5.1B - Importance and sizes of stores and fluxes Flashcards
State all of the water sources
oceans, atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, groundwater and surface water
State 5.1B
The relative importance and size (percentage contribution) of the water stores (oceans, atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, groundwater and surface water) and annual fluxes between the ocean, atmosphere and land.
What is a store
Stores are reservoirs where water is held
What is surface run off
The umbrella terms for a number of land-based stores, including rivers, lakes, groundwater and the moisture held in soils and vegetation
What counts as cryosphere
glaciers and ice sheets
What is the relative importance/size of water stores
Of the freshwater stores:
- The cryosphere is the largest, holding 69% of global freshwater
- Groundwater holds 30%
- Less than 1% is stored in the biosphere (vegetation and soil moisture)
BUT OCEAN IS LARGEST BY FAR
What are flows
Flows are the transfers of water from one store to another
State the amount of evap and precip occuring in oceans and the atmosphere
Evaporation 400,000
Precipitation 370,000
all in km cubed per year
State the amount of evap and precip occuring in atmosphere and landmasses
Evaporation 60,000
Precipitation 90,000
km cubed per year
State the amount of evap and precip occuring in landmasses and oceans
Surface runoff 30,000
What are fluxes
Fluxes are the rates of flow between stores. The greatest fluxes occur over the oceans.
State two types of water systems
- Open, e.g. drainage basin (with inputs and outputs)
- Closed, e.g. hydrological cycle (solid ice, water vapour, liquid flow back to ice
What are water budgets
- Reflect a balance of flux vs. storage
- Remember that the majority of water is inaccessible, e.g. salt-water storage
- Some stores can are replenished, others can’t (e.g. groundwater / ice sheets
check pmt detailed notes bottom of page 2 for stats
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