Water Cycle EQ1

Question 1

Why is the water cycle a closed system?

Answer 1

As no water can enter or leave the system although solar energy can

Question 2

Why is solar energy important for earths water cycle

Answer 2

It allows the system to function

Question 3

What is a different way of saying the earth’s water cycle?

Answer 3

Earth’s hydrological system

Question 4

What is a water store?

Answer 4

Places where water is held

Question 5

What is a water flow?

Answer 5

A process that moves water from one store to another

Question 6

What is a flux?

Answer 6

What we call a flow when we know a quantity

Question 7

What is total global water made up of?

Answer 7

Oceans = 96.5%
Freshwater = 2.5%
Other saline water = 0.9%

Question 8

What is freshwater made up of?

Answer 8

Glaciers and ice caps
Ground water
Surface water

Question 9

What is the biggest store of freshwater?

Answer 9

Glaciers and ice caps = 68.7%

Question 10

What percentage of freshwater is groundwater?

Answer 10

30.1%

Question 11

What is the cryosphere?

Answer 11

Contains the frozen parts of the planet, includes ice on land, glaciers, permafrost
Maintains earths climate by reflecting solar radiation

Question 12

What is permafrost?

Answer 12

Ground that stays frozen for 2 years or longer in a row
Can occur in patches or cover a large area

Question 13

What is a drainage basin?

Answer 13

Looks at smaller regional scale hydrological system

Question 14

What is an aquifer?

Answer 14

A store of water within pore spaces of some rocks (mainly sedimentary)

Question 15

What are the different stores in the hydrological cycle?

Answer 15

Ocean
Atmosphere
Surface storage- lakes
Soil store
Ice sheets, caps, snowpacks
Groundwater store

Question 16

What is percolation?

Answer 16

Downwards movement of water through soil and rock due to gravity

Question 17

What factors affects drainage basins?

Answer 17

Climate
Soil
Relief/topography
Vegetation
Geology
Humans

Question 18

What is a watershed?

Answer 18

Boundary of a drainage basin between one drainage basin and another

Question 19

What is the biggest and smallest drainage basin?

Answer 19

The Amazon- covers 7 countries
Tambirasi River, Indonesia

Question 20

What is residency time?

Answer 20

Average time water molecules stay in a store

Question 21

Why are residency times important?

Answer 21

Means people can manage water more effectively and understand them

Question 22

What are the longest residency times?

Answer 22

Groundwater
Ice caps, glaciers, permafrost

Question 23

What are try the shortest residency times?

Answer 23

Biospheric water (humans, animals)
Atmospheric water

Question 24

What are cryospheric losses?

Answer 24

Increased melting glacial ice takes water out of cryosphere
Causing loss of freshwater as contaminated by salt water

Question 25

What are fossil aquifers?

Answer 25

Water aquifers that cannot be replenished

Question 26

What are the 3 types of precipitation?

Answer 26

Orographic Conventional Frontal

Question 27

What is orographic rainfall?

Answer 27

Caused by the relief of the land forcing water vapour to rise and cool Eg in the lakes

Question 28

What is conventional rainfall?

Answer 28

Caused by heating of the earths surface leading to more buoyant parcels of humid air rising Cooling it causing rain

Question 29

What is frontal rainfall?

Answer 29

Chased by warmer air masses rising above the denser, colder air

Question 30

How is the amount of precipitation influenced?

Answer 30

Rates of convection Monsoon climate Continentality Mountains

Question 31

What areas of earth are generally wet/dry?

Answer 31

Inter tropical convergent zone (ITCZ) Are where northeast and southeast trade winds converge

Question 32

What human activities influence the hydrological cycle?

Answer 32

Dams Groundwater extraction Deforestation Irrigation farming Agriculture Urbanisation Climate change Lakes and reservoirs

Question 33

What is an example of human influence on the hydrological system?

Answer 33

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

Question 34

What are the impacts of deforestation on the hydrological system?

Answer 34

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

Question 35

What is a river reigme?

Answer 35

The difference in discharge of the river through out the year

Question 36

What is a simple river regime?

Answer 36

There is a high flow season and low flow system

Question 37

What is a complex river regime?

Answer 37

Can have multiple high and low flow systems in a the year Normally bigger rivers

Question 38

What does a river regime depend on?

Answer 38

Climate Rainfall Location Geology Soils

Question 39

What is a soil moisture budget?

Answer 39

A graph showing precipitation and potential evapotranspiration

Question 40

What does a soil moisture budget graph show?

Answer 40

Soil moisture surplus Soil moisture utilisation Maximum annual temps Soil moisture deficiency Soil moisture recharge Field capacity

Question 41

What is a flood hydrograph?

Answer 41

Graph that shows discharge of a river that responds after a rainfall event

Question 42

What are the factors that affect shape of a flood hydrograph?

Answer 42

Geology Intense rainfalls Topography Vegetation Urbanisation Shape of drainage basin

Question 43

What makes a flashy storm hydrograph?

Answer 43

Shorted lag time Steep rising limb High peak discharge Short/intense rainfall periods Steep relief

Question 44

What makes a flat storm hydrograph?

Answer 44

Longer lag time Gentle rising limb Low peak discharge Longer rainfall periods Shallow/flat relief