Week 3: Hydro cycle, and the physiology of ground water and wetland

Question 1

Describe the Hydro cycle

Answer 1

this describes how water moves around the planet (large scale)

• > Most FW comes from ocean evaporation powered by solar energy
• > condenses, comes down as precipitation

Question 2

Describe precipitation trends

Answer 2

Due to air/ocean, the western part of NA most rainy, also along the equator

• > Most all rain = fw, some enters plants through transpiration
• > infiltrates soil or runs off as surface water (water yield, water that doesn’t become infiltrated)

Question 3

Water infiltration layers

Answer 3

• 4 zones, unsat zone, capillary fringe (adhesion, water travel) water table (where the boundary of unsat and sat meet)
• > saturated zone is where the aquifers are
• > unconfined (changes in size, connected to the water table
• > COnfined, deepest, impenitrable

Question 4

What is percolation

Answer 4

describes flow of water through particles

• > Texture and composition play a part
• > the rate of pertulation into saturated zone (regarge of aquafir)

Question 5

Hydraulic conductivity

Answer 5

rate of water flow through soil, dependent of permeability, measures in meters per day

Question 6

porosity

Answer 6

amount of water held in empty spaces between particles (must be connected spaces

Question 7

Groundwater types

Answer 7

Homo or hetero (how predictable the flow is and variation of soil)
- Karst landforms (escarpment) underlakes, on surface and then goes underneath

Question 8

Hyporthic zone

Answer 8

The hyporheic zone is the region of sediment and porous space beneath and alongside a stream bed, where there is a mixing of shallow groundwater and surface water.

• > extange of nutrence
• > this varries

Question 9

How to define a wetland

Answer 9

as there is a ton of variability, leading to many sub habitats in a single ecosystem

• > has hydrophyte plants (love water)
• > hydraulic-soil }lots of water, top anaerobic, ton of organic soil on top

Question 10

What are wetland functions

Answer 10

• > Natural filters of containments
• > HUGE carbon sinks
• > drainage for agriculture systems and flooding (often filled in to use more for agi or land use)

Question 11

Where are wetlands located

Answer 11

-> near large bodies of water or at high altitudes ( since cool, less evap, more water stays)

Question 12

Coastal wetland types

Answer 12

Tidal salt march (brackish, fresh further inland, filled in by tides, lots of variation)
Mangrove swamp (SE asia, tsunamic control, salty with low o2 in water need special roots) 
Floating marsh ( Floating mass of plants, common in deltas w low floods)

Question 13

Inland wetlands

Answer 13

some depressional formed other near bodies of water

• swamps (dominated by trees) Marches (by hurbacious shrubs)
• Riparian wetlands (adjacent to rivers and lakes, often flooded, the advantage to some plants
• pothole wetlands (in plains to missispi) Depression, saline due to evaporation leaving sediments
• Peatlands (acuumilate organic matter, w little decom (cold temp)

Question 14

• Peatlands

Answer 14

(acuumilate organic matter, w little decom (cold temp)
Bog: acidic, low water flow, not diverse
Fen: run off or grounwater, alkaline high diversity

Question 15

Smaller wetlands

Answer 15

are e[hermal, caused by snow or percip

ex// verinal pools in forests, alligators making their own for catch food

Question 16

Key characteristics

Answer 16

permanence, predictability and seasonality } influences tha amount of diversity
-> more perm , more diversity, more complex food web
Variability opens it to more colonizing of wetlands

Question 17

Sources of wetland

Answer 17

Ephermal wetlands } source is rainwater, could only exist during wet season
Surface water from runoffs common
If groundwater, most constant/permenent

Question 18

How is CC affecting it

Answer 18

Warming temperatures are (1) inc evaporation (2) changing precip patterns (3) Increased the decom rate, makes it less of a carbon sink, releases carbon int the atmosphere