Water (Key Terms) Flashcards
What is El Nino?
El Nino is when the warm water travels eastward from Australia, as opposed to westward in normal years. This warm water pushes cold water down near South America, causing fish to migrate.
Flooding occurs in SA, droughts in Australia.
Occurs every 2-7 years
What are stores in the water cycle?
Stocks where water is held, such as oceans
What are fluxes in the water cycle?
Measures rate of flow between stores
What are processes in the water cycle?
Physical mechanisms which drive the fluxes
Why is the global hydrological cycle an example of a closed system?
It is an example of a closed system because there is no water entering or exiting the earth, so the volume is constant
What is the cryosphere?
Where water is held as snow or ice
What are the 4 main stores of water and their percentage?
1) Oceans (97%)
2) Cryosphere (1.9%)
3) Terrestrial surface groundwater
4) Atmosphere
What is residence time?
How long a water molecule will spend in that store
What is groundwater flow?
The movement of percolated water through porous rocks
What is a drainage basin?
Area of land drained by a river and it’s tributaries. Also called a catchment
What is a watershed?
The line which divides different drainage basins
What is infiltration?
Process by which water is absorbed by the soil
What is surface runoff?
When water moves over the land towards a river, due to the precipitation intensity being greater than the infiltration rate. Also called overland flow
What is throughflow?
Horizontal movement of water through the soil
