Water Cycle OLD

Question 1

what type of system does the global hydrological cycle operate in?

Answer 1

Closed cycle (continual circulation/ amount isn’t changed)

Question 2

what are Outputs?

Answer 2

movement of water or energy out of store

eg: evaporation out of sea in to the atmosphere

Question 3

what is an Input?

Answer 3

movement of matter or energy into a store

eg: precipitation from atmosphere to ground or sea

Question 4

what is a store?

Answer 4

where matter or energy is kept for a relatively long period
eg: water in oceans (3600 years)
or ground water (up to 10000 years)

Question 5

what is a flow/flux ?

Answer 5

amount of matter or energy transferred from one place to another (movements within the hydrological cycle)
eg: throughflow and runoff

Question 6

what is the biggest store in the hydrological cycle?

Answer 6

1st - the ocean (97% of all water)

Question 7

water budget meaning

Answer 7

the balance between inputs and outputs

Question 8

what is the cryosphere

Answer 8

frozen water

Question 9

what stores are classed as non renewable (not replaced for a very long time)

Answer 9

fossil water (stored underground in rocks a long time ago when the climate was a lot wetter)
Ablation (melting of glaciers due to climate change reducers ice storage which is not replaced)

Question 10

what is blue water

Answer 10

within surface and groundwater reservoirs

Question 11

what is a positive water budget?

Answer 11

where there is a surplus of water

Question 12

what does a negative water budget mean?

Answer 12

there is a deficit of water

Question 13

what does the global water budget mean?

Answer 13

annual balance between the fluxes and size of water stores

Question 14

what are the three types of precipitation

Answer 14

Orographic / relief
Frontal / cyclonic
Convectional

Question 15

what is Orographic/ relief precipitation?

Answer 15

humid air is forced over mountains 
the air cools at higher altitude
moisture condenses
forms clouds 
water droplets fall due to gravity

Question 16

what is frontal /cyclonic precipitation?

Answer 16

warm air (lighter) is forced to rise over cold air (dencer) which undercuts the warm air
as the warm air rises it cools
the ability for it to hold water decreases
condensation occours
casues clouds and then rain

Question 17

what is convectional precipitation?

Answer 17

(common in tropical areas or in UK summer)
land becomes hot
air above the land becomes warmer so expands and rises
as it rises it cools
ability to hold water vapor decreases
condensation occurs > clouds
as it continues to rise > rain

Question 18

what is a cumulus cloud? and which precipitations are they found

Answer 18

caused by convection

all three types of precipitation contain cumulus clouds

Question 19

types of flows/fluxes are:

Answer 19

Interception 
infiltration 
throughflow 
direct/ surface runoff 
saturated overland flow 
percolation 
groundwater flow

Question 20

Direct runoff

Answer 20

Water flowing over the surface of the ground eg. after precipitation or snowmelt/ when the rain is to intemce for it to infiltrate

Question 21

Interception

Answer 21

a layer of vegetation intercepts precipitation before the ground
plants also absorb water through their roots

Question 22

what is green water

Answer 22

water transpired by the plant that comes from rain water stored in soil

Question 23

Staurated overland flow

Answer 23

is all siol spaces are full of water so any further rain cannot infiltrate so will run off the surface

Question 24

Throughflow

Answer 24

Water moving horizontally through the soil, due to gravity

Question 25

Percolation

Answer 25

movemnet of water downwards through pourous or permuble rocks

Question 26

pourus meaning

Answer 26

Sedimentary rocks often contain small holes called pores which can contain water or other fluids

Question 27

permuble rocks include

Answer 27

sandstone and chalk

Question 28

Groundwater flow

Answer 28

movment of water downwards or sideways in rock layers

under the influence of gravity and rock structure

Question 29

types of outputs are (3)

Answer 29

Evaporation
Traspiration
Channel flow