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27
Q

What is a drainage basin?

A

it is an open system
an area of land that is drained by a river and its tributaries and separated from neighbouring drainage basins by a high ridge called the water shed

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28
Q

Inputs in a drainage basin

A

precipitation

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29
Q

outputs in a drainage basin

A

evapotranspiration

runoff

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30
Q

stores in a drainage basin

A

interception storage
channel storage
saturated ground-water storage
unsaturated ground water storage

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31
Q

flows in a drainage basin

A 
interception 
stem flow
overland flow
infiltration 
throughflow
percolation 
baseflow
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32
Q

What is an open system?

A

inputs and outputs are cycles and there can be loose or gained to the system

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33
Q

Define basin-wide factors

A

factors that affect the whole basin

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34
Q

What does the ITCZ stand for?

A

Inter tropical convergence zone

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35
Q

What is the ITCZ?

A

A zone of convergence at the thermal equator where the trade winds meet.
A low pressure belt which migrates with the changing position of the thermal equator

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36
Q

How does the ITCZ work?

A
  • the thermal equator is exposed to the most intense heat from the sun over a small area
  • the movement of the thermal equator shifts the belt of planetary winds and pressure systems to the north and to the south annually
  • brings area of low pressure = rain and storms
  • moves to north which will experience wet weather and the area above will have hot, dry weather
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37
Q

Weather systems and air pressure

A 
pole = high pressure 
60 = low pressure 
30 = high pressure 
equator = low pressure 
30 = high pressure 
60 = low pressure 
pole = high pressure
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38
Q

Factors affecting a drainage basin

A
  • size of basin
  • drainage density
  • level of forest
  • impermeable soils and rocks
  • urban development
  • reservoirs
  • rural land-use
  • permeable soils and rocks
  • steep slopes
  • snow-capped peaks
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39
Q

Factors affecting a drainage basin - size of basin

A

large collects more precipitation and are affected by more basin-wide factors than small basins

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40
Q

Factors affecting a drainage basin - drainage density

A

low drainage density means slow movement of water across the basin area

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41
Q

Factors affecting a drainage basin - level of forest

A

more forested slopes means more interception of precipitation, which increases level of evapotranspiration and reduces surface run off

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42
Q

Factors affecting a drainage basin - Impermeable soils and rocks

A

prevents infiltration and causes surface saturation

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43
Q

Factors affecting a drainage basin - urban development

A

surfaces are impermeable and increase rapid run off, evaporation and interception

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44
Q

Factors affecting a drainage basin - reservoirs

A

hold back the flow of water and create new surface stores

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45
Q

Factors affecting a drainage basin - rural land use

A

permits more natural processes than urban

-grasslands have higher infiltration, percolation, through-flow and evaporation than arable land

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46
Q

Factors affecting a drainage basin - permeable soils and rocks

A

allow more infiltration and percolation, which in turn provide greater recharge of groundwater

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47
Q

Factors affecting a drainage basin - steep slopes

A

promotes faster movement and shorter storage time than gentler slopes

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48
Q

Factors affecting a drainage basin - snow-capped peaks

A

holds water back until thaw - delayed flows

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49
Q

What are the physical factors affecting inputs of a drainage basin?

A
  • types and intensity of precipitation
  • amount
  • intensity
  • seasonality
  • distribution
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50
Q

What are the physical factors affecting inputs of a drainage basin? - types and intensity of precipitation

A
  • convectional and relief
  • form - snow, rain or hail
  • snow as the entry of water into the system will create delays
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51
Q

What are the physical factors affecting inputs of a drainage basin? - amount

A

-it will affect the amount of water in the basin ad the fluxes within it

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52
Q

What are the physical factors affecting inputs of a drainage basin? - intensity

A

the greater the intensity, the greater the likelihood of flooding

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53
Q

What are the physical factors affecting inputs of a drainage basin? - seasonality

A

this is likely to result in the drainage basin system operating at different flow levels at different times of the year

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54
Q

What are the physical factors affecting inputs of a drainage basin? - distribution

A

-this is significant in large drainage basins (The Nile and The Ganges) where tributaries start in different climate zones

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55
Q

Where is precipitation the highest?

A

-highest precipitation found in tropics due to ITCZ and in some places during monsoon season

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56
Q

How does the ITCZ affect precipitation?

Example of a place that is affected by this

A

The intense solar radiation fuels the convection of warm humid air, resulting in condensation and precipitation

e. g. Mawsynram, India
- highest average rainfall = 11,873mm per year which is mostly during monsoon season June-Sept

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57
Q

Where has the lowest average rainfall?

A

in the Antacama Desert, Chile driest place on Earth with less than 0.2mm per year
-stable area of high atmospheric pressure

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58
Q

What is the distribution of precipitation influenced by?

A
  • influenced by continentality (the distance from the sea)
  • continental interiors, such as the Gobi Desert in Asia or Alice Springs region in Australia - they are far from the moisture of maritime air masses
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59
Q

Where can orographic precipitation be found?

A

In mountain areas where prevailing winds are forced to rise over high altitudes

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60
Q

How does interception occur?

A
  • vegetation intercepts rainfall
  • the water reaches soil via stem flow or through fall
  • the undergrowth may intercept some water falling
  • some water may return to atmosphere through evapotranspiration
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61
Q

Define interception

A

the process whereby raindrops are prevented from falling directly on to the ground by the presence of a layer of vegetation

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62
Q

Stem flow

A

water flowing down the vegetation stems to the ground below

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63
Q

Through-fall

A

where water drips onto the ground

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64
Q

What is the rate of interception dependant on?

A
  • precipitation

- vegetation

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65
Q

When is interception at its greatest? (flow)

A

-when the precipitation is light and of short duration, as dry leaves and stems have the greatest water storage capacity

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66
Q

What is the rate of interception dependant on?

-precipitation

A

-as vegetation becomes water or rainfall intensity increases, more water will drip or flow to the ground and interception effectiveness will decrease

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67
Q

What is the rate of interception dependant on?

-vegetation

A
  • the vegetation type and cover influence interception
  • denser types such as coniferous forests, intercept more rainfall than sparser deciduous forests
  • especially in winter, when temperate deciduous trees shed their leaves; and forests intercepts more than grass and crops
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68
Q

What is through flow? (flow)

A

the movement of water vertically downwards through pores in the soil
-once in the soil, water moves both vertically and laterally through. it - this is a downslope movement under the influence of gravity towards a stream or river

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69
Q

What is infiltration capacity?

A

is the maximum rate at which the soil can absorb precipitation

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70
Q

What does the rate of infiltration depend on?

A
  • the amount of water already in the soil

- the degree of saturation

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71
Q

What are the factors affecting the rate of infiltration? (flow)

A
  • precipitation intensity
  • vegetation cover
  • soil and rock type
  • slope gradient
  • water table depth
  • direct runoff (overland flow)
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72
Q

What are the factors affecting the rate of infiltration?

-precipitation intensity

A

-infiltration-excess overland flow will occur when rainfall intensity exceeds infiltration capacity, meaning the water flows over the surface and infiltration is reduced

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73
Q

What are the factors affecting the rate of infiltration?

-vegetation cover

A

-roots help to break up the soil, increasing the infiltration rates

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74
Q

What are the factors affecting the rate of infiltration?

-soil and rock type

A

-infiltration rates will increase as porosity and permeability increases

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75
Q

What are the factors affecting the rate of infiltration?

-slope gradient

A

-as gradient increase more water will flow over the surface, reducing infiltration

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76
Q

What are the factors affecting the rate of infiltration?

-water table depth

A

-as the water table rises during prolonged rainfall, the soil will become saturated, reducing infiltration

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77
Q

What are the factors affecting the rate of infiltration?

-direct run off (overland flow)

A

-water flowing over the surface of the ground

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78
Q

Describe the process of overland flow

A
  • occurs when water accumulates in the soil until the water table reaches or ponds on the surface, forcing further rainwater to run off surface
  • common where there are thin soils of moderate permeability
  • cavities near stream or river bank often have high moisture levels and may produce saturated overland flow early in rainstorm cycle
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79
Q

Describe the process of infiltration - excess overland flow

A
  • occurs when the rainfall intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity, so the excess water flow over the ground surface
  • any surface runoff will quickly deliver water into river channels, increasing the risk of flooding downstream
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80
Q

Evapotranspiration

A

the total amount of moisture removed from a drainage basin by processes of evaporation and transpiration which represents a significant output

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81
Q

Evaporation

A

the process by which liquid water is transformed into water vapour

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82
Q

Transpiration

A

the biological process by which water is drawn upwards from the soil by plants and evaporated through the minute pores (stomata)

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83
Q

What is the potential evapotranspiration?

A

the amount of evapotranspiration that could take place given unlimited supplies of water in an environment

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84
Q

What is actual evapotranspiration?

A

the amount of evapotranspiration that takes place given the actual water availability

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85
Q

Factors that affect the rate of evapotranspiration (output)

A

temperature
wind
vegetation cover
soil moisture content

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86
Q

Factors that affect the rate of evapotranspiration (output)

-temperature

A
  • rate of ET increases with temperature

- main source is solar radiation, so evaporation and temperature will increase with sunshine hours

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87
Q

Factors that affect the rate of evapotranspiration (output)

-wind

A

-increase rate of evaporation by reducing the relative humidity and preventing saturation of the air

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88
Q

Factors that affect the rate of evapotranspiration (output)

-vegetation cover

A
  • transpiration will increase with increased vegetation cover which will depend on the type of vegetation and the season
  • vegetation with a low albedo (reflectivity) such as dark forests, will absorb more solar radiation increasing evaporation
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89
Q

Factors that affect the rate of evapotranspiration (output)

-soil moisture content

A
  • this will determine the amount of water available for transpiration
  • this is dependant on soil and rock permeability
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90
Q

What is channel flow?

A

water that has collected to flow in a rivulet, stream or river

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91
Q

Physical factors effecting drainage basin flows

  • percolation and ground water flow
  • what is percolation?
A

-when infiltrating, water reaches permeable underlying bedrock, this will continue to move slowly downwards in to the rock by the process of percolation

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92
Q

Physical factors effecting drainage basin flows

  • percolation and ground water flow
  • describe the process of percolation
A

The water will fill the spaces within the permeable or porous rock, creating groundwater storage and an aquifer

  • this will happen where the permeable layer lies above an impermeable rock layer so that the water can percolate further
  • this creates a saturated zone in the upper level called the water table
  • water may then move laterally as groundwater flow, if the geological structure allows
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93
Q

Physical factors effecting drainage basin flows

  • percolation and ground water flow
  • what does the rate of percolation and groundwater flow depend on?
A
  • permeability of the rock - linked to porosity and perviousness
  • angle of the rock
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94
Q

Physical factors effecting drainage basin flows

  • percolation and ground water flow
  • what does the rate of percolation and groundwater flow depend on? - permeability of rock
A
  • porosity relates to the total volume of pore spaces and is greatest in coarse-grained rocks (Sandstone)
  • while pervious rocks such as limestone have joints and bedding planes along which water can flow
  • therefore percolation and groundwater flow rates will increase with porosity and perviousness
  • impermeable rocks such as granite, however will prevent any percolation or water movement through the ground
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95
Q

Physical factors effecting drainage basin flows

  • percolation and ground water flow
  • what does the rate of percolation and groundwater flow depend on? - angle of the rock
A

-the rate of groundwater flow will increase according to the angle of the rock strata as a steeper gradient will allow gravity to separate more effectivley

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96
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

A
  • over abstraction
  • deforestation
  • creation of dams and reservoirs
  • cloud seeding
  • urbanisation
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97
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

-what is cloud seeding?

A

-this is the attempt to change the type or amount of precipitation by dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation nuclei (hygroscopic nuclei)

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98
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

  • what is cloud seeding?
  • what is a hygroscopic nuclei?
A

-a microscopic particle in the free air, on to which water vapour may condense to form droplets

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99
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

  • cloud seeding
  • what has research said about this?
A
  • new technology and research claims to have reliable results that make cloud seeding a dependable and affordable water-supply practice for many regions
  • however its effectiveness is still debated
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100
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

  • cloud seeding
  • case study example
A

e. g. Bejing, China - used it just before 2008 Olympic Games to create rain to clear the air of pollution
e. g. Alpine Meadow, California - used to improve snow cover
e. g. Texas - used to reduce the impact of drought

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101
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

-urbanisation

A
  • creates impermeable surfaces that reduce infiltration and increases surface run off and through flow through artificial drains
  • stream and river discharges often increase rapidly as a result
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102
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

  • urbanisation
  • case study example
A

e.g. Winchester and Maidenhead - urbanisation has increased flood risk in many towns and cities 2015 floods

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103
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

  • dams and reservoir construction
  • how does it affect a drainage basin?
A
  • dams increase surface water stores and evaporation and reduce downstream river discharge
  • the flow rate of the river below a dam is restricted
  • water is held behind the dam and often released from some depth, the temp of the water below the dam is usually lower
  • the chemistry of the water is changed - water exiting will be higher in dissolved salts or have lower oxygen levels
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104
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

  • dams and reservoir construction
  • why are the built?
A
  • created to provide electricity without pollution, for flood protection and for making water accessible for agriculture and human needs
  • once they are built, the flow rate of the river below a dam is restricted
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105
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

  • dams and reservoir construction
  • how do reservoirs affect drainage basin?
A
  • reservoirs increase the potential for evaporation from the river
  • reservoir behind a dam causes the velocity if the water to drop
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106
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

  • dams and reservoir construction
  • case study example
A

e. g. Asawm Dam, Egypt
- lake Nasser behind the dam is estimated to have evaporation losses of 10 to 16 bn cubic metres every year
- this represents a loss of 20-30% of the Egyptian water volume from the river nile

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107
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

-Groundwater abstraction/over abstraction

A
  • groundwater can be abstracted from aquifers faster than it is replaced
  • causing reduced groundwater flow and lower water table
  • in some locations, reduced industrial activity or deforestation has increased groundwater storage, increasing the risk of groundwater flooding if the water table reaches the land surface
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108
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

  • Groundwater abstraction/over abstraction
  • case study example
A

e. g. The Aral Sea
- over 90% has disappeared due to over abstraction for irrigating cotton by Soviet Union
- new diseases emerged relating to breathing
- fields planted to make the Soviet Union completely self sufficient in cotton, this consumed the rivers feeding into the sea
- now a pit of sand, salt and pollution - wind brings salt into nearby towns - health problems
- pesticides- used to yield cotton, leached into the rivers, water pollution - health problems

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109
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

-deforestation

A
  • clearance of trees reduces evapotranspiration, but increases infiltration and surface run off
  • the moisture of this evapotranspiration contributes to form rainclouds which releases water back into rainforest
  • less moisture goes into the atmosphere when trees are cut, rainfall declines - leads to droughts
  • the moisture generated by rainforests travels around the world - therefore distance rainforests are important to farmers everywhere
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110
Q

Human factors that affect drainage basins

  • deforestation
  • case study example
A

e. g. Amazonia
- deforestation has affected the drainage basin
- lowered humidities, less precipitation
- more surface run off and infiltration
- more evaporation and less transpiration
- more soil erosion and silt being fed into rivers

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111
Q

aquifer

A

an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock

-groundwater can be extracted by using water well

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112
Q

water table

A

-an underground boundary between the soil surface and the area where groundwater saturates spaces between sediments and cracks in the rocks

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113
Q

salinisation

A
  • occurs when the water in soils evaporates in high temperatures daring salts from the soil to the surface
  • these salts are toxic to many plants and makes the land unusable
  • irrigation of land can cause this
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114
Q

irrigation

A

when water is brought to land that is usually dry

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115
Q

Water budget equation

A 
precipitation = discharge + evapotranspiration + -change in storage 
P = Q + E + -S
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116
Q

What is soil moisture surplus?

A

precipitation is greater than potential evapotranspiration and the soil water store is full so there is a surplus of soil moisture for plant use, runoff and recharging groundwater
-soil is at field capacity

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117
Q

What is soil moisture utilisation?

A

potential evapotranspiration increases and exceeds precipitation, so there is more water evaporating from the ground surface and being transpired by plants than is falling as rain

  • water is drawn up from the soil by capillary action
  • the water is gradually used up
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118
Q

What is soil moisture deficit?

A

the soil water store has been used by high rates of evapotranspiration and low precipitation
-plants can only survive if they are adapted to periods of drought or are irrigated

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119
Q

What is soil moisture recharge?

A

this occurs when potential evapotranspiration decreases so that it is lower than precipitation and the soil starts to fill up again

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120
Q

What is field capacity?

A

the soil is now full of water and cannot hold anymore - further rain could lead to surface run off

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121
Q

What is potential evapotranspiration in relation to water budgets?

A

the amount of evapotranspiration that occurs as a result of temperature and vegetation as long as there is water available

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122
Q

what are river regimes?

A

it describes the annual variation in the discharge of a river at a particular point

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123
Q

what is a simple regime?

examples

A

occur when the river experiences one main factor leading to a period of high and a period of low discharge
e.g. snowmelt in summer or a rainy season

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124
Q

what is a complex regime?

examples

A

more likely to occur in long rivers that cross more than one type of catchment which results in more than one factor influencing the pattern of discharge
e.g. The Mekong river

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125
Q

Example of a complex regime

-why is it classed as complex?

A

e. g. The Mekong River
- has a large catchment so therefore experiences different climates across the basin
- varying terrain and vegetation cover adding to the complexity of the pattern
- passes through mountainous relief close to its source in the Tibetan Plateau
- as well as tropical areas with dense vegetation cover and monsoon climate close to its mouth

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126
Q

Factors that affect river regimes

A
  • size of catchment
  • precipitation
  • temperatures
  • vegetation cover
  • human intervention
  • geology and soil type
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127
Q

Factors that affect river regimes

-size of catchment

A

the larger the catchment area, the greater the discharge and more complex river regime

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128
Q

Factors that affect river regimes

-precipitation

A
  • amount, pattern and intensity
  • seasonal maximum often reflected in regime
  • snow reduces discharge until it melts in the summer
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129
Q

Factors that affect river regimes

-temperatures

A
  • this controls evapotranspiration which will be the greatest in the summer and reduce the discharge
  • glaciers melt in the summer which results in an increase in discharge
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130
Q

Factors that affect river regimes

-vegetation cover

A
  • this is influenced by climate and humans

- the greater the vegetation = less fluctuation in discharge as water is intercepted, utilised and evaporated

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131
Q

Factors that affect river regimes

-human intervention

A

-dam building changes flow and can regulate it

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132
Q

Factors that affect river regimes

-geology and soil type

A
  • water stored in groundwater in permeable rocks steadily feeds the river as base flow all year, reducing fluctuation
  • impermeable will fluctuate more - decreases more in summer
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133
Q

What does the bar chart reflect on a flood hydrographic?

A

precipitation

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134
Q

What does the rising limb show? storm hydrograph

A

water levels rising in the river

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135
Q

What does the basin lag time show? storm hydrograph

A

time between peak rainfall and peak flow (how long the water takes to get to the river)

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136
Q

What does the line graph show? storm hydrograph

A

amount of water in the river (discharge, cumecs)

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137
Q

What does peak flow show? storm hydrograph

A

highest discharge

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138
Q

What does overland flow show? -storm hydrograph

A

water that comes as surface run off/ overland flow

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139
Q

What does recession limb show? storm hydrograph

A

water levels falling in the river

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140
Q

what does through flow show? storm hydrograph

A

water that came through the soil

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141
Q

what does base flow show?

A

water that came through the rocks

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142
Q

features of a flashy hydrograph

A
  • short lag time
  • peak discharge is high
  • rising limb is steep
  • rainfall has reached the river quickly
  • more likely to cause flooding
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143
Q

features of a subdued hydrograph

A
  • long lag time
  • peak discharge is ow
  • rising limb is gentle
  • rainfall has reached river slowly
  • less likely to cause flooding
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144
Q

Physical factors that will increase the chance of flooding

A
  • saturated ground
  • frozen ground
  • steep relief
  • high drainage density
  • circular drainage basin shape
  • more rainfall
  • dry soil
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145
Q

Human factors that will increase the chance of flooding

A
  • impermeable surfaces
  • deforestation
  • urban areas
146
Q

Physical factors that will decrease the chance of flooding

A 
-forest area 
less rainfall 
-hot temperatures 
-permeable surfaces 
-elongated basin shape 
-low drainage density 
-flat land 
-dry soil
147
Q

Human factors that will decrease the chance of flooding

A
  • rural area

- afforestation

148
Q

How does dry ground decrease chance of flooding?

A
  • normally dry ground would have lots of pore spaces
  • therefore would encourage infiltration to occur until the soil becomes saturated again
  • unless the precipitation is bigger than infiltration capacity
149
Q

How does dry ground increase chance of flooding?

A
  • sometimes the dry ground may have experienced high evapotranspiration which may have drawn salts up through the soil via capillary action
  • left a salty crust on the surface, making it initially impermeable until washed away
150
Q

Factors that affect the discharge of a river and the shape of a storm hydrograph

A
  • drainage basin size
  • drainage basin shape
  • drainage basin relief
  • soil type
  • rock type
  • drainage density
  • natural vegetation
  • land use
  • precipitation intensity
  • precipitation duration
  • snowfall
  • evapotranspiration
151
Q

Factors that affect the discharge of a river and the shape of a storm hydrograph

  • drainage basin size
  • conditions likely to produce a flashy graph
  • conditions likely to produce a subdued graph
A
  • smalls basins - water will reach the channel rapidly, as it has shorter distance to travel
  • large basins - water will take longer to reach the channel as it has a greater distance to travel
152
Q

Factors that affect the discharge of a river and the shape of a storm hydrograph

  • drainage basin shape
  • conditions likely to produce a flashy graph
  • conditions likely to produce a subdued graph
A
  • circular basins - it will take less time for the water to reach the channel, as all the extremities are equidistant from the channel
  • elongated basins - water will take a long time to reach the channel from the extremities of the drainage basin
153
Q

Factors that affect the discharge of a river and the shape of a storm hydrograph

  • drainage basin relief
  • conditions likely to produce a flashy graph
  • conditions likely to produce a subdued graph
A
  • steep slopes - water flows rapidly downhill and reaches the channel quickly
  • gentle slopes - water can infiltrate into the ground and travel slowly to the channel through the soil and rock
154
Q

Factors that affect the discharge of a river and the shape of a storm hydrograph

  • soil type
  • conditions likely to produce a flashy graph
  • conditions likely to produce a subdued graph
A
  • clay soils and thin soils- clay soils have low porosity and the grains swell when they absorb water, so water infiltrates slowly. Thin soil becomes saturated quickly
  • sandy soils and thick soils - sandy soils have high porosity so the water can infiltrate. Deep soils allow more infiltration
155
Q

Factors that affect the discharge of a river and the shape of a storm hydrograph

  • rock type
  • conditions likely to produce a flashy graph
  • conditions likely to produce a subdued graph
A
  • impermeable rocks - water cannot percolate into the rock, increasing surface run off to rivers
  • permeable rocks - water percolates through pore spaces and fissures into the groundwater store
156
Q

Factors that affect the discharge of a river and the shape of a storm hydrograph

  • drainage density
  • conditions likely to produce a flashy graph
  • conditions likely to produce a subdued graph
A
  • high drainage density - a large number of surface streams per km squared means the storm water will reach the main channel rapidly
  • low drainage density - a small number of surface streams per km squared means the water travels slowly through the soil and rocks to the river
157
Q

Factors that affect the discharge of a river and the shape of a storm hydrograph

  • natural vegetation
  • conditions likely to produce a flashy graph
  • conditions likely to produce a subdued graph
A
  • thin grass - intercepts little water and there is little loss by evapotranspiration so more water reaches the channel rapidly
  • forest and woodland - intercepts water and has high rates of evapotranspiration, so less water reaches the channel and more slowly
158
Q

Factors that affect the discharge of a river and the shape of a storm hydrograph

  • land use
  • conditions likely to produce a flashy graph
  • conditions likely to produce a subdued graph
A
  • urban - urban surfaces have more hard surfaces such as roads and drains that carry the water rapidly and directly to the river
  • rural - vegetated surfaces intercept water and allow infiltration so water travels slowly to the river channel
159
Q

Factors that affect the discharge of a river and the shape of a storm hydrograph

  • precipitation intensity
  • conditions likely to produce a flashy graph
  • conditions likely to produce a subdued graph
A
  • high intensity - when rain falls faster than the infiltration capacity, surface run off occurs and transports the water rapidly to the channel
  • low intensity - water can infiltrate into the soil and then travel slowly through the soil to the river channel
160
Q

Factors that affect the discharge of a river and the shape of a storm hydrograph

  • precipitation duration
  • conditions likely to produce a flashy graph
  • conditions likely to produce a subdued graph
A
  • prolonged - the water table rises and the soil becomes saturated causing surface run off which travels to the river channel
  • short duration - most of the water infiltrates into the soil and travels slowly through the soil into the rocks before reaching the channel
161
Q

Factors that affect the discharge of a river and the shape of a storm hydrograph

  • snowfall
  • conditions likely to produce a flashy graph
  • conditions likely to produce a subdued graph
A
  • fast snowmelt - meltwater cannot infiltrate into the frozen ground, so it flows rapidly over the surface into the river channel
  • slow snowmelt - the ground thaws with the snow, so the meltwater can infiltrates into the soil and rocks before reaching the channel
162
Q

Factors that affect the discharge of a river and the shape of a storm hydrograph

  • evapotranspiration
  • conditions likely to produce a flashy graph
  • conditions likely to produce a subdued graph
A
  • low rates - fewer losses from the drainage basin system will increase discharge into the river channel
  • high rates - high evapotranspiration losses will reduce discharge into the river channel
163
Q

What are planners roles in the hydrological cycle?

A
  • they are required to determine whether any proposed developments will influence flood risk with the change in land use
  • The National Planning Policy Framework set out strict guidelines in England
164
Q

What do planner depend their decisions on?

A

decisions vary depending on how much weight I given to environmental factors versus those favouring economic development - this increases the likelihood of higher flow and faster response time as it alters the rivers flow

165
Q

What are SUDS systems?

A

Sustainable drainage systems

-these have been introduced to reduce run off produced

166
Q

What are some examples of SUDS systems?

A
  • green roofs
  • infiltration basins
  • permeable pavements
  • rainwater harvesting
  • soak away
  • filter drains
  • detention basins
  • wetlands
167
Q

What are some examples of SUDS systems?

-green roofs

A

vegetation cover planted over a waterproof membrane

168
Q

What are some examples of SUDS systems?

-infiltration basins

A

shallow depressions dug out to delay run off and increase infiltration

169
Q

What are some examples of SUDS systems?

-permeable pavements

A

to delay runoff by using gaps between pavement slabs

170
Q

What are some examples of SUDS systems?

-rainwater harvesting

A

collecting rainwater from roofs to be recycled e.g. for irrigation gardens

171
Q

What are some examples of SUDS systems?

-soak away

A

a channel dug out to disperse surface water into the ground

172
Q

What are some examples of SUDS systems?

-filter drains

A

trenches filled with gravel to take run off away

173
Q

What are some examples of SUDS systems?

-detention basins

A

to delay storm runoff for a few hours

174
Q

What are some examples of SUDS systems?

-wetlands

A

retention areas with marsh/wetland vegetation

175
Q

what are the different types of drought?

A
  • meteorological drought
  • agricultural drought
  • hydrological drought
  • socio/economic/famine drought
176
Q

what are the different types of drought?

-meteorological drought

A

-occurs when long term precipitation is lower than normal (region specific)

177
Q

what are the different types of drought?

-agricultural drought

A

insufficient soil moisture to meet the crops needs

178
Q

what are the different types of drought?

-hydrological drought

A

deficiencies in surface and sub surface supplies

-rivers, reservoirs, lakes and groundwater - can lead to salinisation in high temps

179
Q

3 main causes of meteorological drought

A
  • global atmospheric circulation system and the ITCZ
  • mid latitude blocking anticyclones
  • El Nino southern oscillation cycle
180
Q

What does air do at the equator?

A

air rises leading to low pressure and rainfall
- when air reaches the edge of the atmosphere, it cant go any further so it travels north and south 30 degrees and fall creating high pressure areas

181
Q

what does air do 30 degrees north and south of the equator?

A

the air becomes colder and denser and falls creating an area of high pressure and dry conditions at around 30 degrees north and south

182
Q

what does air do at 60 degrees north and south of the equator?

A

air rises again at 60 degrees north and south and descends again at poles

183
Q

How does the Hadley cell work?

A
  • At the equator the ground is intensely heated by the sun which causes the air to rise creating an area of low pressure
  • as air rises, forms thick cumulonimbus clouds and air continues to rise up to upper atmosphere
  • air separates and starts to move both north and south. towards poles
  • when It reaches 30 - ccc - forms sub tropical high p
  • the air completes the cycle and flows back towards the equator as trade winds
184
Q

What are the Northern hemisphere winds called and why do they do this?

A

the winds flow to the right and are called northeast trade winds
-due to coriolis force and friction

185
Q

What are the Southern hemisphere winds called and why do they do this?

A

the winds flow to the left and are called southeast trade winds
-due to Coriolis force and friction

186
Q

Why are high pressure areas prone to droughts?

A
  • the sub-tropical high pressure zone (STR sub tropical ridge) associated with the descending Hadley cell air blocks the high humidity, rain bearing air masses that arrive with the ITCZ
  • this is because it is very dense and stable which can cause severe drought in areas like the Sahel
187
Q

features of an anticyclone

A
  • air falls
  • winds move clockwise and are gentle
  • high pressure area
  • dry weather - hot in summer and very cold in winter
  • very stable, not easily moved and can stay put for several weeks
188
Q

How do mid-latitude blocking anticyclones form?

A
  • in mid latitudes, frontal precipitation is created in low pressure systems that form along polar front where warm tropical air rises over cold polar air
  • depressions move from west to east in the mid lat due to coriolis force and their track is directed by the polar front jet streams
  • the loops of the jet stream sometimes stabilise or even break up and this allows high pressure areas from subtropics to move northwards
  • anticyclones bring stale weather conditions with very little precipitation
  • the rain bearing depressions are pushed around them usually to north but sometimes to south -causing drought In mid latitude countries
  • the stability of anticyclones means they can persist and block weather systems from the west for up to two weeks
  • if this is repeated over the space of 2 months - normal precipitation levels are reduced and may cause drought
189
Q

Human influences on drought

A
  • deforestation -reduces evapotranspiration
  • poverty - land over-use, marginal land use
  • over cultivation and over grazing
  • development
  • population rise
  • growing affluence of a population - increases demand
  • climate change
  • over abstraction of groundwater (hydrological drought)
190
Q

What is the drought risk from human activities?

A
  • human responses to water shortages influence water levels in reservoirs, aquifers and rivers
  • people have directly affected the development of droughts by abstracting water from rivers and groundwater
  • and by reducing the supply of water by building reservoirs and water transfers
  • humans are indirectly affected the developments of droughts by changing land uses and altering hydrological processes
191
Q

How does deforestation and over grazing affect drought risk?

A
  • reduces vegetation cover
  • reduces evapotranspiration rates and thereby reducing atmospheric moisture and precipitation
  • the removal of vegetation also changes soil conditions through compaction and reduces organic matter and moisture retention
  • this reduces infiltration and increases surface run off which reduces soil moisture content and water storage
192
Q

positive feedback

A

a cyclical sequence of events that amplifies or increases change

193
Q

negative feedback

A

a cyclical sequence of events that damps down or neutralises the effects of a system

194
Q

Albedo

A

a measure of how much light that hits a surface is reflected without being absorbed

195
Q

What are the 2 components of an ecosystem?

A

Abiotic

biotic

196
Q

abiotic factors

A

non-living

  • water
  • soil
  • rocks
  • atmosphere
197
Q

Biotic factors

A

living

  • plants
  • animals
  • fungi
198
Q

What are the processes that occur between components?

A 
nutrient cycling 
hydro cycle 
weathering 
food webs 
-these make up the functioning of the ecosystem
199
Q

Ecosystem functioning

A

the biological, chemical and physical processes that take place within an ecosystem

200
Q

Resilience

A

is the capacity of an ecosystem to recover from disturbance or withstand ongoing pressure

201
Q

What are the impacts of drought on a wetland ecosystem functioning?

A
  • less river and groundwater flow into the wetlands lead to areas of open water shrinking and drying up leading to habitat loss
  • wetland less able to provide clean water for streams
  • organic soils oxidise and break down releasing carbon into atmosphere
  • concentrations of pollutants increase, further reducing populations of different species
  • less resilient species may be eliminated from the ecosystem affecting the food web
  • persistent dry conditions can encourage wild fires
  • soil moisture reduces and soil dries out, becoming vulnerable to erosion and then less able to store water in times of flood
  • loss of food supply for non aquatic birds are less able to find invertebrates
    e. g. Minsmere, Suffolk
202
Q

Impacts of drought on rainforest ecosystem functioning

A
  • supplies water to people
  • drought can occur in west of the US which can help to create wild fires
  • caused large insect outbreaks which is deadly to millions of trees and making them more prone to fires
203
Q

Functions and services of rainforest

A
  • water storage
  • regulation of hydrological cycle
  • timber production
  • wildlife habitat
  • carbon sequestration
  • recreational opportunities
204
Q

What is the resilience of rainforest from drought?

A
  • living trees take an average of 2-4 years to recover and resume normal growth rates following a period of drought
  • resilience to drought was lower for some species (pine) which keeps using water at a a high rate
205
Q

What is the long term effect of drought on trees?

A
  • foliage loss
  • impairing growth
  • increased accumulation of pests and diseases
  • lashing damage to vascular tissues
  • impairing water transport
206
Q

What is fluvial flooding?

A

-river flooding

discharge exceeds banks full of discharge and overflows from the river

207
Q

What is pluvial flooding?

A
  • surface flooding
  • urban flooding where the drains overflow and water comes up
  • water table rising to the surface creates ground saturation which results in saturated overland flow and groundwater flooding
  • infiltration excess flooding - rain is falling faster than infiltration capacity rate
208
Q

What is a depression?

A

a low pressure weather system which causes frontal rain as warm air from the warm front is forced to rise over cold air from the cold front

209
Q

Where do depressions move?

A

-they move eastwards across the Atlantic to the UK because jet-streams move them

210
Q

How are depressions shown on a synoptic chart and a satellite image?

A
  • the cold front is blue with triangles, warm front is red with semi circles, black circular lines are isobars which are close together
  • they look like a swirling cloud
211
Q

How can depressions lead to flooding?

A
  • steady rain can lead to saturated overland flow
  • intense rain can lead to infiltration excess overland flow
  • if the jet stream stays put over a region for a longer period of time - this place can receive more depressions than usual and therefore be at greater risk of flooding
212
Q

What might climate change do to the jet streams?

example of flood caused by depression

A
  • there is uncertainty
  • it has been suggested that the jet stream may become weaker as the Arctic warms and the tropics expand
  • meaning it may stay put over areas for longer period time leading to more extreme conditions
    e. g. Cumbria floods in 2015 Storm Desmond
213
Q

How does snowmelt lead to flooding?

A
  • snow and ice responsible for flooding in mountain ranges and in higher latitudes
  • melting snow in late spring creates flooding in the continental interiors of Asia and America
  • the quick transition from winter to spring upstream causes rapid snow melting, while their lower reaches remain frozen with limited infiltration
  • flood water is often held up by temporary ice dams
  • sometimes rain falls on melting snow when a rapid thaw occurs and this combination can cause heavy flooding
214
Q

How climate change could be affecting the jet stream?

A
  • the rapid melting arctic is new disturbing the jet stream
  • the northern Hemisphere’s jet stream moves from west to east in the mid latitudes between hot tropicals and cold arctic
  • the strongest winds are concentrated in a band - not fixed - brings storms
  • climate change has increased temps in tropics, when jet streams move north to Uk, experience unusually hot temps
  • some suggest that rapidly warming arctic is weakening the jet b y reducing the contrast between the tropical and polar air
  • as a result, the jet meanders more to the north and south, and these meanders can remain fixed over one location for longer
215
Q

How do monsoons bring rain and flooding to parts of Asia?

A

-the itcz moves north in the summer and south in winter and causes the Asian Monsoon season

216
Q

Monsoon

A

describes the seasonal reversals of wind direction, caused by temperatures between the land and sea

217
Q

How do monsoons occur in spring/summer in Asia?

A
  • large land masses heat up rapidly, drawing humid air in from the surrounding ocean
  • as the moisture laden air reaches the warm. land, it rises ad the moisture condenses as rain
  • warmer land (low pressure and rise)
  • Cooler ocean (high pressure - cool air sinks)
218
Q

How do monsoons occur in winter in Asia?

A
  • land mass becomes cooler than the surrounding ocean
  • cold, dry air flows. from the land out over the ocean
  • cooler land (high pressure - sinks)
  • warm ocean (low pressure -warm rises)
219
Q

How is the monsoon over India formed?

A

due to intense solar heating in late spring as the solar maximum moves north from the equator

220
Q

How is climate change thought to change monsoons?

A
  • suggested an increase in monsoon rainfall on a seasonal mean due to warming. over the Indian Ocean which. allows more moisture to be carries to India
  • the variability of rainfall on shorter time scales has bigger impacts - intense heavy rainfall leads to flooding - breaks in the monsoon of a week or more lead to water shortages and agricultural drought
221
Q

Human causes and impacts of increased flood risk

A
  • floodplain drainage
  • deforestation and removal of natural vegetation
  • mismanagement of rivers using hard engineering
  • urbanisation
222
Q

Human causes and impacts of increased flood risk

-floodplain drainage

A
  • done to provide land for agriculture or expand or urban areas
  • this reduces the natural storage capacity of the floodplain especially where natural wetlands are lost
  • land also shrinks when it is drained making it more low lying and vulnerable to flooding
223
Q

Human causes and impacts of increased flood risk
-deforestation and removal of natural vegetation
examples

A
  • for agriculture and urbanisation
  • reduces interception and evapotranspiration
  • increases surface run off (saturated overland flow) and resulting in discharge reaching the river quicker (flashy graph)
  • increases soil erosion, resulting in higher sediment deposition and load in channels - reducing river capacity increasing flood risk
    e. g. deforestation in Nepal and Tibet is increasing flood risk in Bangladesh from the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers
224
Q

Human causes and impacts of increased flood risk

-mismanagement of rivers using hard engineering

A
  • using these structures can sometimes just transfer the flood problem elsewhere
  • building artificial levees increase channel capacity but precipitation is funnelled downstream instead
225
Q

Human causes and impacts of increased flood risk

  • mismanagement of rivers using hard engineering
  • example
A

e. g. The river Mississippi
- where channelisation (altering of channels, making it wider, deeper and straighter) and levees have actually increased flood risk by constricting the water and putting pressure on the levees until they burst (1993 and 2011)

226
Q

Human causes and impacts of increased flood risk

-urbanisation

A
  • expansion of impermeable surfaces (roads, roofs, patios) increases surface run off into rivers via the urban drainage system
  • lag times are reduced as drainage systems aim to deliver water quickly to water courses so that streets don’t flood
227
Q

Economic factors impacting flooding in the UK

A
  • structural damage to building and infrastructure (bridges)
  • lower property values
  • higher insurance premiums/refusals of insurance
  • loss of livelihoods (farming, factories)
  • drop in tourism
228
Q

Environmental factors impacting flooding in the UK

A
  • natural moderate floods can be beneficial to wetland ecosystems by encouraging nutrient dispersal, breeding and migration
  • recharge of groundwater supplies
  • environments already degraded by human activities, flooding becomes more negative
  • excessive overland flow brings too much sediment and washes too many nutrients into ecosystems leading to eutrophication or pollution from chemicals which degrade ecosystems
229
Q

Social factors impacting flooding in the UK

A
  • stress and grief
  • sewage mixing with flood water creating secondary hazard (diseases)
  • tropical countries - poisonous snakes
230
Q

How does snowmelt lead to flooding?

-Case study - York

A

-spring floods are frequently intensified by rapid snow melt in the higher parts of the River Ouse catchment

231
Q

How does snowmelt lead to flooding?

- case study - Himalayas

A
  • spring floods occurs as ice dams melt leading to catastrophic draining of glacial lakes
  • sometimes the flooding is exacerbated by landslides or earthquake induced dam failure
232
Q

How does snowmelt lead to flooding?

- case study -iceland

A

-glacial outburst floods are particularly frequent because of activity, which generates melt water beneath the ice sheets and acts as a trigger for ice instability and the sudden release of melt water - jokulhlaup

233
Q

When does rapid snowmelt occur?

A

when temps soar upstream but ground remains frozen downstream, reducing infiltration

234
Q

what are teleconnections linked with El Niño?

A

refers to the climate anomalies that relate to each other over large distractions
-ENSO cycles have been connected with climate anomalies across the world

235
Q

Impacts of the teleconnections - affect on marine life and animals

A
  • in the ocean warm water pushes colder water downwards blocking the important upwelling of nutrient rich water from the bottom
  • this causes some marine life to migrate to colder waters
  • animals that normally feed on the sea life suffer and fisheries throughout central and South America suffered
236
Q

Impacts of the teleconnections - storms

A

-in the western US and central and South America, the warm air and moisture lead to increase storms, rainfalls, floods, loss of life and property and increase to some vector prone diseases like Malaria - even in places that it doesn’t normally occur

237
Q

Impacts of the teleconnections - in Southeast Asia and Australia

A

-the opposite takes place, these areas suffer from droughts, wildfires, and colder oceans

238
Q

What is the effect of climate change on the hydrological cycle?

A
  • precipitation
  • run off leading to flooding
  • ice
  • Permafrost
  • reservoir, lake and wetland storage
  • snow
  • soil moisture stores leading to drought.
239
Q

What is the effect of climate change on the hydrological cycle?
-precipitation

A
  • will increase precipitation intensity
  • large amount of water will fall in a shorter length of time
  • length, intensity and frequency of heatwaves in Southern Europe has increased
  • rain instead of snow
  • warmer atmosphere has more water holding capacity
240
Q

What is the effect of climate change on the hydrological cycle?
-run off to flooding

A
  • there will be an increase in extremes - more low flows and more high flows
  • more intense rainfall will increase run off rates and reduce infiltration
241
Q

What is the effect of climate change on the hydrological cycle?
-ice

A
  • glaciers. have retreated with down wasting
  • thinning of a glacier due to the melting of the ice
  • due to rapid increase in temp and more rain/little snow
  • tropical altitude glaciers retreated the most (The Andes) - lowering flow from decreasing cryosphere supply
242
Q

What is the effect of climate change on the hydrological cycle?
-Permafrost

A
  • physical changes of climate at high altitudes
  • this increases air and ocean temperatures leading to Permafrost degradation
  • deepening of the active layer
  • impacts groundwater supplies and relapses methane from thaw lakes
  • leads to positive feedback and accelerating change
243
Q

What is the effect of climate change on the hydrological cycle?
-reservoir, lake and water storage

A
  • changes in wetland storage are occurring

- wetlands are affected where there are decreasing water volumes and higher temperatures

244
Q

What is the effect of climate change on the hydrological cycle?
-snow

A
  • length of snow cover season has decreased

- spring melt has occurred earlier

245
Q

What is the effect of climate change on the hydrological cycle?
-soil moisture leading to drought

A
  • where precipitation increases - soil moisture increases
  • warmer temperatures have led to increased drying of the land surface - increased severity of droughts
  • The Sahel
246
Q

Why is there uncertainty over the future changes?

A
  • unknown tipping point
  • complexity of the atmospheric system (The ENSO cycles and sunspot activity) complicates data
  • insufficient and incomplete data
  • inconsistent results of climate models
  • uncertainty about amounts of carbon will be released and the effect will. have on temps and rainfall
  • population, development, technology, new reserves
247
Q

Water insecurity

A

when present and future water supplies cannot be guaranteed

248
Q

absolute water scarcity

A

renewable water supplies from rivers, aquifers and lakes become very low (less than 500 m3 per person per year) Leading to widespread restrictions

249
Q

Physical water scarcity

A

if a country’s renewable freshwater supply falls to below 1000m3 per person per year

250
Q

Water stress

A

if a country’s renewable freshwater supply is between 1000 and 1700m3 per person per year

251
Q

Economic water scarcity

A

when clean water in unaffordable even if its available

252
Q

Renewable water

A

The total amount of a country’s water resources (internal and external resources) both surface water and groundwater, which is generates through the hydrological cycle

253
Q

Fossil water

A

Ancient groundwater stored in an aquifer no longer replenished. Once used, it will not regenerate (non renewable).

254
Q

Physical factors that cause water stress and scarcity

A
  • ENSO cycles
  • sub tropical ridge
  • Anticyclones
  • Climate change
  • Salt water encroachment
255
Q

Physical factors that cause water stress and scarcity

-sub tropical ridge

A
  • the sub tropical ridge is the descending Hadley cell air

- this blocks the low pressure from ITCZ = drought and water scarcity

256
Q

Physical factors that cause water stress and scarcity

-anticyclones

A

-blocking anticyclones in the northern hemisphere

257
Q

Physical factors that cause water stress and scarcity

-climate change

A
  • this is a human cause however it is impacting the hydrological cycle and therefore water scarcity
  • this will increase variability in precipitation patterns
  • changes in run off, aquifer recharge and water quality
  • the warmer climate will increase evaporation rates and transpiration - leading to less effective precipitation
  • the higher temperatures of a warmer climate and localised industrial discharges of warm waste increase many forms of pollution
  • warm water encourage the growth of bacteria = negative on health
  • the quality of water may be affected by sedimentation, nutrient enrichment, dissolved organic carbon , pathogens and pesticides
258
Q

Physical factors that cause water stress and scarcity

-salt water encroachment

A
  • occurs due to over-abstraction of water
  • saltwater contaminating freshwater
  • salt water seeps into the groundwater
259
Q

What is salt water encroachment?

A
  • when water is abstracted from aquifers near the coast
  • more water is abstracted as well as sea level rise, salt water seeps into the ground and into the aquifer
  • slowly contaminating the freshwater supply
260
Q

Human causes of water stress and water scarcity

A
  • increasing population and urbanisation
  • Improving living standards
  • Industrialisation
  • Agriculture
  • low development levels
  • climate change
  • Increasing population and economic growth
261
Q

Human causes of water stress and water scarcity

-low development levels

A
  • lack of investment into making freshwater available and affordable
  • water stress
262
Q

Human causes of water stress and water scarcity

-climate change

A
  • damage to ecosystem
  • decline in water availability
  • water stress
263
Q

Human causes of water stress and water scarcity

-Increasing population and economic growth

A
  • increasing demand for water
  • over abstraction of groundwater and surface stores
  • salt intrusion at the coast
  • water stress
264
Q

Human causes of water stress and water scarcity

-Increasing population and urbanisation

A
  • world population estimated to be 9.1bn in 2050
  • water demand is increasing rapidly
  • Increased urbanisation is causing local pressure on the availability of freshwater
  • more than half of world pop live in urban areas
  • this number is predicted to be 6.3bn by 2050
  • urban population in Africa and Asia
265
Q

Human causes of water stress and water scarcity

-improving living standards

A
  • rising incomes and living standards of a growing middle class in developing and emerging countries
  • sharp increase in water use which can be unsustainable
266
Q

Human causes of water stress and water scarcity

  • improving living standards
  • what are the changing consumer trends?
A
  • increase meat consumption
  • building larger homes
  • Increased use of cars, appliances, energy-consumption in production and use
267
Q

Human causes of water stress and water scarcity

-Industrialisation

A
  • water demand for manufacturing would increase by 400% from 2000 to 2050
  • most increase in emerging and developing
  • polluted water has increased due to industrial spillage and poor waste management
268
Q

Human causes of water stress and water scarcity

-agriculture

A
  • largest use of water consuming between 70-90%
  • 2050 - 60% more food will need to be produced to meet the demands of the growing population
  • Increases in agricultural demands for freshwater are unsustainable
269
Q

Human causes of water stress and water scarcity

  • agriculture
  • What are the insufficient crop production processes?
A
  • depleting aquifers and reducing river flow
  • degrading wildlife habitats
  • Increasing pesticide and fertiliser pollution as they seen into the groundwater
  • causing water-logging and increased salinity
270
Q

Case studies of human factors that cause water stress

A

-Aral Sea - over abstraction from surface store and disrupting the drainage basin cycle
-Brazil - over abstraction from groundwater, illegal wells exacerbating the droughts of 2015
Florida - salt water intrusion

271
Q

What affects the price of water in a country?

A
  • supply and demand - water scarcity or large population
  • Infrastructure and investment
  • government subsidies and taxes
  • publicly or privately run
272
Q

What five measures does the WPI use to indicate levels of water insecurity?

A
  • resources - physical availability of water and its quality
  • access - for safe water for human use
  • capacity - effective water management for affordability
  • use - different purposes
  • environment - water management for sustainability
273
Q

What are the problems with investment and infrastructure with water?

A
  • providing access to clean water involves construction and maintenance of robust infrastructure systems
  • these services are expensive and therefore difficult for many developing nations to provide -
  • this is worse in area of poverty and high population density
274
Q

Why is water price high in some developing countries?

A

-some rely on street vendors where the cost can be up to x100 more than if its was supplied to the home

275
Q

How has privatisation impacted price of water?

A
  • in the 1980s, the world bank and IMF gave loans that required many developing countries to privatise their water system
  • In hope that completion would reduce costs
  • many of these projects have been cancelled due to public pressure as the price of water became unaffordable for a large portion of the population
276
Q

How do colonial governments impact water price?

A
  • colonial governments installed limited infrastructure to cover what were at the time small cities
  • massive urban growth has not outgrown the limited infrastructure and the IMF restricts governments spending on services such as water
277
Q

Price of water - privatisation case study

A

Bolivia - in 1999 Bechtel took over water control in exchange for debt relief for the Bolivian government

  • the price immediately rose so that is cost 20% of the average income
  • people protested for four days and the government cancelled the contract
  • this impact of this is that it led to growing demand fro popular control of Bolivia’s natural resources - Gas wars in 2003 and 2005
278
Q

Price of water -subsidies case study

A

Canada

  • water is 80% cheaper than Germany
  • water is generally over consumed and under priced
  • water is publicly owned and operated
  • Industry use is very high
279
Q

price of water - taxes case study

A

Denmark

  • freshwater prices are the highest in the world
  • Psychological effect on consumers
  • theory is that when consumers pay high costs they appreciate the scarcity and value of water
  • led to water being saved
  • water consumption in dairy farms and agriculture have fallen dramatically
  • some food companies are struggling and the difference in the water prices between Denmark and other countries is distorting competition within the food industry
280
Q

What is the importance of water supply for economic development?

A
  • improvements in water quality improve sanitation, as well as personal and food hygiene
  • lower medical costs and lower days of work
  • Improved sanitation in school especially for girls
  • Improves school attendance
  • Improved education, improve career opportunities
  • leads to reduced poverty
281
Q

What is the importance of water supply for quality of life?

A
  • with better access to water and water quality, improves sanitation as well as personal and food hygiene
  • 26% reduction in diarrhoea
  • 65% reduction of death from diarrhoea
  • Improvements to health, reduces poverty as they are able to go to work
282
Q

Madagascar’s water supply

A
  • bad drought -people don’t have enough to eat
  • enough food - don’t understand what they need to be eating
  • 90% if people don’t have a toilet and half don’t have access to clean drinking
  • agriculture employs 80% of the pop, but the country does not grow enough food to feed them
  • has one of the highest rates of stunting - a condition caused by chronic malnutrition during the first 1,000 days of life
  • children not growing physically or cognitively
  • poor health, impacts school and employment in later life
  • half of all under fives are stunted
283
Q

importance of water supply for economic sustainability

A

-water needed for manufacturing and industry - these water supplies needs to be reliable and predictable to support financially sustainable investments in economic activities

284
Q

What is demand for manufacturing doing to water supply?

A
  • global water demand for these industrial activities are increasing
  • demand for manufacturing industry is expected to increase by 400% between 2000 and 2050
  • mostly in emerging and developing
285
Q

What is demand for energy doing to water supply?

A

demand is increasing

-energy production is water intensive which increases stress on freshwater sources

286
Q

How does industrial production impact water supply?

A
  • In localised areas where water use for industrial production is not well regulated or enforced, pollution would increase
  • Increasing economic activity with the degradation of environmental services
287
Q

How does access to water supplies affect families in cycle of poverty?

A
  • it is critical for a families health and social dignity
  • access to water for economic productive uses such as agriculture or family run businesses is critical for generating income and contributing to overall economic productivity
288
Q

How does investment into water affect the cycle of poverty?

A

-investment in improved water management and sanitation services can help reduce poverty and sustain economic growth through better health, reduced health costs, increased productivity and time savings

289
Q

What has lead to disproportionate impacts on the poor and on women and children from water?

A

Limited realisation that there is inequality with it although it is a human right to have water

290
Q

What is the importance of water for environmental sustainability?

A
  • half of all wetlands have been lost - these reduce floods, store water, provide direct economic benefits
  • forested highlands recharge aquifers and ensure clean water flow for agriculture and hydropower
291
Q

What are the main impacts on the environmental sustainability? water supply

A

-urban sprawl, urbanisation, over-abstraction, agriculture, deforestation, pollution
all undermine an environments capacity to sustain itself

292
Q

What accelerates water quality degradation?

A

degreased water systems that have difficulty regulating and restoring themselves, losing resilience which accelerates water quality degradation and reduces water availability for nature and people

293
Q

Salton Sea - southeastern California

A
  • the sea has a productive ecosystem with fish in water and invertebrates in muds
  • providing a food source for over 400 species
  • sea water falling due to evaporation exceeding inflow
  • causing salinity levels to increase
  • water demands are increasing in California so water that should reach the sea is diverted to agriculture
294
Q

Transboundary water sources

A

crosses more than one border

295
Q

Why are there many potential water conflicts over water around the world?

A
  • dams, water pollution , water abstraction are always that upstream countries can affect water supply for downstream countries
  • 40% of the world’s population lives within a river or lake drainage basin that extends over 2 or more countries
  • there are 300 transboundary aquifers
296
Q

why do more developed countries often get their own way over less developed countries?

A
  • 158 of the 263 transboundary water basins lack any type of cooperative management framework
  • there are 263 transboundary lakes which account for 60% of the global freshwater flow
  • developed countries have more money to invest into infrastructure and technology which therefore only benefits itself
297
Q

transboundary conflict - the river nile - facts

A
  • longest river in the world
  • goes through 11 countries
  • 2 major tributaries
  • flows through semi-arid and arid areas - increases importance of water resources due to scarcity
298
Q

transboundary conflict - the river nile - importance of the nile

A
  • provides for domestic use, industrial use and agricultural use
  • important for Sudan and Egypt - 95% of Egypt’s water needs
299
Q

transboundary conflict - the river nile - why is there increasing pressure on it?

A
  • population growth
  • economic development
  • climate change
300
Q

transboundary conflict - the river nile -the different conflicts 1929

A

1929 - nile agreement between the uk and Egypt - granted significant water allocations to Sudan and Egypt making no allowance for water needs of other nile states

  • granted Egypt veto power over construction power and projects
  • upstream countries are increasingly harvesting the waters to meet the needs of their growing populations and economies
301
Q

transboundary conflict - the river nile -the different conflicts 1999

A

-nile basin initiative was made to enhance cooperation over the use of the nile water sources

302
Q

transboundary conflict - the river nile -the different conflicts 2010

A

many countries signed the cooperative framework agreement which was strongly opposed by Egypt and Sudan

303
Q

transboundary conflict - the river nile -the different conflicts 2011

A

Ethiopia announced the construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile
-Egyptian livelihoods may suffer due to Higher reliance on agriculture

304
Q

transboundary conflict - the river nile -the different conflicts 2015

A

Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan made an agreement at the new dam - Still haven’t solved the border cvnttiius issues of sharing the nile

305
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - Gilgel Gibe III Dam - facts

A
  • $1.8bn project began in 2018
  • started to generate electricity in 2015
  • became the 3rd largest HEP plant in Africa
  • cash crops planted around the river
306
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - Gilgel Gibe III Dam - social impacts

A
  • potentially devastating to the downstream indigenous people - will prevent seasonal floods
  • more than 200,000 people rely on the Omo River below the river dam for subsistence farming - depend on seasonal floods to replenish the dry soils for planting
  • tribes people are armed to defend themselves against neighbouring tribes - there are fears that water shortages could cause violent conflict
307
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - Gilgel Gibe III Dam - What are the benefits of this dam?

A

-artificial floods can be released from the reservoir and irrigation projects are planned for massive sugar and cotton plantations - which will improve livelihoods of downstream people

308
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - Gilgel Gibe III Dam - What are the conflicts?

A
  • may only benefit Ethiopian state owned companies - report of human rights violations made by army against people who oppose the sugar plantains
  • 2011 - UNESCO’s world heritage committee made the construction be halted to investigate the impact on a nearby by world heritage site (Lake Turkana)
  • the dam could reduce water level of lake by 10m - affecting 300,000 people, increasing salinity, threatening drinking water supply, fishing industry and the lake ecosystem
309
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - Turkey, Syria and Iraq - facts

A
  • arid climate with abundant rainfall
  • summer droughts and water shortages in the capital
  • forced the government to embark on the $32bn southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP)
310
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - Turkey, Syria and Iraq- How does this benefit Turkey?

A
  • an attempt to improve incomes in Anatolia the least developed part of Turkey
  • development of an integrated water and energy supply system
311
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - Turkey, Syria and Iraq p what are the conflicts?

A

-impacts Syria and Iraq because it involves damming Euphrates and Tigris Rivers which provides both countries which much of their water

312
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - Turkey, Syria and Iraq - facts about Turkey’s water budget

A
  • 55% lost through evaporation and transportation
  • 14% groundwater
  • 15% is unusable
  • only 16% for use
313
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - Turkey, Syria and Iraq - what are the aims fro GAP?

A
  • construct 22 dams
  • 19 HEP power plants
  • provide irrigation fir 1.7m hectares
  • diversify agriculture into cash crops
  • help Anatolian economy to grow by 400%
314
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - Turkey, Syria and Iraq - what happened?

A
  • Turkey agreed to release water from the Ilisu Dam for Syria
  • Turkey intends to build the Cizre Dam to collect additional water for irrigation before the Tigris crosses the border
  • projections claim that by 2040 the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers will no longer reach the sea - due to dam activity and climate change
315
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - Turkey, Syria and Iraq - impacts

A
  • many riverside towns have been flooded causing many to move to a new city (Hasankeyf)
  • thousands of hectares of farmland have been left uncultivated due to many channels and rivers going dry
  • al-Adel estimates their agricultural production as dropped by half
316
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - Turkey, Syria and Iraq - Iraq’s geopolitical importance

A
  • security experts increasingly argue that resource shortages disrupt communities and create militant recruiting grounds
  • having military defeated ISIS, Iraq says maintaining supremacy against the Islamic group depends on providing the country with a brighter future - water is critical for this
  • 80% of water goes to agriculture - providing for livelihoods for more than a 1/3 of the population
317
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - The Murray-Darling Basin - facts

A
  • located around southeast Australia
  • home to more than 2 million people
  • provides for 75% of Australia’s water
318
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - The Murray-Darling Basin - why is it under threat?

A
  • due to an increase in water abstraction since the 1920s which is not well managed
  • affected by ENSO cycles, annual, seasonal and local variations in rainfall - some areas experience surpluses while others have deficits
  • semi desert areas in south Australia and sub tropical in Queensland
319
Q

transboundary/internal conflict - The Murray-Darling Basin key players

A
  • agriculture - takes the most water and demand is increasing for this
  • irrigation - boosts profits and crops that yield the best returns
  • urban residents - most populated region of southeast Australia
  • industrial - Queensland mining industry
  • indigenous groups - where traditional water rights for aboriginal groups are threatened
320
Q

2 approaches to manage water supply

A
  • technological fixes

- attitudinal fix

321
Q

technological fixes

A

which either involve large scale hard engineering projects or small scale innovations and appropriate technology

322
Q

attitudinal fix

A

which involve people changing their behaviour towards water use to conserve water

323
Q

The sustainability quadrant

A
  • equity and social justice
  • public participation
  • futurity
  • environment
324
Q

The sustainability quadrant - equity and social justice

A
  • doesn’t negatively affect downstream
  • affordable and accessible
  • compensation for those negatively impacted
  • fair distribution of water supply
325
Q

The sustainability quadrant - -public participation

A
  • involves communities in decision making and implementation
  • appropriate technologies used so public can access
326
Q

The sustainability quadrant - futurity

A
  • sense of security - water security
  • economic viability
  • conservation of water supply
327
Q

The sustainability quadrant - environment

A
  • no polluting
  • restoration of lost and damaged ecosystems
  • protection of wetlands
  • minimising local and global environment impacts
328
Q

sustainable water management strategies

A
  • smart irrigation
  • price of water
  • virtual water
  • water recycling
  • rainwater harvesting
329
Q

sustainable water management strategies - smart irrigation

A
  • slow supply of constant water
  • doesn’t waste any as water is going straight to root
  • enables monitoring of crops
  • allows for control of water through technology
330
Q

sustainable water management strategies - price of water

A
  • attitudinal fix

- increasing price of water to reduce water consumption

331
Q

sustainable water management strategies - virtual water

A
  • water scarce countries tries to cut out use of water by importing crops
  • most arid countries uses this
  • instead to use for agricultural use, can use for domestic
332
Q

sustainable water management strategies - water recycling

A

-used recycled sewage water for agriculture or even purifies for drinking

333
Q

sustainable water management strategies - rainwater harvesting

A
  • small/large scale

- collecting rainwater for use

334
Q

The 3 gorges Dam, China
-hard engineering techno-fix mega project
What is it?

A
  • built on the Yangtze river which flows west to east through south china
  • the concrete and steel dam is 2.3km long, 180m high and uses about 510,000 tons of steel.
335
Q

The 3 gorges Dam, China
-hard engineering techno-fix mega project
Positives

A
  • designed to control flooding on the Yangtze, improve water supply by regulating river flow, generating HEP for China’s economic growth and make the river navigable
  • enables surplus water to build up and be diverted to northern china via the south-north transfer project
336
Q

The 3 gorges Dam, China
-hard engineering techno-fix mega project
Negatives

A
  • power generated by 34 generators is equivalent to burning 25 million tons of crude oil
  • very expensive $35bn
  • 632m2 of land flooded to form a reservoir, displacing 1.4m people from 1500 villages
  • water quality effected by waste from industry, sewage and farms
  • decomposing vegetation in the reservoir produces methane which is a strong greenhouse gas
337
Q

The South-north water transfer project, China

-What is it?

A
  • to provide water for the Beijing region of China which has 35% of the population, 40% of the arable land but only 7% is water
  • 3 routes will trader 25bn m3 of water from the Yangtze River to northern China, a western route to the yellow river, an eastern route via a series of lakes and central route
  • due for completion in 2050
  • critics suggest that with better water management, this project is not needed - rainwater harvesting, reduction in water pollution and better irrigation techniques would improve the water supply
338
Q

The South-north water transfer project, China

Positives

A
  • Beijing has similar water scarcity to Saudi Arabia with just 100m3 per person
  • boost economic development in Beijing
  • will reduce abstraction of groundwater (water table has dropped by 300m since the 70s)
339
Q

The South-north water transfer project, China

Negatives

A
  • costs $70bn
  • submerges 370km2 of land
  • 345,000 will be displaced
  • risks draining too much water from south - could cause conflict
  • eastern route runs through heavy industry so likely to become polluted
  • water supply might be expensive for farmers to buy so they will continue to extract groundwater
  • river ecosystems will be affected as natural flooding regimes are changed as floodplains are dried out
340
Q

Israel’s Desalination project

-what is it?

A
  • abstraction of water from the Mediterranean
  • water is either evaporated to leave behind the salts that make seawater unusable or undergoes reverse osmosis, where water is pushed through a membrane to separate it from its salts
341
Q

Israel’s Desalination project

Positives

A
  • can provide a reliable supply for large settlements
  • 5 plants opened in 2013, aiming to provide 70% of Israel’s domestic water supplies by 2020
  • some plant do use solar power
  • produces up to 6000 tonnes of potable water per hour
342
Q

Israel’s Desalination project

Negatives

A
  • each plant requires its own power station in order to boil the water, contributing to carbon emissions - some do use solar power
  • produces vast amounts of brine that needs to be release back into sea or disposed of which can potentially harm ecosystems
343
Q

Water players

A
  • domestic consumers
  • agriculture
  • The UN
  • Environmental agency
  • the EU
344
Q

Water players - the UN - UNECE

A

The un economic commission for Europe water convention

  • protect and ensure the quantity, quality and sustainable use of trans-boundary water resources
  • helps with cooperation and resolving issues
  • establisehd in 1992-1996
  • to restore water issues
  • adopt the integrated water presence management at basin scale
345
Q

Water players - the UN - UNECE

What is the IRWM policy?

A
  • sets out that water resources are an integral component of ecosystems natural water sources and socio-economic good
  • promotes co-ordinated management of water and land in a sustainable way
346
Q

Water players - the EU

A
  • water framework and directive and hydropower, agreed in Berlin in 2000
  • set targets to restore river, lakes and canals to a good condition
  • requires basin wide assessments of all risks to natural environments posed by new developments
347
Q

Water players - national government agencies

A
  • checks compliance with EU framework - many will change post Brexit
  • manage coastal flood risk
  • manage waste
348
Q

What is integrated drainage basin management?

A

-the world bank stated that the management of basins should involve all players, with lots of cooperation to ensure every player benefits

349
Q

Water management - Uganda - What did NGO do?

A
  • WaterAid – an international non-governmental organisation

- raises funds to improve access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene

350
Q

Water management - Uganda

-facts

A

Kitayita village -

  • 3,000 people lack access to safe water
  • local builders- been trained in the construction of rainwater harvesting jars -made from locally available materials (made by covering wooden mould with mud, letting it dry and then encasing it in concrete).
  • objective is to help the community construct on-site water supplies, close to home, removing need for people to travel long distances across difficult terrain to collect water.
  • jars have long life, and once constructed provides a stable water source for many years.
  • cheap (just £60 could pay for the construction of one jar) and effective
  • 1 jar can supply 7 households
351
Q

Water management - Uganda - Why is this sustainable?

A
  • Public participation – appropriate tech used so public can access
  • Environment – collecting rain water rather than using from larger supplies
  • Not affecting peoples well-being
352
Q

Singapore - water management - what suitable strategies do they use?

A

-Singapore attempts to boost sustainablility in many ways, e.g the whole of Singapore is a water harvesting catchment. Diversified supplies include local catchment water, recycled water and water desalinisation.

353
Q

Singapore - water management - have they been successful?

A
  • Their water recycling project, known as NEWater, manages to meet up to 30% of the nation’s current water needs
  • it is also very sustainable, by 2060, PUB (Singapore’s National water agency) aims to increase efficiency to meet 55% of the water demand with NEWater
354
Q

Singapore - water management - Do they compliment these with any hard engineering projects or other strategies like imports?

A

Singapore has made an agreement until 2061 to import water from Malaysia. They have also managed to cut leakages to 5%, as opposed to 20% leakages in the UK.

355
Q

Singapore - water management - Negatives?

A

The increased water catchment for consumption can lead to less inputs into the water cycle, less evapotranspiration and soil water utilisation. Furthermore, as with any process, desalination has by-products that must be taken care of

356
Q

Water management - The Colorado river - facts

A
  • southwest of the USA
  • river mouth in Mexico
  • 7 states, 2 countries
  • 36 million people rely on this
  • most endangered river in America
  • provides for 5 million acres of farmland
357
Q

Water management - The Colorado river - impacts

A
  • heavy pumping of groundwater has led to declining aquifers - little base flow feeding the river
  • Salton sea - this is sustained by water from the river -this is shrinking due to more rover water going to cities and farmland
  • Lake Mead water levels near Las Vegas is becoming low
358
Q

5.8 What is the importance of water for Agriculture and economic development?
Why is this causing insecurity?

A
  • 20% of the world’s land is under full irrigation
  • majority of irrigation water is pumped from aquifers
  • this leads to groundwater depletion
  • which is unsustainable
359
Q

5.8 What is the importance of water for industrial and energy use and economic development?
Why is this causing insecurity?

A
  • 20% of freshwater extraction is for industrial and energy production
  • this creates large amounts of water pollution
  • half of water used for energy is for HEP and nuclear power stations
360
Q

5.8 What is the importance of water for domestic use and human well being?
Why is this causing insecurity?

A
  • rising living standards leads to increased per capita consumption of water
  • water that is polluted by a lack of sanitation is an effective medium for the breeding and transmission of diseases (cholera)
  • water is a productive ground for some disease vectors (mosquitoes - Malaria)
  • safe water is important for washing and preparing food
361
Q

5.8 why is lack of supply of water and price of water impacting the environment?

A
  • inadequate supply of water can easily impede any water dependant aspects of economic development - costs will rise
  • this will encourage people to over-exploit what resources they have
  • this can prolong periods of drought
  • can lead to desertification

A Level Geography (20 decks)

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