Water Cycle Flashcards
(44 cards)
Anticyclone
A system of high pressure, causing high
temperatures and unseasonably high
evaporation rates
Aquifer
A permeable or porous rock which stores
water
Channel Flow
Water flowing in a rivulet, stream or river
Convectional Precipitation
Solar radiation heats the air above the
ground, causing it to rise, cool &
condense forming precipitation (often as
thunderstorms)
Cyrosphere
The global water volume locked up
within a frozen state (i.e. snow and ice)
Depression
A system of low pressure, with fronts of
precipitation where low and high
pressure air masses meet
Desalination Plant
The conversion of seawater to
freshwater, suitable for human
consumption
Desublimation
The change of state of water from gas to
solid, without being a liquid (the opposite
process to sublimation)
Drainage Basin
The area of land drained by a river and
its tributaries
Drainage Density
The total length of all rivers & streams
divided by the area of the drainage basin
Drought
An extended period of deficient rainfall
relative to the statistical average for the
region (UN)
Economic Water Scarcity
When water resources are available but
insufficient economic wealth limits
access to it
ENSO Cycle
El Nino Southern Oscillations - naturally
occurring phenomena that involves the
movement of warm water in the
Equatorial Pacific
Evapotranspiration
The combined total moisture transferred
from the Earth to the atmosphere,
through evaporation and transpiration
Frontal Precipitation
Where air masses of different
temperatures meet at a front, one mass
will be forced over another, causing
precipitation beneath the front.
Global Hydrological Cycle
The continuous transfer of water
between land, atmosphere and oceans.
The Earth is a closed system
Groundwater Flow
Water moving horizontally through
permeable or porous rock due to Gravity
Hydrological Drought
Insufficient soil moisture to meet the
needs of vegetation (crops, trees, plants)
Inflitration
The movement of water vertically
through the pores in soil
Integrated Drainage Basin Management
Establishing a frame of coordinated efforts between administrations (e.g. local government) and stakeholders (e.g businesses) to achieve balanced management of a basin (World Bank)
Interception
Raindrops are prevented from falling
directly onto the ground, instead hitting
the leaves of a tree
Meteorological Drought
When long-term precipitation trends are
below average.
Monsoon
The drastic variation between wet and
dry seasons for sub-tropical areas,
caused by a changed prevailing wind.
Can lead to annual flooding.
Open System
A system affected by external flows and
inputs (such as a drainage basin, or a
sediment cell)
