Water Cycle EQ1 Flashcards
Why is the water cycle a closed system?
As no water can enter or leave the system although solar energy can
Why is solar energy important for earths water cycle
It allows the system to function
What is a different way of saying the earth’s water cycle?
Earth’s hydrological system
What is a water store?
Places where water is held
What is a water flow?
A process that moves water from one store to another
What is a flux?
What we call a flow when we know a quantity
What is total global water made up of?
Oceans = 96.5%
Freshwater = 2.5%
Other saline water = 0.9%
What is freshwater made up of?
Glaciers and ice caps
Ground water
Surface water
What is the biggest store of freshwater?
Glaciers and ice caps = 68.7%
What percentage of freshwater is groundwater?
30.1%
What is the cryosphere?
Contains the frozen parts of the planet, includes ice on land, glaciers, permafrost
Maintains earths climate by reflecting solar radiation
What is permafrost?
Ground that stays frozen for 2 years or longer in a row
Can occur in patches or cover a large area
What is a drainage basin?
Looks at smaller regional scale hydrological system
What is an aquifer?
A store of water within pore spaces of some rocks (mainly sedimentary)
What are the different stores in the hydrological cycle?
Ocean
Atmosphere
Surface storage- lakes
Soil store
Ice sheets, caps, snowpacks
Groundwater store
What is percolation?
Downwards movement of water through soil and rock due to gravity
What factors affects drainage basins?
Climate
Soil
Relief/topography
Vegetation
Geology
Humans
What is a watershed?
Boundary of a drainage basin between one drainage basin and another
What is the biggest and smallest drainage basin?
The Amazon- covers 7 countries
Tambirasi River, Indonesia
What is residency time?
Average time water molecules stay in a store
Why are residency times important?
Means people can manage water more effectively and understand them
What are the longest residency times?
Groundwater
Ice caps, glaciers, permafrost
What are try the shortest residency times?
Biospheric water (humans, animals)
Atmospheric water
What are cryospheric losses?
Increased melting glacial ice takes water out of cryosphere
Causing loss of freshwater as contaminated by salt water
What are fossil aquifers?
Water aquifers that cannot be replenished
What are the 3 types of precipitation?
Orographic
Conventional
Frontal
What is orographic rainfall?
Caused by the relief of the land forcing water vapour to rise and cool
Eg in the lakes
What is conventional rainfall?
Caused by heating of the earths surface leading to more buoyant parcels of humid air rising
Cooling it causing rain
What is frontal rainfall?
Chased by warmer air masses rising above the denser, colder air
How is the amount of precipitation influenced?
Rates of convection
Monsoon climate
Continentality
Mountains
What areas of earth are generally wet/dry?
Inter tropical convergent zone (ITCZ)
Are where northeast and southeast trade winds converge
What human activities influence the hydrological cycle?
Dams
Groundwater extraction
Deforestation
Irrigation farming
Agriculture
Urbanisation
Climate change
Lakes and reservoirs
What is an example of human influence on the hydrological system?
Aswan Dam
Flood largely controlled further downstream
Negative effects on farming
Evaporation losses of 10 to 16billm cubed
Need are to flood to bring new sediment for farming
What are the impacts of deforestation on the hydrological system?
Tree cover drops means less interception increasing surface water run off and lack of water staying in the area
Causing less tree cover and rain
Increase average annual temps as less clouds
What is a river reigme?
The difference in discharge of the river through out the year
What is a simple river regime?
There is a high flow season and low flow system
What is a complex river regime?
Can have multiple high and low flow systems in a the year
Normally bigger rivers
What does a river regime depend on?
Climate
Rainfall
Location
Geology
Soils
What is a soil moisture budget?
A graph showing precipitation and potential evapotranspiration
What does a soil moisture budget graph show?
Soil moisture surplus
Soil moisture utilisation
Maximum annual temps
Soil moisture deficiency
Soil moisture recharge
Field capacity
What is a flood hydrograph?
Graph that shows discharge of a river that responds after a rainfall event
What are the factors that affect shape of a flood hydrograph?
Geology
Intense rainfalls
Topography
Vegetation
Urbanisation
Shape of drainage basin
What makes a flashy storm hydrograph?
Shorted lag time
Steep rising limb
High peak discharge
Short/intense rainfall periods
Steep relief
What makes a flat storm hydrograph?
Longer lag time
Gentle rising limb
Low peak discharge
Longer rainfall periods
Shallow/flat relief
