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Environmental Science AS > Hydrosphere > Flashcards

Hydrosphere Flashcards

(79 cards)

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1
Q

What are the different reservoirs of water in the water cycle

A
  • oceans
  • lakes
  • rivers
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2
Q

Define the term residence time

A
  • how long water stays in a particular reservoir
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3
Q

Define the term transfer rate

A
  • how much water moves over a period of time
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4
Q

How do you work out residence time

A

residence time = volume of H2O in a reservoir/mean transfer rate

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5
Q

What is evaporation

A
  • water moves from the earths surface to the atmosphere
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6
Q

What is precipitation

A
  • water moves from the atmosphere to the ground,ocean,lakes
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7
Q

What is transpiration

A
  • water moves from plants to the atmosphere
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8
Q

What is runoff

A
  • water moves from the land to the ocean
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9
Q

What is interception

A
  • water moves from the atmosphere to the plant
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10
Q

What is infiltration

A
  • water moves from the surface to the soil
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11
Q

What is percolation

A
  • downward movement of water through the soil
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12
Q

What is ground water flow

A
  • water moving slowly through rocks towards the sea
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13
Q

What is transport by the wind

A
  • water moves over the ocean to over the land
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14
Q

What is surface flow

A
  • water flows downhill towards stream channels which join rivers and eventually reach the oceans
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15
Q

Where does the energy come from that drives the water cycle

A
  • the sun
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16
Q

Define the term abstraction

A
  • taking water from a natural reservoir for human use
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17
Q

What effects does urbanization have on the process and reservoir

A
  • reduces infiltration
  • increase interception
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18
Q

What effect does abstraction of water have on the process and reservoir

A
  • decrease water volume underground
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19
Q

What effect does agriculture have on the process and reservoir

A
  • decrease infiltration
  • increase transpiration
  • can increase and decrease interception
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20
Q

What effect does deforestation have on the process and the reservoir

A
  • decrease transpiration
  • decrease interception
  • decrease infiltration
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21
Q

What effect does afforestation have on the process and reservoir

A
  • increase transpiration
  • increase interception
  • increase infiltration
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22
Q

What effect does industry have on the process and the reservoir

A
  • slows evaporation
  • more water is being abstracted out of natural reservoirs
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23
Q

What effect does combustion have on the process and reservoir

A
  • increase evaporation
  • increase precipitation
  • increase transpiration
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24
Q

What are the 4 types of demand for water

A
  • population size
  • affluence
  • agriculture
  • industry
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25
Define the term water footprint
- the volume of water needed for the production of goods and services consumed by a country's inhabitants
26
What are the uses, impacts and threats of the river nile
uses - agriculture - fishing threats - pollution - climate change impacts - consequences for biodiversity - decrease resources
27
What is a reservoir and why do we build them
- an artificial lake where water is stored - to store the rain water that falls and then use it for supply's for hotter times of the year
28
What are some advantages of using reservoirs
- water store - flood risk management - for agriculture - healthier source of water
29
What are some disadvantages of using reservoirs
- displacement of wildlife - impacts on fish migration - changes to downstream flow patterns
30
What is the ideal shape of land for a reservoir
- valley with steep sides - river already there
31
What is the ideal geology for a reservoir
- base rocks to be impermeable
32
What is the ideal catchment area for a reservoir
- large catchment area - greater chance of creating a reservoir
33
What is the ideal water supply for a reservoir
- high and frequent precipitation
34
What is the ideal existing land use for a reservoir
- designations
35
What is the ideal pollution risk for a reservoir
- low pollution risk - can see what enters the reservoir
36
What is the ideal sedimentation for a reservoir
- sedimentation is low - low rate of soil erosion
37
What is the ideal infrastructure for a reservoir
- roads, power and water supply's etc already there - if roads are already there, then it is cheaper
38
What is an estuarine barrage
- a dam built across the mouth of a river
39
Problems with building an estuarine barrage
- expensive - prevents water from flowing to the ocean - creates obstacles for transport systems
40
Define the term aquifer
- a body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater
41
What are the 3 main features that allow the formation of an aquifer
- porosity - permeability - suitable geological structures
42
What is a confined aquifer
- aquifer below the land surface that is saturated with water
43
What is an unconfined aquifer
- where the rock is directly open at the surface of the ground and groundwater is directly recharged
44
What is an artesian well
- water well that doesn't require a pump to bring water to the surface
45
What is the explanation of the consequence reduced supplies
- limited supplies for agriculture, industry and domestic use - less food production - migration of people
46
What is the explanation of the consequence subsidence
- sinking off the ground - makes things tilted and fractured
47
What is the explanation of the consequence changes in surface hydrology
- disappearance of surface water features e.g lakes - aquifer overused - water table drops
48
What is the explanation of the consequence ecological impacts
- loss of freshwater habitats - local extinction of some species - migration of species
49
What is the explanation of the consequence saltwater incursion
- we can't drink the water or use it for agriculture - saltwater pollution - long residence time, so salt is harder to get out of the aquifer
50
How can we monitor aquifer water levels and rates of depletion
- boreholes - physically monitor the water table - NASA - GRACE satellites - measures gravity levels
51
what is the most important aquifer in the UK
- London basin
52
Define the term aquifer recharge
- refilling of the aquifer
53
How has the north china plain been overabstracted
- aquifer is unbalanced - due to declining groundwater levels, it can lead to drying up of streams
54
How has malta overabstracted their aquifer
- little lakes and rivers - many tunnels connecting to aquifer - water is being extracted quicker than its being replenished
55
Explain how rainwater is harvested and used in modern/eco buildings
- it can be collected from roofs of homes etc - installing gutters on roofs - sand filters are used to remove harmful particulates
56
Explore new ways of exploiting water
- desalination - sewage treatment - recycling water
57
How are aquifers recharged artificially
- take water from surplus places and move it to a place where it can infiltrate into the ground and recharge an aquifer
58
Define the term inter basin transfer
- moving water from a surplus area to a depleting area
59
How can we reduce domestic, industrial and agricultural water consumption
- a water metre - drip irrigation
60
Impacts of turbidity
- blocks out light for photosynthesising organisms - aesthetics - doesn't look good
61
Why do we test for ph
- metals more readily go into solutions in acidic conditions
62
Impact of calcium content
- calcium may precipitate out and build up on pipes and appliances
63
Impact of pesticide concentration
- increase of it, leads to harm to non-interested pests - organisms will become predated upon
64
Impacts of heavy metal concentration
- toxic to many organisms - they can affect nervous system
65
Impacts of dissolved oxygen
- aquatic organisms require dissolved oxygen - supports bacteria that can help breakdown organic matter
66
Impacts of chlorine retention
- kills pathogens in water
67
Impacts of E.coli
- it makes humans sick
68
What are screens and what are they used for
- water is passed through metal grids - removes large items such as fish and plastic
69
What is sedimentation and what is it used for
- water is stored in sedimentation tanks - allows for any suspended particles to settle out
70
What is aeration and what is it used for
- encourage aerobic bacteria - they break down the organic matter
71
What is flocculation/coagulation and clarification and what is it used for
- some of the suspended particles don't settle out - it removes the electrostatic charge of clay particles which cause them to stick together - they flock
72
What is filtration and what is it used for
- allow water to perculate through sand - removes bacteria and remaining particles
73
What are activated carbon filters and what are they used for
- chemicals are attracted to the carbon - this removes pesticides
74
What is sterilisation and what is it used for
- add chlorine - bubble ozone through the water - removes pathogens
75
What is ph control and what is it used for
- alkaline - add an acid - acidic - add limestone - maintains water
76
What is fluoridation
- add fluoride to water - this improves dental health
77
What is ion exchange and what is it used for
- metals adsorb to the ion exchange resins - removes metals
78
Describe the process of reverse osmosis
- use a semi-permeable membrane - water molecules can pass through but sand can't - salty water is put back into the sea
79
Describe the process of distillation
- get the saltwater - allow for evaporation - collect the condensed water - salt is left behind in original container

Environmental Science AS (19 decks)

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