Water Flashcards
(102 cards)
1
Q
What is the cryosphere
A
water in the form of ice
2
Q
How much of the worlds water is in oceans/is saline
A
96.5%
3
Q
How many people do not have access to freshwater
A
1/10
4
Q
How much freshwater do we have access to
A
2.5%
5
Q
Name the three freshwater stores and why we can/can’t use them
A
glaciers - dont want to melt
groundwater - not always renewable source and have to be careful of salt water intrusion
other - can use but only makes up 1.2%
6
Q
What 4 things make up a system
A
inputs, outputs, flows and stores
7
Q
Is the global water system open or closed
A
closed as we cannot create or destroy water
8
Q
Are localised systems open or closed
A
open as there are outputs out of the system
9
Q
What is the global water budget
A
annual balance of water fluxes and the size of the stores
10
Q
What are residence times
A
how long water spends in one store
11
Q
Name the three types of rain
A
frontal, relief and convectional
12
Q
Describe frontal rain
A
when a cold and warm air mass meet and forces hotter air up
13
Q
Describe relief rain
A
steep relief causes air to rise
14
Q
Describe convectional rain
A
sun heats air and causes it to rise
15
Q
Where is most of the worlds rainfall created
A
the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)
16
Q
What is an albedo
A
the reflectivity of the ground
17
Q
What is the pressure and rainfall like in the ITCZ
A
low pressure with lots of convectional rainfall which creates monsoons
18
Q
Which regions drive the global hydrological cycle and why
A
the polar regions through circulation of water and transfer of heat
19
Q
What is thermohaline circulation
A
movement of water around the world
20
Q
How does water move around the planet
A
cold water sinks in the polar regions due to being colder and more saline therefore denser, which drags warm water from the tropics
21
Q
What are fossil water reserves
A
reserves of water that have not been recharged or extracted for a long time
22
Q
How are these reserves more accessible and is this a good thing
A
due to new technology, which is not good as it is becoming a non-renewable source
23
Q
What is a drainage density
A
total length of all streams and rivers divided by the total area of drainage basin
24
Q
What are the three pathways of rainfall
A
infiltration, overland flow, evaporation
25
What do water budgets show
the balance between the inputs and outputs of a river over a year
26
What do they allow us to compare
the natural water supply and human demand
27
What are water balance estimations used for
used to assess current status and trends in water resource availability
28
What is soil moisture surplus
when soil is saturated and excess water cannot infiltrate
29
What is soil moisture utilisation
when evapotranspiration is greater than precipitation
30
What is soil moisture deficit
when eventually all water stored is used up
31
What is soil moisture recharge
when precipitation is greater than evapotranspiration so pores in soil are refilled
32
What are river regimes
seasonal patterns of rivers as they respond to precipitation
33
What is a simple regime
regimes for shorter rivers that only go through one climatic zone
34
What is a complex regime
where larger rivers cross multiple different reliefs and climatic zones
35
What do regimes reflect changes in
precipitation
temp
evapotranspiration
land use
36
What are the two types of storm hydrographs
flashy and subdued
37
Explain flashy hydrographs
short lag time
| urbanised area so little infiltration
38
Explain subdued hydrographs
vegetated area so more infiltration
| longer lag time
39
What does cuMEC's stand for
cubic metres per second
40
What is base flow
the portion of the discharge of a stream contributed by groundwater flow
41
Name the three players in the hydro cycle
planners, environmental agency and local councils
42
Explain why local councils need to know about the hydro cycle
to check they have flood management in place
43
Define drought
a slow onset hazard that involves an extended period of reduced rainfall
44
What percentage of the world is exposed to drought
38%
45
What are the four types of drought
meteorological
agricultural
hydrological
socio-economic
46
Explain meteorological drought
lower precip than normal in a specific region
47
Explain agricultural drought
soil does not have enough moisture for crops
48
Explain hydrological drought
when water supplies such as rivers and groundwater are deficient
49
Explain socio-economic drought
when demand for water exceeds availability due to low supply or overuse
50
What is flash flood
floods that come with no warning, caused by heavy rainfall and poor drainage
51
Name 3 other causes of flooding
snow melt
river flooding
lake/reservoir release
52
Which river used to rely solely on snowmelt
South Platte river, Colorado
53
What can snow melt flooding trigger
landslides and debris flow
54
What is a monsoon
seasonal changes in prevailing winds that cause distinct wet and dry seasons particularly in areas close to oceans
55
When is monsoon season in India
April to September
56
Name 2 times there were many deaths in Indian monsoon season
5000 in 2014
| Indus burst banks 2010, 2000 dead
57
What did the Indian government do that caused political unrest in terms of flood management
used dynamite to destroy dykes
| this destroyed large farming areas and displaced many families
58
Which country accused India of not controlling surges
Pakistan
59
What does India need more of
HEP plants
60
Name 6 reasons why humans make flooding worse
```
deforestation
urbanisation
intensive crop growing
climate change
mismanagement of rivers
using hard engineering
```
61
How does intensive farming increase flood risks
drier soils, change in water movement eg irrigation
62
What is permafrost
permanently frozen soil at high altitudes
63
How does ice's high albedo create a positive feedback loop
melts because of high temps, meaning less reflection and more increased temps
64
What 5 things does loss of sea ice lead to
```
altered migration paths
increased flooding in low lying areas
loss in reflexivity
permafrost melting
dynamic glacial thinning
```
65
Why is altering migration paths bad
as the inuits lose their income through hunting
66
Why is melting permafrost bad
releases carbon and causes house to collapse
67
Why is modelling climate change trends hard
because climate dynamics are only partially understood and global records are very incomplete
68
Which two companies look at climate change
IPCC and LWEC
69
Name 4 futures and uncertainties that climate change is bringing with drought
- greater projected increase in drought exposure from el nino and la nina on equator and south africa
- diminishing snow pack in western usa leading to drought through decreased soil moisture
- annual losses of drought in usa projected to be $9 billion
- more snow falling as rain leading to demands outweighing supply as it will evaporate quicker
70
Name 4 futures and uncertainties that climate change is bringing with flooding
- moisture holding capacity of atmosphere is increasing at a rate of 7% per degrees celsius of warming
- sea levels to rise by 4 inches by 2030, and flooding may be increased up to 25x in tropics
- 50 year floods could strike twice as frequently
- climate change increased 2015 uk's winter devastating flood risk by 40%
71
Which 4 other factors should decision makers consider when making plans
water uses
water resources
pressures
life and livelihood
72
What do high water prices deter
unnecessary consumption of water
73
Give an example of when water consumption was decreased
Denmark, water price from 2 euros to 7
| decrease of 56 litres per day per person
74
What do a lot of developing coutries do with thier water companies
privatise them to make money which usually increases the pricing
75
Which 5 factors does water poverty index look at
```
resources - how readily available
access
capacity - managed for affordability
use
environment - sustainability
```
76
What is the water availability gap
gap between demand and supply
| predicted to be 40% globally by 2030
77
Where is there little to no water scarcity
Europe, North and South America
78
Where is there physical water scarcity
Middle East approaching that
79
Where is there economic water scarcity
Middle fo Africa and North India
80
What are 3 factors affecting price of water
privatisation
change in weather causing drought
covering costs of desalination
81
What are 3 positives of privatisation of water
Creates more opportunities to improve the systems by upgrading pipelines
Can provide clean and safe water
Manage supply better to help meet demand
82
What are 3 negatives of privatisation of water
Prices are dramatically increased
Companies don’t have the public interest at heart, more about profit
Cause conflict as many cannot afford the water
83
Name 3 ways we can manage water supply through hard engineering
mega dams
desalination
water transfers
84
Name and explain a water transfer scheme
Three Gorges Dam, China
Hai basin holds half population, 2/3 farming land but only 20% of water
overuse made levels drop 300m since 1970
high pollution on drinking water
25 billion m3 of fresh water from Yangtze costing $62 billion
85
What are some issues with this transfer
social displacement
complaints that it is mismanagement that is the issue and not shortage so better management would be more efficient
harsh effects on eco systems
expensive to build and maintain
86
What are the 3 ways we can manage water supply
hard engineering
intergrated river basin management
sustainable management
87
What is a intergrated river basin management
when all stakeholders are involved in management and planning that is balanced
88
What are soem challenges for intergrated river basin management
cultural and political barriers
inadequate funding
working across international boundaries
89
What are the key elements to a successful intergrated river basin management
a long term vision agreed by all stakeholders
strategic decision making at local levels
effective timing
active participation from all stakeholders
90
What river has an intergrated river basin management on it
Colorado river
91
Explain the colorado river scheme
7 states made agreement in 2007 to divide up shortages
reduced usage in California by 20%, everyone gets a proportion
2012 agreement with mexico that it can use some water from lake mead
in return, states can buy water conserved by improving mexicos canals
92
What are two ways we can sustainably manage water supplies
smart irrigation
| rainwater harvesting
93
Who are using smart irrigation
Australia Wide Open Agriculture
use only 10% of water required
roofs that open and close to control evaporation
water is sourced from runoff
94
What is smart irrigation
giving plants less water than they need to induce stress
| save 25% of water and not affect yield at certain growing times
95
Where are they harvesting rainwater
Uganda
tanks are easy to install on roofs of homes, schools and communities
girls no longer have to spend time collecting water
96
Why is the pedal powered water pump good for African countires
reduces suffering caused by heavy loads
improves hygiene and health
more time for economic activities and education
improves morale and personal dignity
97
What is sustainable water management
schemes working with local people to develop soft engineering projects that work with natural processes to restore water supplies
98
Where is using sustainable management
Singapore
abundant rainfall but limited land for collection and storage
water scarcity due to high evaporation rate
PUB have invested in technology for water management
99
What have PUB invested in
local catchment water, imported water, recycled water (NEWater) and desalinated water
100
Where does Singapore import water from
Malaysia
101
What is local catchment water
collecting rainwater through drains, canals, rivers
102
What percentage of Singapores water demand can be made up from the 4 NEWater plants
30%, wants to go to 55%
