Term
| 4 ecological services of water |
|
Definition
1st service: water is necessary for photo and metabolism and other processes
2nd service: water provides a habitat for fish and waterbugs and aquaman
3rd service: moderates temperature, this is a human service too in a way
4th service: cycles nutrients around the earth, like nitrogen and phosphorus |
|
|
Term
| 4 human services of water |
|
Definition
1. industry requires water both consumptively and non-consumptively
2. recreation like boating, swimming, tubing
3. generates electricity with dams
4. agriculture needs water |
|
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Term
| list 4 physical properties of water other than radiation absorption that are important to life on earth |
|
Definition
1. high surface tension allows for formation of rain in clouds
2. weird density curve, with most dense water at 4 degrees C, means that ice forms on top
3. high specific heat moderates earth's temp. high heat of vaporization means a lot of heat transfer between ocean and atmosphere which also moderates the temperature
4. high boiling point and high melting
point means that water is mostly liquid on earth, which is important |
|
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Term
| why is the radiation absorption of water so important to life on earth? |
|
Definition
water's high absorption of IR/UV light helps create the greenhouse effect that makes earth habitable. water vapor in the atmosphere lets the visible light through and absorbs the IR radiation that is coming from the earth.
Also, the visible light passing through water allows photosynthesis under the surface of water, which allows for the existence of so much life in the water |
|
|
Term
| what is special about the radiation absorption of water? (don't have to explain the effects) |
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Definition
| water absorbs UV/IR radiation well, but absorbs little visible light |
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|
Term
| most global water is where? |
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Definition
| most global water is in the oceans |
|
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Term
| rank the top 3 places there is fresh water on the earth |
|
Definition
1. most fresh water is frozen in glaciers/ice caps
2. the second biggest amount of freshwater on earth is groundwater
3. the third biggest amount of freshwater on earth is in surface water |
|
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Term
| where are the top four places there is fresh non-frozen non-groundwater across the globe? |
|
Definition
1. permafrost-there is a ton of frozen solid ground in canada and russia and places like that
2. lakes- like the great lakes!
3. soil moisture- wet mud
4. atmosphere, which is part of the fresh water system |
|
|
Term
| whats the difference between soil moisture and ground water? |
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Definition
| the difference between soil moisture and groundwater is that soil moisture is wet ground. Groundwater is when the ground is supersaturated with water |
|
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Term
| which is a usable resource, groundwater or soil moisture? |
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Definition
| groundwater is a usable resource, because if you make a hole in the ground, water pools in. Soil moisture, which is just dirt, isn't worth the effort to get water from |
|
|
Term
rank the following sources of water from lowest residence time to highest
non-ocean surface
ocean
groundwater
atmosphere |
|
Definition
| 1 atmosphere has lowest residence time, water falls back down out of the sky 2. non-ocean surface water has a pretty low residence time, there is relatively little of it and it is exposed to evaporation 3. ocean has a higher residence time, because of it's much larger volume, less of the ocean is exposed to the sun compared to its volume 4. sub-surface water has the highest residence time because it doesn't get evaporated. This high residence time is why subsurface water is often referred to as "fossil water" |
|
|
Term
| what is fossil water? how did it get that name? |
|
Definition
| subsurface water is called fossil water because it has such a long residence time, and it won't be replenished in our lifetimes, like fossil fuels it is a non-renewable resource |
|
|
Term
| equation for runoff ratio |
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Definition
| Runoff ratio = runoff/precipitation |
|
|
Term
| will runoff ratio be less than or greater than 1? |
|
Definition
| runoff ratio is always less than one (it could hypothetically be one, but you are never going to get no evaporation). Runoff ratio is runoff/precipitation |
|
|
Term
| Runoff ratio gives us an idea of what? |
|
Definition
| runoff ratio gives us an idea of how much of the water that falls in an watershed is usable |
|
|
Term
| assuming steady state in a watershed, what equation do we involving the three variables we look at? |
|
Definition
| precipitation = evapotranspiration + runoff |
|
|
Term
| why is the stratosphere warm? |
|
Definition
| the stratosphere is warm because the ozone layer absorbs UV rays |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
rate of temperature decrease with altitude. The number is 9.8° C/km
|
|
|
Term
what is this number 9.8°C/km (look at units)
|
|
Definition
| 9.8°C/km is the adiabatic lapse rate, it is the rate at which temperature decreases with altitude |
|
|
Term
| vapor pressure is a measure of what and has what symbol |
|
Definition
| vapor pressure is a measure of how much water vapor is in the air. vapor pressure's symbol is e or p |
|
|
Term
| what is saturation vapor pressure |
|
Definition
| saturation vapor pressure is the vapor pressure at which the air is saturated, vapor pressure can't go any higher than the saturation vapor pressure |
|
|
Term
| what is saturation water pressure dependent on |
|
Definition
| saturation water pressure is dependent on temperature. For every drop in 10 degrees Celsius in the air, saturation water pressure is cut in half |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| relative humidity is vapor pressure over saturation vapor pressure, it is a measure of how close the air is to being saturated with water |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| temperature for a certain vapor pressure where e=(e staturated) |
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|
Term
| 3 conditions for precipitation of water from the atmosphere |
|
Definition
1. air is saturated with water
2. there is "cloud condenstation nuclei", which are tiny peices of dirt that water can condense around
3. the droplets grow to be about 2mm, then drop out of the sky |
|
|
Term
| how big are cloud condensation nuclei before liquid water starts warming around them |
|
Definition
| cloud condensation nuclie are .1-.2 mm before water starts forming around them |
|
|
Term
| how does the moist adiabatic lapse rate and the dry adiabatic lapse rate differ? |
|
Definition
| moist adiabatic lapse rate is slower, so it is a negative number closer to zero. Moist adiabatic lapse is about 5 degrees celsuis per kilometer. So temperature doesn't decrease as fast in clouds/other times the air is saturated with water |
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|
Term
| when water condenses, does it give off or take up heat. |
|
Definition
| when water condenses, it gives off heat. |
|
|
Term
| lifting condensation level |
|
Definition
| altitude at which condensation occurs. condensation will occur because it gets colder as you go up |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| when it rains because of mountains, because mountains push clouds up higher and it gets colder |
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|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| this kind of precipitation occurs over large areas in thin bands |
|
Definition
| frontal precipitation occurs over large areas in thin bands |
|
|
Term
picture of convective precipitation
|
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| how does adiabatic cooling rate change when air is moist? |
|
Definition
| adiabatic cooling rate is lower in moist air |
|
|
Term
| 4 factors affecting precipitation in a given area |
|
Definition
1. solar radiation to increase evaporation
2. mountains (create orographic precipitation and rain shadows)
3. bodies of water that increase availible moisture for precipitation
4. temperature itself effects esat and evaporation |
|
|
Term
what does a hyetograph compare?
|
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| I have a bunch of point measurements of rainfall that I want to plot over time to look at the varying intensity of rain in a certain time frame. What kind of graph should I make? |
|
Definition
| a hyetograph takes a bunch of point measurements and puts them all on a single graph |
|
|
Term
| 3 important peices of information you can discern from a hyetograph |
|
Definition
1. max intensity of rainfall
2. total rainfall over the entire time period
3. duration of rain overall |
|
|
Term
| what other peice of information can be used with hyetographs to understand a system |
|
Definition
| comparing hyetographs and stream flow diagrams allows one to connect percipitation and runoff |
|
|
Term
| what are the two ways to weight various data points based on their location that we learned about? |
|
Definition
| the two ways to weight various point measurements based on their location within a system that we learned about are thessian polygons and isohyets |
|
|
Term
| describe isohyets in terms of rainfall |
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Definition
| isohyets are essentailly rainfall contour lines. You assume linear increase between the lines and you can estimate rainfall at any point. |
|
|
Term
| describe theissian polygons |
|
Definition
| thessian polygons are used to divide up an area into peices that are all assumed to have the same rainfall based on one data point in the middle |
|
|
Term
| what is the difference in the evapo-transpiration and preicipitation balance between the ocean and land? |
|
Definition
| over land, there is more precipitation than evapo-transpiration. Over the ocean, there is more evapo-transpiration than precipitation |
|
|
Term
| 3 sources of energy for evaporation |
|
Definition
the 3 sources of energy for evaporation we learned about are:
1. solar radiation
2. energy transfer from air to water
3. energy transfer from warmer water (we talked about warm currents) to cooler water |
|
|
Term
| what effects do solutes in solution have on evaporation? |
|
Definition
| solutes in solution reduce evaporation |
|
|
Term
| describe the vapor pressure gradient |
|
Definition
| a body of water undergoing any amount of evaporation will emit vapor from the water's surface. The vapor diffuses upward, but because diffusion isn't instantaneous, there is a higher vapor pressure near the water that goes down as you go up |
|
|
Term
| what are the three factors that are rate controls on evaporation? explain each one |
|
Definition
the three factors that act as rate controls on evaporation are:
1. incoming solar radiation
2. water temperature
3. vapor deficiet, which is affected by wind |
|
|
Term
| what controls the rate of evaporation in wet soil vs dry soil? |
|
Definition
in wet soil, the rate of evaporation is determined by atmospheric conditions.
In dry soil, the rate of evaporation is determined by the amount of soil moisture |
|
|
Term
| of water taken up b a plant, how much is utilized? |
|
Definition
| only 5% of water taken up by a plant is utilized for biomass. the other 95% is transpired |
|
|
Term
plants use water for these 4 things
|
|
Definition
plants use water for:
1. photosynthesis
2. turgidity
3. nutrient transport
4. temperature control |
|
|
Term
| when you break down evapotranspiration by volume, how much is evaporation and how much is transpiration |
|
Definition
evapotranspiration breakdown:
90% evaporation
10% transpiration |
|
|
Term
describe the water budget technique for estimating evaporation
|
|
Definition
| the water budget technique relies on the assumption that within a watershed, Precipitation + inflow = evaporation +runoff. If you know everything but evaporation, you can solve for it |
|
|
Term
| describe the technique for quantifying evaporation called pan evaporation |
|
Definition
| pan evaporation is when you leave a pan of water in the sun and measure evaporation from it. Then you try and extrapolate data for an entire area |
|
|
Term
| 3 problems with pan evaporation |
|
Definition
problems with pan evaporation include:
1. shade on pan
2. pan itself heats up and speeds up evaporation
3. animals drink from pan |
|
|
Term
| describe the energy balance technique of quantifying evaporation |
|
Definition
| the energy balance technique of quantifying evaporation relies on breaking down incoming solar radiation and trying to see where it will go and how much of it will be "used" getting water to evaporate |
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|
Term
| What would someone use the Blaney-Criddle equation for? |
|
Definition
| the Blaney-Criddle equation is used for estimating evapotranspiration from crops |
|
|
Term
| the Blaney-criddle equation relies on what variables? |
|
Definition
| the Blaney-criddle equation changes based on air temperature and the the number of daylight hours. Both these factors define evapotranspiration from crops |
|
|
Term
| describe conceptually how one would go about using the blaney-criddle equation |
|
Definition
to use the blaney-criddle equation:
First, find the average air temperature and % daylight hours for each month you are examining. That gives you your value of "f", which determines transpiration for that month. Then your total consumption is just a sum of all the months you are looking at |
|
|
Term
| potential evapotranspiration is defined by these 2 variables |
|
Definition
| potential evapotranspiration is defined by incoming radiation and air tempertaure |
|
|
Term
| what is the vapor pressure deficit |
|
Definition
| vapor presure deficit is esat - eactual. vapor pressure deficiency is a measure of the amount of space left in air for water before it is saturated |
|
|
Term
| how would a high vapor pressure deficit affect evapotranspiration? |
|
Definition
| a high vapor pressure deficit means a higher evapotranspiration |
|
|
Term
rank the following three types of runoff in term of speed:
shallow sub-surface
groundwater
surface |
|
Definition
the fastest is surface runoff, which operates on a scale of hours
medium is shallow subsurface, which operates on a scale of days or weeks
the slowest is groundwater runoff, which operates on a scale of years |
|
|
Term
| what kind of runoff operates on scales of days or weeks? |
|
Definition
| runoff through the shallow subsurface operates on a scale of days or weeks |
|
|
Term
| what type of runoff operates on scales of years? |
|
Definition
| groundwater runoff operates on scales of years |
|
|
Term
| what type of runoff operates on scales of hours? |
|
Definition
| surface runoff operates on scales of hours |
|
|
Term
| describe saturation-excess runoff |
|
Definition
| when the water table rises above the ground, because the ground is completley saturated, unable to let in any water, then you have saturation excess runoff. this only occurs when precipitation is greater than the ground's ability absorb water |
|
|
Term
| what occurs when the rate of precipitation outpaces the ground's ability to absorb water? |
|
Definition
| when the rate of precipitation outpaces the ground's ability to absorb water, then you have saturation-excess runoff |
|
|
Term
| how does the depth of the water table before rainfall effect the chances that you will have saturation-excess runoff when it does start raining? |
|
Definition
| the higher the water table is to start, the less rain it takes to move the water table above the surface of the ground, so the greater chance there will be enough rain to get you to saturation-excess runoff |
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|
Term
| catchment scale runoff examination looks at what? |
|
Definition
| catchment scale runoff examination is all about connecting precipitation within a catchment area to the flow out of that catchment area |
|
|
Term
| what is the graph we looked at that measures streamflow. What do we usually compare it to? |
|
Definition
| the graph for streamflow is called a hydrograph. hydrographs are often compared to hyterographs which measure rainfall |
|
|
Term
| what does a hydrograph measure? |
|
Definition
| hydrographs measure streamflow |
|
|
Term
| when did we talk about lag to peak? |
|
Definition
| there is a lag between higher rainfall and higher flow at the bottom of a catchment area. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a rating curve uses depth and velocity measurements to esimate Q (units of volume/time) of a river |
|
|
Term
| what is the technique we learned about to relate depth and velocity to Q? |
|
Definition
| a rating curve relates depth and velocity to Q |
|
|
Term
| effect of urbanization on lag to peak |
|
Definition
| urbanization decreases the lag to peak between precipitation and discharge from the catchment area |
|
|
Term
| why does urbanization decrease the lag to peak? compare different types of runoff in the answer |
|
Definition
| urbanization means an increase in impervious land cover. This means more surface runoff compared to before. Because surface runoff is faster, we see a smaller lag to peak between precipitation and discharge from the catchment area |
|
|
Term
| what is the equation for drainage density? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| what measurement has units of m-1 |
|
Definition
| drainage density has units of m-1 |
|
|
Term
| what does drainage density, or Dd tell you about a catchment area |
|
Definition
| Drainage density tells you how "well' a catchment area is drained by streams. A catchment area with a high Dd has more drainage than one with a low Dd |
|
|
Term
| a catchment area with low, rolling hills and soil that absorbs water well has a high or low Dd |
|
Definition
| a catchment area with low, rolling hills and soil that absorbs a lot of water would have fewer streams because there would be less surface runoff, so it would be "worse drained" and have a low Dd |
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|
Term
| a catchment area with a steep hills and lots of imperable rock near or at the surface would have what kind of Dd |
|
Definition
| a catchment area with steep hills and lots of impermeable rock at or near the surface would see lots of runoff and thus lots of streams, so a high Dd |
|
|
Term
| what 6 things effect runoff? |
|
Definition
the three things that effect runoff:
1. size of basin
2. shape of basin
3. drainage density
4. vegatation
5. soil mositure
6. orientation of basin compared to what direction storms are moving |
|
|
Term
| how does orientation of the basin compared to direction of storms affect the height of the peak of streamflow during runoff? |
|
Definition
if a storm is moving away from the monitoring point that defines the catchment area, it reduces the height of the peak runoff.
If a storm is moving towards the bottom of the catchment area, it increases the height of the peak runoff |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| if the contour of a hillside spreads the water out as it flows, what is that called? |
|
Definition
| a hillside with a contour that spreads water out as water flows is a divergent hillslope |
|
|
Term
| what is the strategy behind TOPMODEL |
|
Definition
| TOPMODEL splits a catchment area into a grid and assumes that squares with similar topography contribute to runoff in the same way |
|
|
Term
TOPMODEL makes these three assumptions
|
|
Definition
assumptions that TOPMODEL makes
1. inflow to the system is proportional to the contributing area
2. outflow is proportional to slope
3. when inflow > outflow, water table rises |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| viscosity is a liquid's resistance to motion when that liquid is under shear stress |
|
|
Term
| what do we call a liquid's resistance to movement under shear stress? |
|
Definition
| a liquid's resistance to movement under shear stress is called viscosity |
|
|
Term
| what quality of maple syrup defines how slowly it flows downhill? |
|
Definition
| maple's resistance to flowing or forming ripples is due to the higher viscosity of maple syrup |
|
|
Term
| what is the difference between laminar flow and turbulent flow |
|
Definition
laminar flow is when flow is smooth, slow, and determined by viscosity
Turbulent flow is when flow is fast and not determined by viscosity |
|
|
Term
| define infiltration-excess runoff |
|
Definition
| when it is raining to fast for ground in take in all the water, so the water runs off instead of being infiltrating |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| quickflow is water in a stream due to precipitation |
|
|
Term
| where does baseflow come from? |
|
Definition
| baseflow comes from deep-subsurface water |
|
|
Term
| equation for residence time at steady state |
|
Definition
| residence time = volume divided by flow |
|
|
Term
| controls on a plant's transpiration |
|
Definition
1. root structure
2. stomata
3. soil moisture |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| draw a lobate or bird's foot delta |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| this delta has straight sides that lead directly back to the mainland |
|
Definition
| a delta with straight sides that lead directly back to the mainland is a cuspate delta |
|
|
Term
| this delta splits into many smaller channels, and has a rounded edge of deposited sediment |
|
Definition
| a delta that splits and has a rounded edge of deposited sediment is a an arcuate delta |
|
|
Term
| this delta splits into many channels, and has only a small border of deposited sediment |
|
Definition
| a delta that splits into channels but only has a small amount of deposited sediment around each channel is a lobate or bird's foot delta |
|
|
Term
| this delta doesn't extend very far beyond shore |
|
Definition
| a delta that doesn't extend very far beyond shore is a estuarine delta |
|
|
Term
| when the glaciers melted, the land that they were sitting was able to move upwards. What type of process is this? |
|
Definition
| when land itself changes level, like after glacial melt, it is called isostatic movement |
|
|
Term
| as polar ice caps melt, sea level wil rise. what do we call it when water levels change relative to land? |
|
Definition
| when water levels change relative to land it is a eustatic process |
|
|
Term
| describe the difference between isostatic and eustatic |
|
Definition
isostatic is land changing level
eustatic is water changing level |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| orogeny is geological processes caused by plate boundaries |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| epirogeny is changes in elevation of central parts of plates |
|
|
Term
| what is the difference between orogeny and epeirogeny |
|
Definition
orogeny occurs at plate boundaries
epeirogeny occurs at centers of plates |
|
|
Term
| describe an ingrown meander |
|
Definition
| an ingrown meander is when slow erosion leads to much greater erosion on the outer bank than the inner bank |
|
|
Term
| describe an incised or entrenched meander |
|
Definition
| an incised or entrenched meander is when fast-flowing water evenly cuts out a symmetrical gourge |
|
|
Term
| what kind of engineering focuses on working with natural processes to reduce the impacts of flooding? |
|
Definition
| soft engineering focuses on working with natural processes to reduce the impact of flooding |
|
|
Term
| what kind of engineering focuses on working against natural processes to stop flooding? |
|
Definition
| hard enginnering focuses on working against natural processes to stop flooding |
|
|
Term
list 4 strategies of soft engineering
|
|
Definition
4 strategies of soft engineering include
1. planting forests, because tress increase interception
2. river restoration
3. contour farming
4. alarms for floods |
|
|
Term
| list four strategies of hard engineering |
|
Definition
four strategies of hard engineering include:
1. levees
2. relief channels
3. flood storage resivoirs
4. intercepting channels |
|
|
Term
| in the topographic index equation, what is "a" |
|
Definition
| in the topographic index equation, "a" is area of the box divided by the length of the downslope end of the box |
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