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Acidification
The gradual reduction of pH of the oceans, due to dissolving carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Anticyclone
A system of high pressure, causing high temperatures and unseasonably high evaporation rates.
Aquifer
A permeable or porous rock which stores water.
Biofuel
Burning crops and vegetation for electricity and heat.
Channel Flow
Water flowing in a rivulet, stream or river.
Choke Points
Points in the logistics of energy and fuel that are prone to restriction.
Convectional Precipitation
Solar radiation heats the air above the ground, causing it to rise, cool & condense forming precipitation (often as thunderstorms).
Cryosphere
The global water volume locked up within a frozen state (i.e. snow and ice).
Depression
A system of low pressure, with fronts of precipitation where low and high pressure air masses meet.
Desalination Plant
The conversion of seawater to freshwater, suitable for human consumption.
Desublimation
The change of state of water from gas to solid, without being a liquid (the opposite process to sublimation).
Drainage Basin
The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.
Drainage Density
The total length of all rivers & streams divided by the area of the drainage basin.
Drought
An extended period of deficient rainfall relative to the statistical average for the region (UN).
Economic Water Scarcity
When water resources are available but insufficient economic wealth limits access to it.
ENSO Cycles
El Niño Southern Oscillations - naturally occurring phenomena that involves the movement of warm water in the Equatorial Pacific.
Evapotranspiration
The combined total moisture transferred from the Earth to the atmosphere, through evaporation and transpiration.
Frontal Precipitation
Where air masses of different temperatures meet at a front, one mass will be forced over another, causing precipitation beneath the front.
Global Hydrological Cycle
The continuous transfer of water between land, atmosphere and oceans. The Earth is a closed system.
Groundwater Flow
Water moving horizontally through permeable or porous rock due to gravity.
Hydrological Drought
Insufficient soil moisture to meet the needs of vegetation (crops, trees, plants) at a particular time.
Infiltration
The movement of water vertically through the pores in soil.
Integrated Drainage Basin Management
Establishing a frame of coordinated efforts between administrations (e.g. local government) and stakeholders (e.g businesses) to achieve balanced management of a basin (World Bank).
Interception
Raindrops are prevented from falling directly onto the ground, instead hitting the leaves of a tree.
Meteorological Drought
When long-term precipitation trends are below average.
Monsoon
The drastic variation between wet and dry seasons for sub-tropical areas, caused by a changed prevailing wind. Can lead to annual flooding.
Open System
A system affected by external flows and inputs (such as a drainage basin, or a sediment cell).
Percolation
Water moving vertically from soil into permeable rock.
Physical Water Scarcity
A physical lack of available freshwater which cannot meet demand.
Relief Precipitation
Precipitation caused when air masses are forced to rise over high land, determined by the relief/ morphology of the land.
Respiration
The process of converting glucose and oxygen into carbon dioxide and energy. Some organisms rely on respiration to survive.
River Regime
The pattern of river discharge over a year.
Runoff
Water flowing over the surface of the ground eg. after precipitation or snowmelt.
Salinisation
Where salt water contaminates freshwater stores or soils, creating saline conditions and reducing human use/ consumption.
Saltwater Encroachment
The movement of saltwater into freshwater aquifers or soils. This may be caused by sea level rise, storm surges or over-extraction.
Smart Irrigation
Providing crops with a water supply less than optimal, to make crops resistant to water shortages.
Storm Hydrograph
Variation of river discharge over a short period of time (days).
Sublimation
The change of state of water from solid to a gas, without being a liquid.
Thermohaline Circulation
The movement of volumes of seawater from cold deep water to warm water surface water.
Throughflow
Water moving horizontally through the soil, due to gravity.
Tipping Point
A critical threshold where any changes to a system after the tipping point are irreversible.
Transpiration
The process through which water evaporates through the stomata in plants' leaves.
Water Budget
The annual balance between inputs and outputs within a system.
Water Conservation
Strategies to reduce water usage and demand.
Water Recycling
The treatment and purification of waste water, to increase supply.
Water Scarcity
There are limited renewable water sources (between 500 and 1000 cubic metres per capita per year).
Water Security
The ability to protect and access a sustainable source to adequately meet demand.
Water Sharing Treaty
International agreements for transboundary sources.
Water Transfer
Hard engineering projects, such as pipelines or aqueducts, that divert water between basins to meet demand.
Watershed
The boundary between neighbouring drainage basins.
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