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Physical geography > Water and carbon - key terms > Flashcards

Water and carbon - key terms Flashcards

(75 cards)

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1
Q

What is acidification?

A

The gradual reduction of PH in oceans, due to dissolving CO2 from the atmosphere

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2
Q

What is afforestation?

A

Planting trees and vegetation aiming to increase forest cover

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3
Q

What is an anticyclone?

A

A system of high pressure, causing high temperatures and unseasonably high evaporation rates

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4
Q

What is an aquifer

A

A permeable or porous rock that stores water

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5
Q

What is biofuel

A

Burning crops and vegetation for heat and electricity

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6
Q

What is carbon capture and storage (CCS)

A

The capture of Co2 emissions directly from the factory, pumped into disused mines rather than being released into the atmosphere

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7
Q

What are carbon fluxes

A

The movement of carbon between stores

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8
Q

What is carbon neutral?

A

A process that has no net addition of CO2 to the environment

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9
Q

What are carbon stores

A

Places where carbon accumulates for a period of time such as rocks and plant matter

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10
Q

What is channel flow

A

Water flowing in a rivulet, stream or river

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11
Q

What are choke points

A

Points in the logistics of energy and fuel that are prone to restriction

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12
Q

What is combustion

A

Process of burning a substance, in the presence of oxygen to release energy

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13
Q

What is convectional precipitation

A

Solar radiation heats the air above the ground, causing it to rise, cool and condense forming precipitation (often presented as thunderstorms)

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14
Q

What is the cryosphere

A

The global water volume locked up within a frozen state (eg - snow and ice)

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15
Q

What is decomposition

A

The breakdown of matter, often by a decomposer which releases CO2 through their own respiration

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16
Q

What is depression

A

A system of low pressure, with fronts of precipitation where low and high pressure air masses meet

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17
Q

What is a desalination plant

A

The conversion of sea water to freshwater, suitable for human consumption

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18
Q

What is desublimation

A

The change of state of water from gas to solid without being a liquid

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19
Q

What is a drainage basin

A

The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries

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20
Q

What is drainage density

A

The total length of all rivers and streams divided by the area of the drainage basin

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21
Q

What is drought

A

An extended period of deficient rainfall relative to the average for that region

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22
Q

What is economic water security

A

When water resources are available but insufficient economic wealth limits access to

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23
Q

What is energy mix

A

The composition of a country’s energy sources

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24
Q

What is energy security

A

The ownership and full control of a country’s energy source, production and transportation

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25
What is energy pathway
The movement of energy from its extraction or source through pipes, freight logistics or cabling
26
What are energy players
Key companies and individuals who own, distribute and sell energy and energy sources
27
What is the enhanced greenhouse effect
The build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, reducing the amount of solar radiation reflected into space
28
What is the ENSO Cycles
El Nino Southern Oscillations - Naturally occurring phenomena that involves the movement of warm water in the equatorial Pacific
29
What is evapotranspiration
The combined total moisture transferred from the earth to the atmosphere, through evaporation and transpiration
30
What is frontal precipitation
When air masses of different temperatures meet at a front, 1 mass will be forced over another, causing precipitation beneath the front
31
What is the global hydrological cycle
The continuous transfer of water between land, atmosphere and oceans. The Earth is a closed system
32
What is groundwater flow
Water moving horizontally through permeable or porous rock due to gravity
33
What is hydrological drought
Insufficient soil moisture to meet the needs of vegetation at a particular time
34
What is infiltration
The movement of water vertically through the pores in soil
35
WHat is integrated Drainage Basin Movement
Establishing a frame of coordinated efforts between administrations (eg - local government) and stakeholders (eg - business) to achieve balanced management of a basin (World Bank)
36
What is inorganic carbon
Carbon stored in carbonated rocks
37
What is interception
Raindrops are prevented from falling directly onto the ground, instead hitting the leaves of a tree
38
What is Meteorological Drought
When long-term precipitation trends are below average
39
What is a monsoon
The drastic variation between wet and dry seasons for sub-tropical areas, is caused by a changed prevailing wind. Can lead to annual flooding
40
WHat is non-renewable
A source of energy that can only be used once to generate electricity or takes 1000s of years to replace like fossil fuels
41
What is nuclear fusion
The process of joining atomic nuclei together, to produce energy
42
What is OPEC
Oil and Petroleum exporting countries. An organisation that supports and coordinates fossil fuels exporting countries
43
What s an open system
A system affected by external flows and inputs
44
What is organic carbon
Carbon stored in plant material and living organisms
45
What is outgassing
The release of dissolved CO2 (eg - at plate boundaries, warming oceans)
46
What is percolation
Water moving vertically from soil into permeable rock
47
What is photosynthesis?
The process of converting CO2 and water into glucose and oxygen. All plants and some organisms rely on this process to survuive
48
What is Physical water scarcity
A physical lack of available freshwater which can't meet demand
49
What is phytoplankton
Small organisms that rely on photosynthesis to survive, so intake CO2 from the atomsphere
50
What is primary enegery
The inital source of energy, it's naturally found. This can be natural ores, water, crops or radioactive material
51
WHats relief precipitation
Precipitation is caused when air masses are forced to rise over highland, determined by the relief / morphology of the land
52
WHat is renewable
Primary energy that can be reused to produce electricity or has a short lifetime, therefore any used can be replaced quickly. Eg - Hydroelectric, biomass and solar
53
What is respiration
The process of converting glucose and oxygen into CO2 and energy. Some organisms rely on respiration to survive
54
What is river regime
The pattern of river discharge over a year
55
What is runoff
Water flowing over the surface of the ground eg - after precipitation or snowmelt
56
What is salinisation
Where salt water contaminates freshwater stores or soils, creating saline conditions and reducing human use / consumption
57
What is saltwater encroachment
The movement of saltwater into freshwater aquifers or soils. This maybe caused by sea level rise, storm surges or over extraction
58
What is secondary energy
The product of primary energy, mostly electricity
59
What is sequestration
The transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to stores elsewhere - living biosphere, inorganic rocks etc.
60
What is smart irrigation
Providing crops with a water supply less than optimal, to make crops resistant to water shortages
61
What is a storm hydrograph
Variation of river discharge over a short period of time (days)
62
What is sublimation
The change of state from solid to gas, without being a liquid
63
What is Thermohaline circulation
The movement of volumes of seawater from cold deep water to warm water surface water
64
What is throughflow
Water moving horizontally through the soil due to gravity
65
What is tipping point
A critical threshold where any changes to a system after this point are irreversible
66
What is transpiration
The process through which water evaporates through the stomata in leaves of plants
67
What is urbanisation
The growth of populations through towns and cities
68
What is water budget
The annual balance between inputs and outputs within a system
69
What is water conservation
Strategies to reduce water usage and demand
70
What is water recycling
The treatment and purification of wastewater to increase supply
71
What is water scarcity
There are limited renewable water sources (between 500 and 1000 cubic metres per capita per year)
72
What is water security
The ability to protect and access a sustainable source to meet demand
73
What is water sharing treaty
International agreements for a transboundary sources
74
What is water transfer
Hard engineering projects, such as pipelines or aqueducts that divert water between Bains to meet demand
75
Waht is watershed
The boundary between neighbouring drainage basin

Physical geography (16 decks)

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