Water

Question 1

What percentage of the world’s water is freshwater?

Answer 1

2.5%

Question 2

What percentage of the world’s water is easily accessible for use by humans?

Answer 2

1% of freshwater

Question 3

What is the duration that water is in a store called?

Answer 3

Residence time

Question 4

What is the boundary of a drainage basin called?

Answer 4

Watershed

Question 5

What are the inputs of a drainage basin?

Answer 5

Precipitation

Question 6

What are the outputs of a drainage basin?

Answer 6

Evaporation
Transpiration
Discharge

Question 7

What are the flows of a drainage basin?

Answer 7

Throughflow
Groundwater flow
Channel flow
Infiltration
Percolation
Surface Runoff

Question 8

What physical factors influence the drainage basin?

Answer 8

Relief
Soil
Biomass
Geology
Climate

Question 9

What human factors influence the drainage basin?

Answer 9

Deforestation/Afforestation
Urbanisation
River management
Land use

Question 10

Define river regime

Answer 10

The change in river discharge through the year

Question 11

What are the characteristics of a storm hydrograph?

Answer 11

Storm event, lag time, rising limb, falling limb, peak discharge

Question 12

What is a Hadley Cell?

Answer 12

Rising air due to solar heating is replaced by air mass from other latitudes, creating a cycle

Question 13

Which way do the trade winds go in El Nino?

Answer 13

West to East (reversed)

Question 14

How does El Nino affect Australia?

Answer 14

Droughts

Question 15

How does El Nino affect South America?

Answer 15

Low pressure and flooding

Question 16

Which way do the trade winds go in La Nina?

Answer 16

East to West (intensified)

Question 17

What is the progression of drought?

Answer 17

Meteorological, hydrological, agricultural, famine

Question 18

How is meteorological drought defined?

Answer 18

A period of time with less than a certain amount of precipitation

Question 19

How is hydrological drought defined?

Answer 19

The effect of precipitation deficit on a drainage basin’s fluxes and stores of water

Question 20

How is agricultural drought defined?

Answer 20

Soil moisture is insufficient for crop growth and production

Question 21

How is famine drought defined?

Answer 21

Decline in availability or access to food caused by drought

Question 22

What is the water balance equation?

Answer 22

P = Q + E ± S

Question 23

What does P stand for in the water balance equation?

Answer 23

Precipitation

Question 24

What does Q stand for in the water balance equation?

Answer 24

Runoff / river discharge

Question 25

What does E stand for in the water balance equation?

Answer 25

Evapotranspiration

Question 26

What does S stand for in the water balance equation?

Answer 26

Soil moisture and groundwater storage

Question 27

What "drives" the water cycle?

Answer 27

Solar Power

Question 28

How much of the world's water is in the oceans?

Answer 28

97%

Question 29

How much of the world's water is in the atmosphere?

Answer 29

0.001%

Question 30

How much of the world's water is in the biosphere?

Answer 30

0.003% of freshwater

Question 31

How much of the world's water is in the cryosphere?

Answer 31

69% of freshwater

Question 32

How much of the world's water is groundwater?

Answer 32

30% of freshwater

Question 33

How much of the world's water is surface water?

Answer 33

1.2% of freshwater

Question 34

Which water stores are non-renewable?

Answer 34

Fossil water, cryosphere

Question 35

What are the causes of drought?

Answer 35

Precipitation deficit, ENSO, global warming

Question 36

Define fossil water

Answer 36

Water that infiltrated millennia ago under different climatic conditions to now, which has been stored since then

Question 37

How does human activity increase drought risk?

Answer 37

Global warming | Over-abstraction of ground- and surface-water

Question 38

What factors increase uncertainties in the hydrological cycle?

Answer 38

Global warming | ENSO

Question 39

How does climate change affect the hydrological cycle?

Answer 39

Size of cryosphere, reservoirs/lakes, soil moisture Rates of runoff and stream flow Drainage basin inputs/outputs

Question 40

What defines water stress?

Answer 40

Below 1,700 m³ / person

Question 41

What defines water scarcity?

Answer 41

Below 1000 m³ / person

Question 42

What causes water stress and scarcity?

Answer 42

Imbalance between water supply and demand

Question 43

What is drip irrigation?

Answer 43

Gradually but directly dripping water to the plants' roots, reducing evaporation

Question 44

What is grey water?

Answer 44

Relatively clean waste water from the bathroom (NOT toilets) and kitchen appliances

Question 45

What is rainwater harvesting?

Answer 45

Accumulating and storing rainwater for reuse, disallowing surface run-off

Question 46

What is catchment?

Answer 46

Storing rainwater in large reservoirs

Question 47

How does La Nina affect Australia?

Answer 47

Increased rainfall

Question 48

How often are El Nino/La Nina events?

Answer 48

Anywhere from 2-7 years | Unpredictable

Question 49

What does ENSO stand for?

Answer 49

El Nino-Southern Oscillation

Question 50

How does La Nina affect South America?

Answer 50

Drought

Question 51

How does La Nina affect North America?

Answer 51

Drought in the southwest