TOPIC 5 HYDROSPHERE Flashcards
(21 cards)
Three ways water is used by humans?
Agriculture
Industry
Domestic uses
What is 70% of water used for?
Irrigation for agriculture
Why is water demand increasing?
Increase in population
Increase in per capita (per person)
Increase in irrigation for farmland
Industrialisation
What humans impacts effect the hydrological cycle?
Deforestation
Agriculture
Urban development
Global climate change
Water abstraction
How does deforestation effect the hydrological cycle?
Less rain is intercepted meaning more reaches the ground, as the process of transpiration moves water in the air there can be less precipitation in downwind areas
Five environmental effects of reservoirs?
Habitat change
Wildlife barriers
River regime
Sedimentation
Microclimates
What is sedimentation?
the action or process of forming or depositing sediment
What is an aquifer?
a body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater
What is permeability?
How easily water flows through a rock
What is dynamic equilibrium in relation to aquifiers?
The natural water table of an aquifer is usually in a state of dynamic equilibrium, the rate of recharge is equal to the rate of water lost
Why are humans considered to be bad in regards to the aquifer equilibrium?
If the abstraction of water by humans exceeds the recharge rate then the water table in the aquifer will begin to drop
Three consequences of over exploitation of aquifers?
Salt water incursion
Changes in hydrology
Subsidence
How can changes in hydrology become a consequence of over exploitation of aquifers?
Many natural water features are fed by aquifers
if the water abstraction rate causes the aquifer to dry up it can lead to habitats drying up + death of organisms
Why does salt water incursion occur?
If water pressure in the aquifer drops due to abstraction
What is subsidence in relation to over exploitation of aquifers?
If water is no longer present in the gaps in the rock then there is less support for the rock particles.
This leads to the rock collapsing in on itself due to the weight of material above.
This can cause subsidence (ground sinking)
How can we use water economically?
Water meters
Low volume water use
Grey water use
What is grey water use?
Reusing dirty water for other purposes
What category does xeriscaping come under and what it is?
Low volume water use
the process of landscaping, or gardening, that reduces or eliminates the need for irrigation
Five examples of new water sources?
Rainwater catchment
New reservoirs
Estuary barrages - large dam-like structure
New aquifers
Inter basin transfer schemes
List a few factors affecting reservoir placement?
Pollution risk
Sedimentation
Infrastructure
Topography
What is Topography?
the shape, size, and arrangement of geographical features of the Earth’s surface in a given location
