Hydrology and Water Management Overview

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the stages of the water cycle, causes and solutions for water scarcity, and the different types of floods and droughts.

Water cycle

The continuous movement of water from above and below the earth's surface.

Evaporation

The process where the sun heats water from lakes, oceans, and rivers, converting it into steam and small droplets in the air.

Transpiration

The process of water evaporating from plants into the atmosphere.

Condensation

The stage where little droplets from evaporation gather together to form a single cloud.

Precipitation

The stage where a cloud cannot hold any more droplets and releases them as rain, hail, or snow.

Collection

The stage when rainwater returns to lakes, rivers, or oceans, causing the water cycle to repeat.

Water scarcity

When the demand for fresh water is higher than the amount of water available.

Flood

An event occurring when a dry piece of land suddenly becomes submerged in water.

Slow onset flood

A flood that happens when water bodies overflow their banks, typically developing over the course of $1$ week.

Rapid onset flood

A type of flood that develops quickly over the course of a day or two.

Flash flood

A flood that occurs in a short time frame of $2$ to $6\,hrs$ without any warnings or signs.

Droughts

Extended periods of time with less than the average amount of rainfall.

Meteorological drought

A type of drought defined by a specific lack of precipitation.

Agricultural drought

A drought characterized by low soil moisture (dry dirt) that affects crops.

Hydrological drought

A drought that occurs when water places, such as lakes and rivers, start disappearing.

Socioeconomic drought

A drought situation where the water shortage begins to hurt people.