Summary
Summary Geography A-Level Notes - Water and Carbon Cycles
Is notes on the Water and Carbon Cycle part of the Geography A-Level course. Isn't fully complete but mostly there,
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
Seller
Follow
Content preview
Geography – Water and Carbon CyclesNatural systems:
Coasts are natural systems:
Inputs - entities that enter the system e.g. sediment through longshore drift.
Outputs - e.g. sediment being washed out to sea
Flows/transfers - these corelate to processes such as erosion, weathering, transportation
and deposition
Store/components - landforms such as beaches, dunes and spits.
Open system - energy and matter can enter and leave system
closed system - matter cant enter and leave system but energy can
System affected by feedbacks:
Negative feedback- change in the system can cause other changes that have the opposite
effect.
o Large amounts of CO2 emitted, CO2 in atmosphere increases, Extra CO2
causes plants to increase growth, Plants remove and store more CO2 from
atmosphere, Amount of CO2 in atmosphere reduces.
Positive feedback - change in the system causes other changes that have a similar effect.
Temperature rises, ice covering cold parts of earth melts due to higher
temperatures, less ice over means less of the sun's energy is reflected, less of the
sun's energy is being reflected means more is absorbed by earth.
Earth can be seen as one system made up of subsystems:
Cryosphere - Parts of earths system where cold enough for water to freeze
Lithosphere- outermost part of earth (includes crust and upper part of mantle)
Biosphere - part of earths system where living things are found
Hydrosphere - includes all water on earth
Atmosphere - Layer of gas between earths surface and space
All these systems are interlinked
matter and energy move between subsystems
changes in one system can effect another
The Water Cycle:
, water stored in solid, liquid and gas form:
Hydrosphere contains 1.4 sextillions of water
most is saline water in oceans (less than 3% is fresh water)
of earths fresh water:
o 69% frozen in Cryosphere
o 30% groundwater
o 0.3% liquid fresh water on Earths surface
o 0.04% stored as water vapour in atmosphere
water must be physically and economically accessible for humans to use
water can change from solid, liquid and gas forms
Water constantly cycling between stores:
water continuously cycled between different stores - global hydrological cycle
o is a closed system (no inputs and outputs)
Magnitude of store varies over time and in space:
amount of water in each store varies over range of scales from local to global
magnitude of each store depends on amount of water flowing between them
different flows occur at different range of spatial and time scales
Evapotranspiration - when liquid water changes into gas
o evaporation increases amount of water stored in atmosphere
o magnitude of evaporation flow varies by location and season
Lots of solar radiation, large supply of water, warm and dry air -
evaporation will be high
not much solar radiation, little available liquid water, cool air that's
nearly saturated - evaporation will be low
Condensation- when water vapour becomes a liquid
o happens when air containing water vapour cools to dew point (change from
gas to liquid)
o water droplets can stay in atmosphere or flow to other subsystems
o magnitude of condensation flow depends on amount of water vapour in
atmosphere and temperature
Cloud formation and precipitation
o essential parts of water cycle
o clouds form when warm air cools down - causing water vapour to condense
into water droplets and gather as clouds
when droplets are big enough, they fall as precipitation
o several things that cause warm air to cool:
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller tomwatson. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £5.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
53068 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now