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Geography Edexcel A LEVEL > WATER CYCLES definitions > Flashcards

WATER CYCLES definitions Flashcards

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1
Q

Anticyclone

A
  • ​A system of high pressure, causing high temperatures and unseasonably high evaporation rates.
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2
Q

Aquifer

A
  • ​A permeable or porous rock which stores water
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3
Q

Antecedent

A

Moisture already present

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4
Q

Channel flow

A

Water flowing in a rivulet, stream or river

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5
Q

Convectional precipitation

A

Solar radiation heats the air above the ground, causing it to rise, cool & condense forming precipitation (often as thunderstorms)

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6
Q

Cryosphere

A

The global water volume locked up within a frozen state (i.e. snow and ice)

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7
Q

Depression

A

A system of low pressure, with fronts of precipitation where low and high pressure air masses meet.

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8
Q

Desalination plant

A

The conversion of seawater to freshwater, suitable for Human consumption

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9
Q

De sublimation

A

The change of state of water from gas to solid, without being a liquid (the opposite process to sublimation)

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10
Q

Drainage basin

A

The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries

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11
Q

Drainage density

A

The total length of all rivers & streams divided by the area of the drainage basin.

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12
Q

Drought

A

An extended period of deficient rainfall relative to the statistical average for the region (UN)

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13
Q

Economic water scarcity

A

When water resources are available but insufficient economic wealth limits access to it.

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14
Q

ENSO cycles

A

El Nino Southern Oscillations - naturally occurring phenomena that involves the movement of warm water in the Equatorial Pacific.

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15
Q

Evapotranspiration

A

The combined total moisture transferred from the Earth to the atmosphere, through evaporation and transpiration

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16
Q

Frontal precipitation

A

Where air masses of different temperatures meet at a front, one mass will be forced over another, causing precipitation beneath the front

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17
Q

Global hydrological cycle

A

The continuous transfer of water between land, atmosphere and oceans. The Earth is a closed system.

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18
Q

Groundwater flow

A

Water moving horizontally through permeable or porous Rock due to gravity.

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19
Q

Hydrological drought

A

Insufficient soil moisture to meet the needs of vegetation at a particular time

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20
Q

Infiltration

A

The movement of water vertically through the pores in soil.

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21
Q

Integrated drainage basin management

A

Establishing a frame of coordinated efforts between administrations (e.g. local government) and stakeholders (e.g businesses) to achieve balanced management of a basin (World Bank))

22
Q

Interception

A

Raindrops are prevented from falling directly onto the ground, instead hitting the leaves of a tree.

23
Q

Meteorological drought

A

When long-term precipitation trends are below average

24
Q

Monsoon

A

The drastic variation between wet and dry seasons for sub-tropical
areas, caused by a changed prevailing wind. Can lead to annual flooding.

25
Q

Open system

A

​- A system affected by external flows and inputs (such as a drainage basin, or a sediment cell)

26
Q

Percolation

A

Water moving vertically from soil into permeable rock

27
Q

Physical water scarcity

A

A physical lack of available freshwater which cannot
meet demand

28
Q

Relief precipitation

A

Precipitation caused when air masses are forced to rise over high land, determined by the relief/ morphology of the Land

29
Q

River regime

A

The pattern of river discharge over a year.

30
Q

Runoff

A

Water flowing over the surface of the ground eg. after precipitation or
snowmelt.

31
Q

Salinisation

A

Where salt water contaminates freshwater stores or soils, creating saline conditions and reducing human use/ consumption.

32
Q

Saltwater enrochement

A

The movement of saltwater into freshwater aquifers or soils. This may be caused by sea level rise, storm surges or over-extraction

33
Q

Smart irrigation

A

​- Providing crops with a water supply less than optimal, to make crops resistant to water shortages.

34
Q

Storm hydrograph

A

Variation of river discharge over a short period of time (days)

35
Q

Sublimation

A

The change of state of water from solid to a gas, without being a
liquid.

36
Q

Through flow

A

Water moving horizontally through the soil, due to gravity

37
Q

Transpiration

A

The process through which water evaporates through the stomata in plants’ leaves

38
Q

Water budget

A

The annual balance between inputs and outputs within a system

39
Q

Water conservation

A

Strategies to reduce water usage and demand

40
Q

Water recycling

A

The treatment and purification of waste water, to increase supply

41
Q

Water scarcity

A

There are limited renewable water sources (between 500 and 1000 cubic metres per capita per year)

42
Q

Water security

A

The ability to protect and access a sustainable source to adequately meet demand

43
Q

Water sharing treaty

A

International agreements for transboundary sources

44
Q

Water transfer

A

Hard engineering projects, such as pipelines or aqueducts, that
divert water between basins to meet demand

45
Q

Watershed

A

​The boundary between neighbouring drainage basins

46
Q

Confluence

A

Where rivers meet

47
Q

Tributary

A

Veins of rivers flowing though other parts

48
Q

Mouth

A

Where river meets sea

49
Q

Source

A

Where river starts

50
Q

Water table

A

Layer under the surface that is always wet/point at which underground is always wet

51
Q

Flashy

A

A flood caused by excessive rainfall in a short amount of time

Geography Edexcel A LEVEL (90 decks)

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