Alevel Geography water cycle aqa
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Alevel Geography water cycle aqa - Leaderboard
Alevel Geography water cycle aqa - Details
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80 questions
| 🇬🇧 | 🇬🇧 |
| Define infiltration | The movement of water into the soil |
| Define precipitation | Includes all forms of rainfall, snow sleet hail, it is the conversion and transfer of moisture in the atmosphere to the land |
| Define percolation | The movement of water into rock from the soil layer above |
| Interception | The precipitation that is collected and stored by vegetation |
| Define run off | The amount of water that leaves the system via channel flow |
| Stem flow | Water flowing down the trunks and stems of vegetation |
| Define channel flow | The water transferred by the river |
| Infiltration | The movement of water into the soil surface |
| Define through flow | Movement of water through the soil |
| Percolation | The movement of water into rock from the soil level above |
| Water table | The upper layer of water stored underground |
| Groundwater | Water stored underground in rocks |
| Transpiration | The water loss from vegetation into the atmosphere |
| Evapotranspiration | The combination of evaporation and transpiration lost into the atmosphere |
| Soil moisture storage | The water that is found in the subsurface of the soil |
| Overland flow | Water that flows over the lands surface |
| Ground water flow | The movement of ground water store underground |
| Throughflow | When water moves horizontally through soil |
| Channel flow | The water transferred by the river |
| Run off | The water that leaves the system via overland flow |
| Source | Is the start of the river |
| Tributaries | River or stream that joins a larger river |
| Confluence | Where the tributary joins the main river |
| Water shed | The boundry of the drainage basin system |
| Run off | This is the water that leaves the system via channel flow |
| What are the three types of rainfall | Convectional, frontal, relief |
| What is frontal rainfall | When area of warm air meets area of cold air. Warm air rises above more dense cold air. as it rises warm air cools therefore can hold less moisture, condenses and falls as rain. |
| What is convectional rainfall | Water evaporated as it rises air cools condensates and water is released as rainfall |
| What is relief rainfall | When a physical barrier forces air mass upwards this cools air, reduces water it can hold, condensates and fall as rain. |
| Where is frontal rainfall common | Mid latitude area eg UK |
| Where is convectional rainfall common | At the equator |
| Where is relief rainfall common | Mountain ranges eg alps |
| What are the two cryospheric processes | Ablation and accumulation |
| What is ablation | Where outputs exceed inputs, mass is lost |
| What is accumulation | Where inputs exceed outputs, mass is gained |
| What happens when accumulation is bigger than ablation | Glacial advance |
| What happens when accumulation is less than ablation | Glacial retreat |
| What happens if ablation and accumulation are equal | Glacier remains in the same place |
| How many major glacial periods have there been | 5 (present day one is the quartanery period) |
| What are the 4 major subsystems of the Earth | Lithosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere |
| What are the 4 categories under the hydrosphere | Surface water, atmosphere, cryosphere, oceanic |
| What is included under surface water | Soil moisture, lakes, rivers, puddles, ground water, biological water |
| What is included under the cryosphere | Permafrost, alpine glaciers, sea ice, ice sheets, ice caps |
| What is a positive feedback loop | When the change makes the problem worse |
| What is a negative feedback loop | When the change nulifies the problem |
| Give an example of a positive and negative feedback loop | Negative: cloud coverage positive: ice albedo effect |
| Give reasons that atmospheric water is important | 1) clouds and rainfall important part of many systems 2) water vapour, reflects scatters and absorbs solar radiation 3) evaporation/ ghg effect keeps earth habitable |
| Give reasons that cryospheric water is important | 1) ice albedo feedback loop 2)ocean currents caused by ice at the poles 3) sea level rise if ice melts ( approx. 60m) 4)permafrost high in methane a strong ghg would be released 5) river discharge decline if river source was ice |
| Give reasons that oceanic water is important | 1) main store 2) largest store of heat and carbon 3) ocean currents distribute heat 4) ocean most diverse ecosystem |
| Give reasons that terrestrial water is important | 1) source of drinking water eg las vegas and london 2) supports life inland and deserts |
| What is latent heat | This is the energy that goes in or out during a change of state |
| What happens to the energy that is lost during the change of state from gas to liquid | Dissipated into the environment |
| How does evaporation occur | Solar radiation hits water, energy is added, change of state from liquid to gas |
| What are the factors involved with evaporation | 1) amount of solar energy 2) availability of water 3) humidity, slower rate the closer the water is to saturation point 4) temp of air, warmer air holds more water vapour |
| Why does what vapour condensate | As air cools, can hold less water vapour, if air becomes sufficently cooled becomes saturated, dew point, Excess water vapour changes state to liquid |
| What are the particles water condensate on | Condensation nuclei (dust particles) |
| What form of latent heat is evaporation and condensation | Latent heat of vapourisation |
| What form of latent heat is freezing and melting | Latent heat of fusion |
| What form of latent heat is sublimination and deposition | Latent heat of sublimination |
| What is a water balance | The concept that the input of water is equal to the output |
| What is the rivers regime | The variability in river discharge over the course of a year |
| What is the formula for water balance | Precipitation = discharge + evapotranspiration + or - changes in stores |
| What is potential evapotranspiration | This the water that could have been lost to the atmosphere via evapotranspiration if water was not the limiting factor |
| What is soil moisture deficit | When all water stores have been used up, plants will wilt or have adaptations to survive |
| What is soil moisture utilisation | When evapotranspiration is higher than precipitation and the water stores are been used up |
| What is soil moisture recharge | When precipitation is greater than ETP and the water stores are being replenished or filled back up |
| What is soil moisture surplus | Precipitation > ETP and stores are already filled up |
| What is river discharge and its units | The amount of water flowing past a point per second (measured in cumecs and m^3s^-1) |
| Name the two types of hydrographs | Flashy and subdued |
| State the differences in terms of lag time | Subdued has a longer lag time flashy has a short lag time |
| State the physical factors that would impact the shape of the hydrograph | Drainage basin shape slope angles drainage density antecedent (Prior) rainfall ROCK TYPE vegetation cover amount and intensity of precipitation drainage basin size |
| Describe the impact on the hydrograph drainage basin shape has | Drainage basins that are more circular in shape lead to more flashy hydrographs than those that are long and thin. this is because each point in the drainage basin is roughly equidistant from the measuring point on a river. |
| Describe the impact on the hydrograph slope angles has | Steeper sides tend to have flashier hydrographs than gentle slopes. this is because water flows quicker in any flow so gets to river faster. |
| Describe the impact on the hydrograph drainage basin density has | The higher the density have flashier hydrographs ( drainage density is how many tributaries it has) |
| Describe the impact upon the shape of the hydrograph antecedent rainfall has | Soil already saturated therefore overland flow is increased and in turn the speed the water travels to the river. this means the hydrograph tends to be more flashy. |
| Describe the impact that rock type has on the hydrograph | Impermeable rock and soil types means that water can not be absorbed therefore overland flow increases, speed of water increases leading to a more flashy hydrograph (clay, shale rocks) |
| Describe the impact that vegetation cover has on the shape of the hydrograph | Thick vegetation cover means more will be intercepted and increased ETP rates, slowing the movement of water leading to a more subdued shape. it also reduces the peak discharge as less water will make it to the river as some is lost via ETP |
| Describe the impact that amount and intensity of precipitation has the shape of the hydrograph | Increasing the amount of water entering the drainage basin will increase the peak discharge and the intensity of the precipitation will determine the lag time, the greater the intensity the flashier the hydrograph |
| Describe the impact upon the hydrograph the size of the drainage basin will have | The larger the drainage basin the greater the amount of precipitation will have a greater peak discharge. the smaller drainage basin will tend to have a shorter lag time as water has less distance to cover. |
| State the human factors that would impact the shape of the drainage basin | Deforestation/afforestation agriculture growth of urban areas soft engineering and flood management water abstraction |
| Describe the impact upon the shape of the hydrograph that deforestation and afforestation will have | Deforestation is the removal of trees therefore reducing vegetation cover, the hydrograph will be more flashy. afforestation is the opposite, it is the planting of trees and therefore increasing vegetation cover meaning the hydrograph will be more subdued. |
| Describe the impact upon the hydrograph agriculture will have | Variety of effects: ploughing fields breaks up top soil allowing greater infiltration and subduing the graph. although this could be alternative that channels have been created and water may flow through these creating a more flashy hydrograph. also large number of animals on small areas can impact the soil leading to more overland flow, flashier hydrograph. |
| Describe the impacts that growth of urban areas can have on the shape of the hydrograph | Large impermeable surfaces created, greater overland flow more flashy hydrograph. |
| Describe the impacts that flood management and soft engineering has upon the shape of the hydrograph | Management schemes are designed to slow the lag time and reduce the peak discharge |
| Describe the impact that water abstraction has upon the shape of a hydrograph | Water abstraction is using up underwater stores of water. this reduces base flow and so more water must reach the channel flow the channel before it reaches bankfull capacity |