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Geography > SG1: Water Cycle > Flashcards

SG1: Water Cycle Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 4 things that water is important for?

A
  • Humans
  • Fauna
  • Flora
  • Climate
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2
Q

Why do humans need water?

A
  • Essential for economic activity e.g. generate electricity, growing crops, manufacturing
  • Need water in our bodies
  • Used for chemical reactions in the body and the circulation of oxygen and nutrients.
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3
Q

Why does fauna need water?

A
  • Temperature regulation i.e. to cool themselves
  • For survival
  • Habitat
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4
Q

Why does Flora need water?

A
  • Photosynthesis- for growth
  • Rigidity + support
  • Transport nutrients from the soil
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5
Q

Why does the climate need water?

A
  • Created optimal thermal conditions on earth: oceans absorb, store and release = regulate temps around the year.
  • Clouds reflect 1/5th of incoming solar radiation which reduces surface temperatures
  • Water vapour absorbs long wave radiation to maintain average global temperatures.
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6
Q

What type of system is the water cycle?

A

Closed system

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7
Q

Why is the water cycle a closed system?

A

Only energy enters and leaves the global cycle. No mass (water). Total water amount in cycle is always the same.

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8
Q

What 4 things consist in a water cycle?

A
  • Evaporation
  • Precipitation
  • Evapotranspiration
  • Run off/ groundwater flow
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9
Q

What goes into the atmosphere from the land?

A

Evapotranspiration

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10
Q

What from the atmosphere goes onto the land?

A

Precipitation

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11
Q

What from the ocean goes into the atmosphere?

A

Evaporation

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12
Q

What from the land goes into the ocean?

A

Run off/ groundwater flow

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13
Q

What is a store?

A

Total quantity and location of water in a system.

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14
Q

What are the different stores in the water cycle?

A
  • Lithosphere
  • Biosphere
  • Hydrosphere
  • Cryosphere
  • Atmosphere
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15
Q

What is the lithosphere?

A

The rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and the upper mantle. Divided into tectonic plates.

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16
Q

What is the biosphere?

A

Regions of the earth’s atmosphere and surface occupied by living organisms.

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17
Q

What is the hydrosphere?

A

All bodies of water e.g. lakes + seas

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18
Q

What is the cryosphere?

A

The frozen part of the earth’s surface, includes ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice and permafrost.

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19
Q

What is the atmosphere?

A

The envelope of gases surrounding the planet.

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20
Q

What does the atmosphere consist of?

A

A small fraction of the Earth’s water due to rapid flux rates in and out of the atmosphere.

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21
Q

How does the water cycle affect the atmosphere?

A

Water vapour is concentrated at the equator due to higher temperatures. Temperatures are warmer at the equator because equator is closer to the sun- less solar radiation is lost. Also the curve of the earth- sun’s energy is more concentrated at the equator and spreads out over a larger area at the poles.

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22
Q

What is the distribution of oceans?

A

Cover 71% of the Earth’s surface. Contains 97% of all water on the planet, only 3%= fresh water.

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23
Q

What is the distribution of the aquifer system?

A

Unevenly distributed as they only form in porous and permeable rocks e.g. chalk. 30% of all freshwater is stored in rocks deep below the ground surface (aquifers). Found in Western Europe, Northern Africa, Middle east.

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24
Q

What is the distribution of ice caps?

A

Unevenly distributed globally. Found in high altitude + latitude locations. E.g. Alps and Antarctica.

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25
Q

What type of system is a river drainage basin?

A

An open system

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26
Q

Why is the drainage basin an open system?

A

Both energy and matter enter and leave the drainage basin e.g. water enters as precipitation and leaves when it flows out to the sea or evaporates into the atmosphere.

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27
Q

What is the input into the drainage basin water cycle?

A

Precipitation

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28
Q

How do clouds form?

A
  1. Ground is heated up by isolation and a parcel of warm air rise by convection
  2. Parcel of air is warmer than it’s surrounding therefore buoyant + less dense
  3. Parcel of air cools according to DALR due to the ELR + eventually reaches it’s condensation point.
  4. Condensation occurs and a cloud starts to form whilst later heat is released.
  5. Air has become saturated with water and continues to cool but at a slower rate of 7 degrees per 1km because of the latent heat released.
  6. Air continues to rise until it reaches the same temp as the surrounding air.
  7. Condensation stops + marks the top of the cloud.
  8. Air cannot rise any further as it is the same temperature as it’s surrounding. The atmosphere is now stable.
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29
Q

How is precipitation formed?

A
  1. Water in the atmosphere cools to its condensation point
  2. It then condenses into tiny water droplets or ice particles to form clouds
  3. Eventually these droplets or ice particles collide and aggregate
  4. They then leave the cloud as precipitation, once large enough to overcome the uplift of the air.
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30
Q

What is mean’t by flows?

A

Physical mechanisms that drive the flux of material between stores.

31
Q

What is a flux?

A

A measurement of the rate of flow of material between the stores.

32
Q

What is channel precipitation?

A

10% of all precipitation falls directly into the river channel flows straight to the ocean when it rains.

33
Q

What is interception?

A

Some precipitation never reaches the ground as it is stopped by vegetation.

34
Q

Name some flows in the drainage basin water cycle?

A
  • surface run off
  • groundwater flow
  • through flow
  • infiltration
  • percolation
35
Q

Where is precipitation stored in?

A
  • Branches
  • Leaves
  • Stems
36
Q

How does precipitation transfer?

A

Ground via through fall and stem flow OR evaporates into the atmosphere and leaves the drainage basin system (interception loss)

37
Q

What is interception loss?

A

When rainwater stored temporarily on the leaves, stems and branches of vegetation evaporates and does not reach the ground.

38
Q

What are the factors affecting interception loss?

A
  • Interception storage capacity
  • Wind speed
  • vegetation type
  • Tree species
39
Q

How does interception storage capacity affect the rate of interception loss?

A
  1. Before rainfall, the vegetation surfaces are dry and there is max ability to retain water.
  2. A vegetation is saturated, output of water through stem flow and through flow increases.
  3. Interception therefore, depends on the duration + intensity of rainfall event.
40
Q

How does wind speed affect the rate of interception loss?

A

A wind speed increases, evaporation rates increase. Turbulence also increases with wind speed, causing additional through fall.

41
Q

How does the vegetation type affect the rate of interception loss?

A

Trees with large surface area have higher interception loss than grasses. Grasses have higher interception loss than agricultural crops.

42
Q

How does tree species affect the rate of interception loss?

A

Evergreen conifers ( e.g. pine) have greater interception loss than broad leaved, deciduous trees (e.g. oak) because most conifers have leaves all round and water adheres ti spaces between the conifer needles which increases evaporation.

43
Q

What is infiltration?

A

The vertical flow of water by gravity into the ground.

44
Q

What is infiltration capacity?

A

Speed that water passes through the soil i.e. the capacity of the soil to absorb the water.

45
Q

What is percolation?

A

The movement of soil water into underlying permeable rock.

46
Q

What are the factors affecting infiltration rates?

A
  • Infiltration capacity
  • Arable land in winter
  • Coniferous trees
  • Soil saturation
  • Rock type
47
Q

How does infiltration capacity affect the rate of infiltration?

A

High infiltration capacity means large amount of water can infiltrate. Sandy soil have large pores= high infiltration capacity. Clayley have small pores= low infiltration capacity.

48
Q

How does arable land (no trees) in the winter affect the rate of infiltration?

A

Less interception = less losses by evapotranspiration= more infiltration = increased through flow. However, if rainfall continues soil will be saturated meaning increased overland flow.

49
Q

How does coniferous trees affect the rate of infiltration?

A

More water is intercepted = greater interception losses = less saturated soil = less water to infiltrate into the soil. Therefore, soil will be dry and when water reaches it, infiltration capacity will be high so litter overland flow.

50
Q

What is soil saturation?

A

Soil particles are filled with water.

51
Q

How does soil saturation affect the rate of infiltration?

A

Very little infiltration if soil is saturated so much greater overland flow.

52
Q

How does rock type affect the rate of infiltration?

A

Permeable rock means that water can move through the rock. means high infiltration, less overland flow.
Impermeable rock means a rock that neither absorbs water or allows water to pass through. Means low infiltration, increased overland flow.

53
Q

What is discharge?

A

Volume of water passing a given point in a given time.

54
Q

What is a flood flashy hydrograph?

A
  • High peak discharge
  • Short lag time
  • Steep rising limb
  • Steep recessional limb.
55
Q

What is a flood low flat hydrograph?

A
  • low peak discharge
  • Long lag time
  • Gentle rising limb
  • Gentle recessional limb.
56
Q

What is the reasons of flashy hydrograph?

A
  • Permeable bedrock
  • Little vegetation
  • Season
  • Saturated soil
57
Q

What is the reasons of low flat hydrograph?

A
  • Impermeable bedrock
  • Lots of vegetation
  • Unsaturated soil
58
Q

How does water leave the drainage basin and enter the atmosphere?

A

Evapotranspiration

59
Q

What is evapotranspiration?

A

Sum of loss of water from the Earth’s surface.

60
Q

What are the two components of evapotranspiration?

A

Evaporation and Transpiration

61
Q

What is the evaporation?

A

The phrase change of water from a liquid into a vapour.

62
Q

What is transpiration?

A

The loss of water from vegetation stomata via evaporation.

63
Q

What are the factors affecting the rates of transpiration?

A
  • Wind speed- stronger wind= more water drawn from surface of the leaves
  • Temperature- higher temps = more heat = more transpiration
  • Water availability to plants- less water in soil = less water in plants = less water available for transpiration
  • Seasons- in winter less vegetation, less transpiration.
64
Q

What is water balance?

A

The balance between the inputs into a drainage basin and outputs.

65
Q

What is water surplus?

A

When precipitation is more than evapotranspiration and stem flow. Create a saturated soil.

66
Q

What is water deficit?

A

When precipitation is less than evapotranspiration and stemflow. This will create dry soil.

67
Q

What is a water budget graph?

A

Shows the balance between inputs (precipitation) and outputs (evapotranspiration).

68
Q

What happens in wet seasons on a water budget graph?

A

Precipitation excedes evapotranspiration = water surplus. ground stripes fill in with water - soil races its max capacity.

69
Q

What happens in dry season on a water budget graph?

A

Evapotranspiration excedes precipitation = water deficit.
This leads to soil moisture utilisation because less rain available for plants. Soil will be dry so plants will wilt as less water taken up.

70
Q

What is through flow?

A

The transfer of water from the soil storage zone to the channel at a much slower rate than overland flow.

71
Q

What is overland flow?

A

When the outcome of the rainfall intensity on a slope is greater than the rate at which the water can infiltrate into the soil a thin layer of water forms on the surface and it begins to move downslope due to gravity.

72
Q

What is groundwater?

A

Water that collects underground in the pore spaces in the soil and rock.

73
Q

What is run-off?

A

All the water which enters a river and flows out of the drainage basin. Overland flow, through flow and groundwater flow all contribute to this.

Geography (34 decks)

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