Water Stores Flashcards
Where is cryospheric water stored?
Ice caps, permafrost, alpine glaciers, sea ice, ice sheets
Example of sea ice
Ross Ice Shelf
Which 2 ice sheets contain more than 99% of the freshwater on Earth?
Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets
Where are ice caps usually found?
Mountainous areas such as the Himalayas, the Rockies, the Andes and the Southern Alps of New Zealand
What allows the ocean to stay as liquid water below 0C
Dissolved salts
Why is it dry over the poles and humid over the tropics?
Because cold air cannot hold as much water vapour
Through which soil types is water easily transferred and through which soil types is it had for water to be transferred?
Easy - porous, sandy soils
Hard - clay
What is the water budget?
Soils capacity to store and transfer water
Name the 4 main physical systems that store water.
Atmosphere
Cryosphere
Hydrosphere
Lithosphere
What percentage of global water is saline water?
97.4%
Where is the majority of saline water stored?
Oceans
What kind of water is needed to sustain life?
Freshwater
What percentage of freshwater is stored as surface water?
1.2%
Give an example of negative feedback in the water cycle
Surface temperature increases
Increases evaporation from oceans
More low clouds in the atmosphere Clouds reflect radiation Surface temperature decreases Increase in greenhouse gases Surface temperature increases
Give an example of positive feedback in the water cycle
Sea levels rise
Ice shelves are destabilised
Rate of calving increases
Increase in melting
Sea levels rise
Define groundwater
Water stored in permeable rocks below the surface of the ground.
Define runoff
The total discharge from the drainage basin.
Define transpiration
The evaporation of moisture from vegetation into the atmosphere.
Define groundwater flow
Water flowing through the rocks towards the river.
Define precipitation
Water and ice that fall from clouds into the drainage basin.
Define throughflow
What flowing through the soil towards rivers.
Define evaporation
The change of water from liquid to gas, returning water to the atmosphere.
Define percolation
Water draining through rock towards the water table.
What is a drainage basin?
A catchment area from which a river system gets its water, defined as ‘the area of land drained by a river and its tributaries’.
What is evapotranspiration in a drainage basin system?
The total output of water from the drainage basin directly back into the atmosphere
What is runoff in a drainage basin system?
All the water that enters a river channel and eventually flows out of the drainage basin
What are the stores in a drainage basin?
Interception storage
Surface water
Soil water
Groundwater
Channel storage
What are the transfers in a drainage basin?
Stemflow
Infiltration
Overland flow
Channel flow
