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The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity

Fluxes, residence time, fossil water and the cryosphere

  • 3 things to know
  • Papers 1 and 3

Overview

Recall questions on annual fluxes, the global water budget, residence time, fossil water and irreversible cryosphere loss.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Numbers

State the approximate residence time of water in the atmosphere.

Key term

What do proportional flow diagrams of the global hydrological system represent?

Key term

What are annual fluxes in the context of the hydrological cycle?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What are annual fluxes in the context of the hydrological cycle?

    Model answer

    The movement of water between atmosphere, ocean and land, measured as the volume transferred per year.

  2. 2

    How is the water budget over the oceans balanced, given that evaporation exceeds precipitation there?

    Model answer

    The deficit is balanced by runoff from land to oceans.

  3. 3

    Explain how the water surplus over land is returned to the oceans.

    Model answer

    Precipitation over land exceeds evapotranspiration; the surplus returns to oceans via surface runoff and groundwater flow.

  4. 4

    Define the global water budget.

    Model answer

    The balance between inputs, outputs and storage changes across the hydrological cycle; it limits the total water available for human use.

  5. 5

    What would happen to the global water budget if evaporation from oceans decreased significantly?

    Model answer

    Less water would enter the atmosphere, reducing precipitation over both oceans and land, and decreasing runoff returning to oceans.

  6. 6

    What is meant by residence time in the hydrological cycle?

    Model answer

    The average length of time a water molecule remains in a particular store before moving to another part of the cycle.

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