1.c. carbon and water cycles have processes and pathways that operate within them

flows in water cycle

fluxes are measurements of the rate of flow of material between stores. are the physical mechanisms which drive the flux of material between stores

drainage basin

an area of land that is drained by a river and its tributaries. enormous, from small local to major river systems like mississippi, nile and amazon. confluence= point where two rivers join. watershed= boundary between two drainage basins

drainage basin open system

interacts with its surroundings by exchanging both matter and energy. receives inputs from outside the basin- solar energy and precipitation, and has outputs, river discharge, evaporation and transpiration.

water balance

equilibrium of water inputs and outputs within a drainage basin, typically expressed as precipitation, runoff and evapotranspiration. 

water budget

annual balance between water inputs and outputs within a specific area

flows of water process or flow

precipitation- water in any form which falls from the atmosphere to the surface of the earth

sublimation- ice sheets, glacier and snow fields release water by the direct change of state from solid to a gas

ablation- melting of ice and mass loss from the glacier

infiltration- passage of water downwards into the soil by gravity

percolation- downward vertical movement of water within a soil then enters the groundwater store

throughflow- transfer of water from soil storage zone to the channel. slower than overland flow

overland flow- rainfall is greater than rate at which water can infiltrate the soil. thin layer of water forms on the surface

groundwater flow- water transferred slowly through rock into the bed of the river when all pores are saturated

ocean runoff- all water which enters a river and flows out of the drainage basin

evaporation- liquid water is transformed into water vapour, large amount of energy required to change state

interception- raindrops are prevented from falling directly onto the soil surface by a layer of vegetation

evapotranspiration- total amount of moisture removed by evaporation and transpiration from a vegetated land surface

transpiration- process by water is lost from a plant through the stomata

condensation- water droplets or ice are formed when water vapour is cooled to dew point. latent heat of condensation released

flows of water stores

glacier, groundwater, clouds, rivers and lakes, atmosphere, ocean

clouds

formed by condensation, topography or orographic uplift- shape of land in particular area. air is forced to rise over a barrier of mountains or hills it cools as it rises. layered clouds are often produced this way- stratus cloud. air flow forced up then precipitation and falls down same side, rain shadow desert as airflow lowers

convergence- streams of air flowing from different directions are force to rise where they flow together or converge. this can case cumulus cloud and showery conditions. cold air are more dense, warm air are less dense

DALR

dry adiabatic lapse rate- is the rate at which a parcel of dry air cools. cooling caused by adiabatic expansion is around 10 degrees/km

ELR

environmental lapse rate- is the vertical temp profile of the lower atmosphere at any given time. on average the temp falls by 6.5 degrees for every km of height gained

SALR

saturated adiabatic lapse rate- is the rate at which a saturated parcel of air cools as it rises through the atmosphere. because condensation releases latent heat the SALR at around 7 degrees/km is lower than DALR

absolute instability- rainfall

DALR is right of ELR, parcel of air is warmer than its surroundings. as parcel rises it cools less rapidly than surrounding air and remains warmer and lighter. towering cumulus or cumulonimbus clouds form and thunder storms likely. conditions of instability arise in Britain on hot days 

absolute stability

DALR is left of ELR, parcel of air is cooler than the surrounding air. air may be forced to rise but the parcel cools more rapidly than the air surrounding it- by time parcel has reached condensation level it is much colder than surrounding. if nothing to force this continual rise it will sink back down to starting point. air is stable because few clouds form and sinking air= high pressure= temp dry and sunny conditions

conditional instability

initially ELR is to right of DALR= parcel is colder than surrounding= stable. if parcel is forced to rise it will continue to be colder than surrounding air- normally would sink back down however mountains or cold air mass that originally caused the rise is still there the air will be cooled to its dew point. noe condensation= latent heat is released= air cools more slowly at the SALR and the parcel may become warmer than its surroundings= rise frrely= unstable atmosphere. weather is normally fine in low altitude areas but cloudy and showers at height above the condensation level