Summary: Water

Read the summary and the most important questions on water

• 5 water

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• 5.3 The hydrological cycle influences water budgets and river systems at a local scale

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• There are two types of river Regimes?

  1. A simple regime - Periods of high discharge followed by low discharge this can be due to glacial meltwater, snowmelt or monsoons which cause sudden flucations in the river regime.
  2. A complex regime - are normaly large rivers which cross diffrent reliefes and climate zones (ganges)

• What does a water budget show?

  They show the annual balance between inputs (percipitaion) and outputs (evapotranspiration) and their imapct on soil water avaliablity and are influnced by climate type.

• Physical factors affecting the river regime

  1.  Size - smaller rivers tend to be influnced by one thing/climate
  
  2. Amount/intensity/pattern of ppt
  - alot of rain will make your rivers high all year around
  - If your ppt falls as snow then it your regime might be close to zero before summer
  
  
  3. Geology - a river over permable rock tend
  to be more steady as if it isn't raining ground water might fill them up
  
  
  4. Vegeatation cover
  
  
  
  5. Anthropogenic( human) activities - building a dam

• How does human interference in the water cycle affect water avalibaility?

  • Pumping ground water for industry - reduces stores - less water avalibale for the locals (in kerela water tables have fallen by 6m due to coca cola)
    
  • Animal grazing - redruces infiltraion as groundwater comes compacted therfore less ground water stores - less water avaliable
  • Dams - block river flow - less water availbel downstream (Faraka dam in India reduced flow of Ganges into Bangladesh from 2000m3/sec - 400)

• Guadiana river Regime

  • Located in Portugal and spain
  • flows tend to be higher in winter (500-700m3 a second)
  • In summer it is much lower (as low as 200m3/sec)

• Rhone river Regime

  • Has a single peak in June where it flows at about 1000m3/sec but usually flows at 200m3/sec
  • Glacier fed river so the melting of the glacier gives a high peak 
    

• Amazon River regime

  • Located in South America 
    
  • Flat peak due to it having such a large river basin and the wet season lasts for longer as it happens in different countries at different times

• Yukon river Regime

  • Virtually no flow from December to may as all precipitation falls as snow 
    
  • In may the flow increases as the snow and ice melt

• How many glaciers have disappeared since 1985

  Four

• 5.4 Deficitis within the global hydroligical cycle result from physical processes but can have significant impacts

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• How many people rely on groundwater for drinking

  3 million people