Water cycle EQ2

Question 1

what is a drought ?

Answer 1

a prolonged period of dry weather

Question 2

what are the 4 types of drought ?

Answer 2

meteorologic
hydro logical
agricultural
famine

Question 3

what is a meteorological drought ?

Answer 3

a rainfall deficit
low precipitation and high temps
major loss of soil moisture

Question 4

what is a hydro-logical drought ?

Answer 4

stream flow deficit
reduced infiltration, low soil moisture, little percolation and groundwater recharge
leads to poorer water quality and less water for urban supply and power generation

Question 5

what is an agricultural drought ?

Answer 5

a soil moisture deficit
low evapotranspiration, reduced biomass and plant water stress
leads to poor yield from rain fed crops and can require government aid

Question 6

what is a famine drought

Answer 6

a food deficit
loss of natural vegetation and increased risk of wildfires.
can lead to food shortages on a seasonal scale and increased malnutrition

Question 7

what 3 ways are droughts measured ?

Answer 7

1. palmer drought severity index = long term droughts and uses current data & previous months. focuses on the duration and intensity of long term drought inducing atmospheric circulation
2. crop moisture index = short term drought on a weekly scale and is useful for farmers to monitor water availability during the growing season
3. palmer hydrological drought index

Question 8

what is desertification ?

Answer 8

land degradation in arid, semi - arid and dry sub humid regions resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities

Question 9

how can humans cause droughts ?

Answer 9

over abstraction and pollution due to growing populations and demand, more affluent populations, technology, industrialisation and climate change

Question 10

what is a flood ?

Answer 10

an overflow of a large amount of water beyond its normal limits, especially over what is normally dry land.

Question 11

what are the impacts of climate change on the HC ?

Answer 11

affects the inputs and outputs of the hydrological cycle by altering precipitation and evaporation rates. Some areas are likely to face flooding e.g Bangladesh since it’s on low lying land, whilst other regions will face prolonged drought, such
as the Sahel region in Africa.

Question 12

what is an El Nino year ?

Answer 12

a reverse of Walker’s cells where high pressure accumulates above Australia, causing drought like conditions, whilst South America becomes a low pressure centre, at high
risk of flooding and intense rainfall.