The Global Water Cycle

Question 1

What are the four mains stores in the water cycle

Answer 1

• atmosphere (air)
• cryosphere (frozen water)
• hydrosphere (liquid water)
• lithosphere (land)

Question 2

The vast majority of the Earth’s water is _____ water.

Answer 2

Saline

Question 3

How much of the Earth’s water is stored in oceans?

Answer 3

97.4%

Question 4

How much of the Earth’s water is freshwater?

Answer 4

2.5%

Question 5

Where can freshwater be commonly found?

Answer 5

In aquifers

Question 6

What % of freshwater is found in aquifers?

Answer 6

30%

Question 7

Where do aquifers usually form?

Answer 7

In pourous and permeable rocks (e.g. sandstone, chalk)

Question 8

Define soil water budget.

Answer 8

The soil’s ability to store and transfer water.

Question 9

What are fossil aquifers?

Answer 9

Aquifers found in the deserts of Africa, the Middle East and Australia. They were formed 1000s of years ago when the climate was much wetter.

Question 10

Rivers only occur if…

Answer 10

The stores are able to release water, or there is direct precipitation, or if there is overland flow into the river.

Question 11

The warmer it is, the higher the…

Answer 11

Potential evapotranspiration

Question 12

What is potential evaporation?

Answer 12

The amount of water that could be evaporated or transpired (or both) from an area if there was sufficient water available.

Question 13

Define atmospheric water.

Answer 13

Water found in the atmosphere.

Most commonly water vapour, with some liquid water (cloud and rain droplets) and ice droplets.

Question 14

Why does atmospheric water vapour need to keep the atmosphere at similar temperatures?

Answer 14

The atmosphere needs to be kept at temperatures that can maintain life.

Question 15

How does atmospheric water vapour keep the atmosphere at a temperature that can maintain life?

Answer 15

It absorbs, reflects and scatters incoming solar radiation.

Question 16

Air over the poles is dry, but over the tropics is very humid. Why?

Answer 16

Because cold air holed less water vapour than hot air.

Question 17

What are clouds? How do they form?

Answer 17

Clouds are visible masses of water droplets suspended in the atmosphere. They form as a result of air in the lower layer of the Earth’s atmosphere becoming saturated (due to cooling of the air or an increase in water vapour)

Question 18

Cryospheric water.

Answer 18

Water locked up in the Earth’s surface as ice. Eg:

• permafrost
• ice caps
• ice sheets
• sea ice
• alpine glaciers

Question 19

What’s the hydrosphere?

Answer 19

A discontinuous later os water at or near the Earth’s surface. includes all liquid and frozen waters, groundwater held in soil / rocks and atmospheric water vapour.

Question 20

Describe oceanic water.

Answer 20

Water contained in the Earth’s oceans or seas.

The oceans dominate the amount of available water and cover 72% of the Earth’s surface.

Question 21

Describe terrestrial water.

Answer 21

Water n the land consisting of groundwater, soil moisture, lakes, wetlands and rivers.

Question 22

Terrestrial water: lakes

Answer 22

They are collections of freshwater found in hollows of the Earth’s surface. Greater than 2 hectares in area. Most lakes lie in the Nrthern hemisphere at higher latitudes.

Question 23

Terrestrial water: rivers.

Answer 23

Both a store and transfer of water they are streams within a defined channel. Rivers transfer water from the ground sound, the atmosphere to a store.

Rivers not make up 0.0002% of all water.

Question 24

Define define anthropogenic CO2.

Answer 24

Carbon dioxide generated by human activity.

Question 25

Define biosphere.

Answer 25

The total sum of all living matter

Question 26

Define carbon sequestration.

Answer 26

The capture of CO2 from the atmosphere before it is released into the atmosphere. Once captured, the CO2 is put into long term storage.

Question 27

Define carbon sink.

Answer 27

A store of carbon that absorbs more carbon than it releases.

Question 28

Define greenhouse gas.

Answer 28

Any gaseous compound in the atmosphere that is capable of absorbing infrared radiation, thereby trapping and holding heat in the atmosphere.

Question 29

Define lithosphere.

Answer 29

The crust and uppermost mantle; this constitutes the hard and rigid outer layer of the Earth.

Question 30

Define weathering.

Answer 30

The breakdown of rocks in situ by a combination of weather plants and animals.