Water EQ1

Question 1

What are the four types of water?

Answer 1

Blue = Direct water you consume
Green = Indirect water consumption
Grey = Wastewater
Virtual water = volume of water used to produce a product (water footprint)

Question 2

How is water stored?

Answer 2

Water is stored in three states:
as liquid water in the oceans,
river and lakes; as ice;
and as atmospheric moisture in the form of gaseous water vapour

Water is cycled between these states.

Question 3

what are the main flows of water?

Answer 3

*Interception

Infiltration

Percolation

Throughflow

Groundwater flow

Surface runoff

River or channel flow*

Question 4

What is interception?

Answer 4

Interception: the retention of water by plants and soils which is subsequently evaporated or absorbed by the vegetation.

Question 5

What is infriltration?

Answer 5

Infiltration: the process by which water soaks into, or is absorbed by, the soil.

Question 6

What is percolation?

Answer 6

Percolation: similar to infiltration, but a deeper transfer of water into permeable rocks.

Question 7

What is throughflow?

Answer 7

Throughflow: the lateral movement of water in soil. (Sideways through soil)

Question 8

What is Groundwater flow

Answer 8

Groundwater flow: the very slow transfer of percolated water through pervious (permeable) or porous rocks.

Question 9

What is Surface Runoff?

Answer 9

Surface runoff: the movement of water that is unconfined by a channel across the surface of the ground. A.k.a. overland flow.

Question 10

What is River/Channel flow?

Answer 10

River or channel flow: takes over as soon as the water enters a river or stream; the flow is confined within a channel.

Question 11

Why is the hydrological cycle a CLOSED system?

Answer 11

Water is continually ciculated through the stores there is a constant amount of water in the system and no “new” water can be created.

Question 12

What does solar and gravitational pot energy have to do with the cycle?

Answer 12

Heat = evaporation
Grav pot = enhances infriltration/percolation/throughflow etc

Question 13

What is the global water budget?

Answer 13

The global water budget is the total amount of inputs, outputs and stores of water in the global system.

Question 14

What is the drainage basin?

Answer 14

An area of land that is drained by a river and its tributaries.

Question 15

What is an open system?

Answer 15

A system that has inputs and outputs linking it to another system.

Question 16

2 inputs to the hydrological cycle?

Answer 16

Precipitation (RAIN SNOW ETC) and Condensation

Inputs is not new water being introduced to the cycle as a whole but into different parts of the cycle (IE ATMOSPHERE -> SURFACE)

Question 17

Physical factors affecting INPUTS?

Answer 17

inputs=precipitation
* amount of precip
* type of precip (rain snow etc)
* Seasonaility
* Intensity
* Variability (Secular - long term like climate change, Periodic, Stochastic - random)
* Distribution

Question 18

Explain the formation of convectional rainfall.

Answer 18

Heating of the surface: The sun heats the ground, warming the air above it.

Rising warm air: The warm air becomes less dense and rises, carrying moisture from the surface.

Cooling and condensation: As the air rises, it cools. The moisture in the air condenses into clouds.

Rainfall: When the clouds become heavy, the water falls as rain.

Question 19

Explain the formation of Cyclonic rainfall

Answer 19

Warm and cold air masses meet at a front.

The warm air rises over the cold air (frontal lifting).

As the warm air cools, moisture condenses into clouds.

Rainfall occurs when the clouds release the moisture.

Question 20

Warm front vs Cold front

Answer 20

Cold front = aggressive cold air launches warm air up -> intense rainfall.

Warm front = warm air pushes into cold air, slowly rising -> light rainfall.

Question 21

Orographic (mountain) rainfall

Answer 21

Air is forced over over a mountain, cooling and condensing, then raining on the other side.

Question 22

Factors affecting the rate of INTERCEPTION:

Answer 22

1. Vegetation type
2. Leaf area and density
3. Vegetation condition
4. Precipitation intensity
5. Canopy structure
6. Duration of precipitation
7. Wind

Question 23

Factors affecting the rate of Infriltration/Throughflow:

Answer 23

Soil type
Soil moisture content
Vegetation cover
Land use/urbanization
Rainfall intensity
Soil structure and compaction
Slope gradient
Temperature
Antecedent conditions (previous rainfall)
Presence of impervious layers (e.g., clay)

Question 24

Factors affecting the rate of percolation and groundwater flow?

Answer 24

Soil/rock permeability
Rock type
Soil moisture content
Slope gradient
Presence of impermeable layers (e.g., clay)
Vegetation cover
Rainfall intensity
Temperature
Depth of the water table
Human activities (e.g., extraction of groundwater)

Question 25

Factors affecting the rate of Evaporation:

Answer 25

Higher temp = more evap WARMER AIR HOLDS MORE WATER

Lower Humidity = DRIER AIR MORE CAPACITY TO HOLD WATER VAPOUR