Material or energy moving into a system from the outside
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Output
Material or energy moving from the system to the outside
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Energy
Power or driving force
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Stores/components
The individual elements or parts of a system
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Flows/transfers
The links or relationships between the components
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Positive feedback
A loop of events that increases change and environmental instability; an initial change creates a secondary change that amplified the effect of the initia.
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Negative feedback
A loop of events that reduces change and promotes stability and dynamic equilibrium; an initial change creates a secondary change that decreases the effect of the initial
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Dynamic equilibrium
A state of balance in a constantly changing system
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System
A framework applied to the natural world to represent inputs, outputs, flows, transfers and stores of energy or matter
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Closed system
Energy is able to be transferred in and out of the system but all matter is enclosed within the system
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Open system
Both matter and energy are exchanged between a system and the surrounding environment
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Hydrosphere
A discontinuous layer of water on or near the Earth's surface, including all frozen and liquid surface waters, groundwater and atmospheric water.
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Atmospheric water
Water found in the atmosphere; mainly water vapour with some liquid water (cloud and rain droplets) and ice crystals
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Cyrospheric water
The water locked up on the Earth's surface as ice
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Lithosphere (terrestrial)
Water stored on the land consisting of ground water soil moisture, lakes, wetlands and rivers
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Oceanic water
The water contained in the Earth's oceans and seas, not including mainland seas such as the Caspian Sea
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Ocean Residence Time
3000 years
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Permafrost residence time
50-60 years
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Glaciers residence time
20-100 years
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Seasonal snow residence time
2-6 months
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Rivers residence time
2 weeks - 6 months
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lakes residence time
10-100 years
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Soil moisture residence time
2 weeks - 1 year
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Biosphere residence time
1 week
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Shallow groundwater residence time
100-200 years
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Deep groundwater residence time
10000 years
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Atmospheric water vapour residence time
9 days
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Antarctica residence time
20000 years
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Precipitation
water that falls to the earth in any form: rain, sleet, hail or snow.
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Channel fall
precipitation directly entering the river channel
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evaporation
moisture lost into the atmosphere by suns heat and wind
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soil water
water stored in the soil above the water table
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interception
raindrops fall on vegetation, preventing it from reaching the soil and river
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surface water
water stored on the surface e.g. lakes and rivers
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transpiration
biological process where water is lost as vapour through small pores on plant's leaves
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throughflow
Water flows laterally through the soil to the channel, mainly along "pipes" caused by animal activity or growth of plant roots
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infiltration
the passage of water vertically into the soil. Infiltration cannot occur if soil is too saturated
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percolation
a vertical movement of water from above to below the water table. If the bedrock is impermeable than percolation cannot occur
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groundwater flow
water in this zone moves laterally at a very slow rate. It transfers water to the river through their bed and banks long after a rainfall event (even during dry periods)
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Groundwater
water stored below the water table in saturated soil or rock
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overland flow
also called surface runoff. occurs during heavy rainfall when the ground is saturated or if surfaces are impermeable. very rare except in urban areas.
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stemflow
water reaches the ground by flowing down trunks or stems or by dropping off of leaves.
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Ablation
water loss from snow or ice
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water table
the level below which the ground is saturated with water
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sublimination
water changing from a solid to a gas
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Flood hydrograph
graph that shows how discharge of a river changes over time
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Rivers regime
Variation of rivers discharge over a year
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Flashy hydrograph
Short lag time and high peak discharge
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Subdued hydrograph
Long lag time and low peak discharge
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Lag time
Time between peak rainfall and peak discharge
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Rising limb
The period of rising river discharge following a period of rainfall
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Falling limb
The period of time when the river's discharge is falling after it has reached Peak Discharge
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Baseflow
The part of the river's discharge that is provided by groundwater seeping into the bed of the river
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Bankfull discharge
maximum discharge that a river can hold before it bursts its banks
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Physical factors that effect lag time
Relief, rock type, soil type, vegetation cover, drainage basin size and shape
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Human factors that effect lag time
farming, afforestation, deforestation, river management schemes, increased urbanisation
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Purpose of hydrographs
Useful information for flood management and prevention.
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Discharge
volume of water passing through a particular point at a given time
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How much of world's water is in oceans?
97%
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How much surface freshwater?
0.3%
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How much freshwater?
3%, mostly in icecaps and glaciers
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Deforestation's effect on rivers
Less leaves and shallower roots - less interception and infiltration - increased surface runoff - short term flash floods - less evotranspiration - water leaves system and is not replaced - less condensation - river level lowers long term
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Soil drainage tiles
plastic tubing with small perforations to allow water entry - when water table is higher than tile, water flows into tubes and slowly drains away
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Advantages of draining farmland
improves soil structure (deeper roots) improves aeration (microorganisms) compaction of soil because of animals and farm equipment is less likely (less overland flow) warmer soil, seeds sown earlier
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Disadvantages of draining farmland
increases speed of throughflow, can lead to floods dry topsoil can have wind erosion, loss of soil Nitrate loss, eutrophication leads to algae growth in water sources, can kill fish and pollute water sources
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Eutrophication
excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.
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Water abstraction
The extraction of water from rivers or groundwater aquifers
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Issues with water abstraction
pumped at rates that rainfall cannot replenish - sinking water tables- less reliable rivers, feeder springs dry up, saline intrusion (eg Malta and Italy)
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Examples of saline intrusion
Greece - 400m boreholes contaminated with seawater
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water abstraction -chalk environments in southern England
replenished by rainfall on the hills, safe for public consumption, over abstraction means streams dry up, effects fishing, tourism and agriculture industries economically
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bournes
groundwater streams which feed into rivers in chalk environments - position of these relates to position of water table
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relief rainfall
When warm moist air arrive at a mountainous area, it is forced to rise and condense which makes precipitaion fall on the windward side.
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frontal rainfall
The mass of warm air meets the colder air and rises over it, creating rain
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convectional rainfall
warm surfaces heat air above, expands becoming less dense and rising, condenses to make clouds - shows variations in water cycle as it is not certain
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dew point temperature
the temperature to which air has to be cooled in order to reach saturation
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condensation nuclei
Microscopic particles on which water vapor condenses to form cloud droplets.
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cloud formation
water reaches dew point temperature and excess water is condensed on condensation nuclei or surfaces colder than dew point
Studied by 5 people
