Water cycle & insecurity key words

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Fluxes
movements/transfers of water
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Water budget
comparison of water inputs and outputs for a given area
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Drainage basin
the land area drained by a river or its tributaries
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Watershed
higher land which divides basins
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Precipitation
water deposited by atmosphere
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Evaporation
Physical output of water as vapour into atmosphere
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Transpiration
Biological output of water vapour into atmosphere
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Evapotranspiration
Combined output of water through evaporation & transpiration
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River run-off/discharge
River output from drainage basin (as water flows into another river/lake/sea)
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Through-fall
water dripping off plant/tree surfaces
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Stem flow
Water flowing down plant stems/ tree trunks
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Surface run-off
Water flowing over the ground surface
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Infiltration
Water soaking down from ground surface into soil
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Through flow
Water flowing downhill through soil
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Plant uptake
Water being taken up by trees/plants
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Percolation
Water soaking down from soil into permeable bedrock
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Groundwater flow
Water flowing downhill through bedrock
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Channel flow
water flowing in river channel
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Interception storage
Water stored on plant/tree surfaces
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Vegetation storage
Water stored in plants/trees
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Surface storage
Water stored on ground surface e.g puddles
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Soil moisture
Water stored in soil
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Groundwater storage
Water stored in permeable bedrock
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Channel storage
Water stored in river channel
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River discharge
channel flow rate of a river (m3/s)= cumecs
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River regime
annual discharge pattern
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Soil moisture surplus
ppt exceeds potential evapotranspiration
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Soil moisture deficit
PE exceeds ppt
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Soil moisture recharge
PE decreases until its below ppt & ppt recharges soil moisture
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Antecedent moisture
water from one storm that has not had time to drain away before more rain arrives
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Aquifer
vast undergroud reservoir most commonly formed in porous rock
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Basin-wide factors
factors that determine what happens to ppt when it falls e.g relief of land
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Catchment area
another name for drainage basin
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Complex river regimes
where rivers cross serveral different relief and climatic zones
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Drainage density
describes where a river has few or many tributaries
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Economic scarcity
when people can't afford water even if it's available
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Effective rainfall
amount of ppt remaining after evaporation
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Flash flooding
when dry soil surfaces becomes waterlogged very quickly= rapid surface run-off
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Flood-return period
statistical estimate of how often a flood of a certain magnitude is likely to occur
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Gravitational potential energy
ways in which water accelerates under gravity
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Integrated Water Resource Management
policy setting out that water are an intergral component of ecosystems, a natural resource and a socio-economic good
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Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone
band of cloud around tropics formed by low pressure when trade winds meet
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Irrigation
supply of water to land by means of channels, streams & sprinklers to permit crop growth
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Jet stream
band of fast-moving air which determines direction of depressions and the speed of their movements
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Low-pressure system/depression
= caused when warm air rises, cools and condenses= prolonged & heavy rainfall
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Mega-drought
period of unusually low rainfall lasting for decades or longer
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Open system
a system with inputs from and outputs to other systems
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Overabstraction
removal of too much water from groundwater reserves= rivers dry up in times of low rainfall
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Physical scarcity
insufficient water to meet demand
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Re-greening
dry landscapes---> productive farmland
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'Real value' prices
prices adjusted for inflation/deflation & take opportunity cost into consideration
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Recharge
when soil moisture levels increase as a result of ppt following a dry period
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Residence time
time that water stays in atmosphere
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Resilience
ability of a system to bounce back and survive
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Thermohaline circulation
ocean current that produces both vertical & horizontal circulations of warm and cold water around world's oceans
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Tropospheric rivers
huge atmospheric flows of moisture
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Walker cell
circulation of air whereby upper atmospheric air moves East and surface air moves West
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Water insecurity
state where present & future supplies of water cannot be guaranteed, caused by water scarcity &stress
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Water management
methods of controlling or altering water flow & stores, such as dams/reservoirs or abstraction
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Water scarcity
ongoing lack of sufficient available water resources to meet water needs
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Water stress
temporary shortages of fresh water
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Water surplus
excessof water available in DBS- may lead to flooding
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Water table
upper level of saturated rock
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World Water gap
refers to fact many parts of world there is not enough ater to meet demand, whereas wealthy countries are consuming increasing quantities of water
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Water budget

Back

comparison of water inputs and outputs for a given area

Card 3

Front

Drainage basin

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Watershed

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Precipitation

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

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