A-Level - Water Cycle Glossary: Flashcards

1
Q

What are some Examples Of Local Water Stores?

A

1) Interception,
2) Vegetation Storage,
3) Surface Storage,
4) Soil Moisture,
5) Groundwater Storage,
6) River Channel.

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2
Q

What is Interception?

A

Raindrops being prevented from falling directly onto the ground, instead hitting the leaves from vegetation - short term store.

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3
Q

What is Vegetation Storage?

A

Moisture within vegetation at any one time.

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4
Q

What is Surface Storage?

A

Water stored in puddles, ponds, lakes etc - variable term store.

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5
Q

What is Soil Moisture?

A

Water stored in the soil which is utilised by plants - mid term store.

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6
Q

What is Groundwater Storage?

A

Water that is stored in the pore spaces of rock - long term store.

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7
Q

What is River Channel?

A

Water that is stored in a river - short term store.

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8
Q

What are the Four Global Water Stores?

A

1) Hydrosphere,
2) Lithosphere,
3) Cryosphere,
4) Atmosphere.

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9
Q

What is the Hydrosphere?

A

All the Earth’s water in the world: oceans, lakes, seas, rivers etc.

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10
Q

What is the Lithosphere?

A

Water stored in the crust and upper mantle as a liquid: all infiltrated soil, groundwater, surface water etc.

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11
Q

What is the Cryosphere?

A

The global water volume locked up within a frozen state as snow and ice.

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12
Q

What is the Atmosphere?

A

Water within the atmosphere in a gaseous state - water vapour.

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13
Q

What are some Primary Water Processes?

A

1) Precipitation,
2) Evaporation,
3) Transpiration,
4) Evapotranspiration,
5) Surface Runoff.

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14
Q

What is Precipitation?

A

Any water that falls to the surface of the Earth from the atmosphere.

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15
Q

What is Convectional Precipitation?

A

Solar radiation heating the air above the ground, causing it to rise, cool, and condense forming precipitation.

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16
Q

What is Frontal Precipitation?

A

Where air masses of different temperatures meet at a front, one mass will be forced over another, causing precipitation beneath the front.

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17
Q

What is Relief Precipitation?

A

Precipitation caused when air masses are forced to rise over high land, determined by the relief / morphology of the land.

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18
Q

What is Depression?

A

A system of low pressure, with front of precipitation where low and high pressure air masses meet.

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19
Q

What is Evaporation?

A

The process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapour.

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20
Q

What is Transpiration?

A

The process by which water evaporates through the stomata in a plants leaves.

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21
Q

What is Evapotranspiration?

A

The combined total moisture transferred from the Earth to the atmosphere, through evaporation and transpiration.

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22
Q

What is Condensation?

A

The process by which water vapour in the air is changed in liquid water - as it loses energy to the surroundings.

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23
Q

What is Surface Runoff?

A

Water flowing over the surface of the ground after precipitation or snowmelt.

24
Q

What are some Examples of Water Flows?

A

1) Infiltration,
2) Overland Flow,
3) Throughflow,
4) Percolation,
5) Stem Flow,
6) Base Flow,
7) Streamflow,
8) Groundwater Flow,
9) Channel Flow,
10) Surface Runoff.

25
Q

What is Infiltration?

A

The movement of water vertically through the pores in the soil.

26
Q

What is Infiltration Capacity?

A

How quickly the infiltration occurs.

27
Q

What is Overland Flow?

A

When the rate of precipitation is greater than the infiltration capacity.

28
Q

What is Throughflow?

A

Water moving horizontally through the soil due to gravity.

29
Q

What is Percolation?

A

Water moving vertically from the soil into permeable rock.

30
Q

What is Stem Flow?

A

The flow of water that has been intercepted by plants or trees, down a stem, leaf, or branch.

31
Q

What is Base Flow?

A

The level of groundwater flow.

32
Q

What is Stream Flow?

A

Water that moves through established channels at a high rate.

33
Q

What is Groundwater Flow?

A

Water moving horizontally through permeable or porous rock due to gravity.

34
Q

What is Channel Flow?

A

Water flowing in a rivulet or river.

35
Q

What are some Examples of Cryospheric Processes?

A

1) Sublimation,
2) De-sublimation,
3) Accumulation,
4) Ablation,
5) Snow Melt.

36
Q

What is Sublimation?

A

The conversion between the solid and gaseous phases of matter, with no intermediate stage.

37
Q

What is De-Sublimation?

A

The opposite where water vapour changes directly into ice.

38
Q

What is Accumulation?

A

The increase of water stored as ice in the cryosphere.

39
Q

What is Ablation?

A

The decrease of water stored as ice as it goes into the hydrosphere.

40
Q

What is Snow Melt?

A

Creates runoff which is a major component of the global movement of water.

41
Q

What is the Water Budget?

A

The annual balance between inputs and outputs within a system.

42
Q

What is Water Conservation?

A

Strategies used to reduce water usage and demand.

43
Q

What is Water Recycling?

A

The treatment and purification of waste water to increase supply.

44
Q

What is Water Scarcity?

A

Limited renewable water sources.

45
Q

What is Water Security?

A

The ability to protect and access a sustainable source to adequately meet demand.

46
Q

What is the Water Sharing Treaty?

A

International agreements for transboundary sources.

47
Q

What is Water Transfer?

A

Hard engineering projects such as pipelines or aqueducts that divert water between basins to meet demand.

48
Q

What is the Water Shed?

A

The boundary between neighbouring drainage basins.

49
Q

What is Physical Water Scarcity?

A

A physical lack of available freshwater which cannot meet the required demand.

50
Q

What is Economic Water Scarcity?

A

When water resources are available but insufficient economic wealth limits access to it.

51
Q

What is a Drought?

A

An extended period of deficient rainfall relative to the statistical average for the region.

52
Q

What is a Meteorological Drought?

A

When long-term precipitation trends are below average.

53
Q

What is Salinisation?

A

Where salt water contaminates freshwater stores or soils, creating saline conditions and reducing human use and consumption.

54
Q

What are Desalinisation Plants?

A

The conversion of seawater into freshwater suitable for human consumption.

55
Q

What is Saltwater Encroachment?

A

The movement of saltwater into freshwater aquifers or soils. Potentially from sea level rises.

56
Q

What is Thermohaline Circulation?

A

The movement of volumes of seawater from cold deep water to warm water surface water.