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AQA Physical Geography > Water on the Land > Flashcards

Water on the Land Flashcards

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1
Q

Can you explain the process of hydraulic action?

A

The power of the volume of water moving in the river.

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2
Q

Can you explain the process of abrasion?

A

Occurs when larger load carried by the river hits the bed and banks, causing bits to break off.

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3
Q

Can you explain the process of attrition?

A

Load carried by the river knocks into other parts of the load, so bits break off and make the material smaller.

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4
Q

Can you explain the process of solution?

A

The dissolving of certain types of rock such as chalk and limestone by rainwater.

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5
Q

How do rivers tend to erode?

A

Vertical and lateral erosion.

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6
Q

Can you explain how the type of erosion changes as a river gets further down its course?

A

Vertical erosion becomes less important and lateral erosion takes over.

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7
Q

Can you explain the process of traction?

A

The rolling along of the largest rocks and boulders.

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8
Q

Can you explain the process of saltation?

A

The bouncing movement of small stones and grains of sand along the river bed.

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9
Q

Can you explain the process of suspension?

A

Small material carried within the river.

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10
Q

What is deposition?

A

Where the river dumps or leaves behind material that it has been carrying.

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11
Q

When is the largest material deposited?

A

In the upper course because it is the heaviest to carry.

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12
Q

When is the smaller material deposited?

A

Much further downstream because it is smaller so can be transported further.

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13
Q

When does the river drop some of its load?

A

When there is a fall in the speed of the water or the amount of water is less.

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14
Q

When is the speed of the water or the amount of water less?

A

When the gradient changes at the foot of a mountain or when a river enters a lake or sea.

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15
Q

What does a long profile show?

A

How the river changes its height along its course.

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16
Q

What does a cross profile show?

A

How the river’s valley changes shape downstream.

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17
Q

What are the characteristics of the upper course? 7

Mention: channel shape / which erosion / which erosion process / what transportation process / what is deposited / load size / valley shape

A
  • shallow, narrow channel
  • vertical erosion
  • hydraulic action, abrasion and attrition
  • some traction and saltation at high flow
  • deposition of large material
  • large load
  • v-shaped valley
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18
Q

What are the characteristics of the middle course? 7

Mention: channel shape / which erosion / which erosion process / what transportation process / what is deposited / load size / valley shape

A
  • wider, deeper channel
  • some vertical erosion; lateral erosion more important
  • hydraulic action less important
  • suspension main transportation; saltation and traction still present
  • deposition more obvious
  • load size reduced
  • v/u shaped valley
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19
Q

What are the characteristics of the lower course? 7

Mention: channel shape / which erosion / which erosion process / what transportation process / what is deposited / load size / valley shape

A
  • widest, deepest channel
  • less erosion; only a little lateral
  • all erosion much less important
  • suspension dominant
  • deposition of fine material
  • large amount of load, size now very small
  • u-shaped valley
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20
Q

What landforms are a result of erosion? 2

A
  • waterfalls

* gorges

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21
Q

What landforms are a result of erosion and deposition? 2

A
  • meanders

* oxbow lakes

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22
Q

What landforms are a result of deposition? 2

A
  • levees

* floodplains

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23
Q

How are waterfalls formed? 6

A
  • hard rock (granite) overlies soft rock (sandstone)
  • softer rock is eroded away faster than hard rock
  • plunge pool is created
  • plunge pool is deepened due to potholing which swirls around and rubs the bed and the banks
  • an overhang forms as the softer rock is eroded further
  • eventually the overhang collapses as it is unsupported
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24
Q

How is a gorge formed?

A

When the hard rock collapses because it is unsupported and the waterfall moves upstream.

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25
Q

How is a meander formed?

A

As the river erodes laterally, it forms large bends, and then horseshoe-like loops.

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26
Q

How is an oxbow lake formed? 4

A
  • erosion causes a meander to narrow
  • meander will eventually break off
  • river now follows a straight path
  • meander is cut and the river seals off the bend
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27
Q

How is a levee and floodplain formed? 2

A
  • involve repeated flooding and the build-up of material during the period of flood
  • under normal conditions, the river is contained within its banks and so no sediment is available to form them
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28
Q

What is precipitation?

A

Any source of moisture reaching the ground.

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29
Q

What is interception?

A

Water being prevented from reaching the ground by trees or grass.

30
Q

What is surface storage?

A

Water held on the ground surface.

31
Q

What is infiltration?

A

Water sinking into soil/rock from the ground surface.

32
Q

What is soil moisture?

A

Water held in the soil layer.

33
Q

What is percolation?

A

Water seeping deeper below the surface.

34
Q

What is groundwater?

A

Water stored in the rock.

35
Q

What is transpiration?

A

Water lost through pores in vegetation.

36
Q

What is evaporation?

A

Water lost from ground/vegetation surface.

37
Q

What is surface run-off (overland flow)?

A

Water flowing on top of the ground.

38
Q

What is throughflow?

A

Water flowing through the soil layer parallel to the surface.

39
Q

What is groundwater flow?

A

Water flowing through the rock layer parallel to the surface.

40
Q

What is a water table?

A

Current upper level of saturated rock/soil where no more water can be absorbed.

41
Q

How does rainfall affect river discharge? 2

A
  • a lot of rain causes high river levels

* less rain results in lower river levels

42
Q

What is the explanation for how rainfall affects river discharge? 2

A
  • high amounts of rain saturate the soil and underlying rock
  • in the case of drizzle, there is time for water to infiltrate the soil and underlying rock, freeing space for more rain
43
Q

What factors affect river discharge? 6

A 
Weather:
• rainfall
• temperature
• previous weather conditions
Physical
• relief
• rock type
Other:
• human land use
44
Q

Can you explain how temperature affects the loss of water from the drainage basin?

A

When temperatures are higher, there is greater water loss via evaporation and transpiration, so river levels go down.

45
Q

Can you explain how previous wether conditions affect river discharge?

A

If it has been dry, it will take longer for the water to reach the river and the amount will be less than if there had been a number of wet days.

46
Q

What does relief affect?

A

The rate at which water runs off the land surface and into rivers.

47
Q

What do steep slopes encourage?

A

Fast run-off as the water spills rapidly downwards due to gravity.

48
Q

What do gentle slopes allow time for?

A

Infiltration to occur.

49
Q

What is rock type important for?

A

Determining how much water infiltrates and how much stays on the surface.

50
Q

What happens in areas where more water is on the surface?

A

The discharge of the river is higher as it reaches the river fastest.

51
Q

What are the most important land-use changes with regard to influencing river discharge? 2

A
  • deforestation

* urbanisation

52
Q

What happens if trees are removed affecting discharge?

A

Water reaches the surface faster and the trees do not extract water from the ground.

53
Q

What happens when towns are expanded affecting discharge?

A

They create an impermeable surface. This is made worse by building drains to take the water away from buildings quickly - and equally quickly into rivers.

54
Q

What physical factors cause flooding?

A
  • prolonged rainfall
  • heavy rain
  • snowmelt
  • steep relief
55
Q

How do people unintentionally increase the likelihood and severity of floods?

A

As a result of deforestation and construction work.

56
Q

What is hard engineering?

A

This strategy involves the use of technology in order to control rivers.

57
Q

What is soft engineering?

A

This option tries to work within the constraints of the natural river system.

58
Q

How do dams and reservoirs exert a huge degree of control over a river?

A

Natural flow of water is prevented. Water fills the area behind it and is released or held depending on circumstances such as current and expected rainfall.

59
Q

Can you explain how straightening meanders can manage rivers?

A

The river is made to follow a shorter, straight section and abandon its natural meandering course.

60
Q

What do flood warnings help people to do? 5

A 
Allows people time to
• take possessions
• turn off gas
• turn of water and electricity 
• gather important papers
• take some basic precautions
61
Q

What does floodplain zoning do?

A

Takes into account frequency and severity of flooding.

62
Q

Why is there an increase in demand for water in the UK? 3

A
  • increased number of households
  • increased population
  • more affluent lifestyle
63
Q

How is the demand for water met in a sustainable way?

A
  • focus on local schemes

* encouraging conservation

64
Q

Can you explain how encouraging conservation decreases the demand for water? 5

A
  • houses are designed with better water efficiency
  • devices are fitted to toilets to reduce water usage
  • rainwater collected
  • bath water recycled
  • people take more showers than baths
65
Q

Why is there a need for water transfer?

A

To transfer it from areas of surplus to areas of deficit.

66
Q

What were the causes of the Queensland floods? 6

A
  • Queensland’s wettest December on record-prolonged rain
  • rains peaked in January 2011
  • steady rise in river levels over a period of time
  • La Niña - warm water trapped, generating heavy rain clads
  • warmer ocean temperatures due to global warming
  • Toowoomba had 36 hours of constant rain amounting to 160mm
67
Q

What were the effects of the flooding in Queensland? 6

A
  • 35 people died in flood related incidents
  • Brisbane = 25,000 were flooded
  • 100,000 homes had electricity cut off (precaution)
  • mud and debris all over city
  • GDP estimated to be reduced by A$30 billion
  • area larger than France + Germany flooded
68
Q

What were the responses to the Queensland floods? 6

A
  • 9th January = appeal on national temperature raised A$10 million
  • rally for relief attended by 15,000 people on 16th January
  • Queensland Reconstruction Authority formed for rebuilding
  • government promised to raise A$5.6 billion
  • no international aid
  • Australian Defence Force
69
Q

What were the causes to the Bangladesh floods? 6

A
  • lies in belt of onshore winds - up to 1m can fall in single monsoon
  • in path of tropical cyclones
  • close to sea level
  • growing population
  • soil erosion - goes into river, increases capacity
  • houses built by poor near water - restricts movement
70
Q

What were the effects of the Bangladesh floods? 7

A
  • 670,000 hectares destroyed
  • killed more than 1,000 people
  • 30 million people displaced
  • 50 million living below poverty line
  • 17 million living in slums
  • cycle of poverty
  • thousands migrating to Dhaka
71
Q

What were the responses to the Bangladesh floods? 5

A
  • Oxfam distribute emergency supplies
  • west flood embankment built in Dhaka
  • new channels and underground drains built but need maintenance
  • mud road and embankment built in rural area
  • adopt farming techniques

AQA Physical Geography (3 decks)

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