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Flashcards in The drainage basin Deck (32)
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1
Q

Drainage basin:

  • (1) system
  • AKA (2) can be any size
  • (3) within the global hydrological system
A

1 - open
2 - local hydrological system
3 - subsystem

2
Q

Define ‘drainage basin’

A

The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries

3
Q

Name five factors that affect the drainage basin

A
Climate
Soil
Geology 
Relief 
Vegetation
4
Q

How does climate affect the drainage basin?

A

Affects the rate of evaporation, precipitation and vegetation growth

5
Q

How does soil affect the drainage basin?

A

Clay - impermeable due to particle size so stores water

Sand based - through flow and infiltration

6
Q

How does geology affect the drainage basin?

A

Chalk and Sandstone allows aquifers as water soaks into them
Pervious (limestone) allows water to flow but not into the rock
Caves and stalagmites

7
Q

How does relief affect the drainage basin?

A

Orographic rainfall affects run off as a steeper slope will reduce infiltration

8
Q

Name four human impacts on the drainage basin

A
  • Deforestation
  • Urbanisation
  • Agriculture
  • Mega dams
9
Q

How does deforestation affect the drainage basin?

A

Less interception so rain falls directly on the soil > compaction > less EVT

10
Q

How does urbanisation affect the drainage basin?

A

Less infiltration capacity

11
Q

How does agriculture affect the drainage basin?

A

Water needed for irrigation, pasture compact soil, arable removes nutrients and requires heavy machinery

12
Q

How do mega damns affect the drainage basin?

A

Increased EVT and reduces water downstream

13
Q

Amazonia:

  • (1)% destroyed in the last 50 years
  • Trees are ‘(2)’ act as carbon sinks
  • (3)% of rainfall is recycled from trees
  • (4)% of intercepted water is EVT
  • Contains (5)% of the world’s rainforest
A
1 - 20 
2 - green lungs 
3 - 50
4 - 75 
5 - 60
14
Q

How does the El Nino Southern Oscillation affect the Amazonia?

A

Droughts and forest fires

15
Q

Why is run-off into the Amazon problematic?

A

Aquifer depletion and soil erosion

16
Q

Name the only input of the drainage basin system

A

Precipitation

17
Q

Name the five flows in the drainage basin system

A
Infiltration 
Percolation 
Through flow 
Run off
Groundwater flow
18
Q

Name four stores in the drainage basin system

A

Surface store
Interception
Soil moisture
Channel store

19
Q

Name the three outputs in the drainage basin system

A

Transpiration
Evaporation
River discharge

20
Q

Define ‘percolation’

A

When water flows through the soil by the force of gravity

21
Q

Where is precipitation heaviest and why? What affects precipitation?

A

Tropics due to the Intertropical Convergence Zone and places that get monsoons
ITCZ - high solar radiation causes rapid convection of warm air
Also affected by continentality (distance from sea) and land relief

22
Q

Why could precipitation act as a store? What affect does this have on precipitation distribution?

A

E.g. snow takes longer to form

Not evenly distributed across drainage basin

23
Q

Name the seven fluxes (flows)

A
Interception 
Infiltration 
Direct run off
Saturated over land flow
Through flow
Percolation 
Ground water flow
24
Q

What affects interception?

A
  • Size of the leaves (vary throughout the year)

- Deciduous (loses its leaves during the winter)

25
Q

What affects infiltration? (mm/hr)

A
  • antecedent soil moisture
  • soil compaction
  • slope angle
26
Q

Name four factors that affects the volume of evaporation

A
  • Hours of sun
  • Air movement
  • Albedo
27
Q

Where is the Amazon River located?

A

South America

28
Q

Amazon river regime:

  • (1)km long
  • (2) km squared basin
  • Snowmelt from the (3)
A

1 - 6,308
2 - 6 million
3 - Andes Mountain Range

29
Q

Where is the Yukon river?

A

North America (Canada and Alaska)

30
Q

Yukon river regime:

  • (1)km long
  • (2)km squared drainage basin
  • (3) climate through a mountain range
A

1 - 3,540
2 - 850,000
3 - Tundra

31
Q

Where is the river Nile?

A

North Africa through 11 countries

32
Q

Nile river regime:

  • (1) climate
  • 1970 construction of (2) dam reduced flow by (3) and changed seasonal flow
A

1 - Warm and arid
2 - Aswan
3 - 65%