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earth's life support systems (water vapour - absorbs long-wave…
earth's life support systems
water vapour
- absorbs long-wave radiation from earth. helps maintain temperatures at 15 degrees higher than it usually would be
oceans
- water makes up to 65-95% of all living organisms - crucial to growth & reproduction
clouds
- tiny droplets reflect a fifth of incoming solar radiation and lower temperatures also traps heat
lithosphere
- the rigid outer part of the earth crust, consisting of the crust & upper mantle. divided by tectonic plates
biosphere
- space at the earth's surface and within the atmosphere occupied by living organisms
hydrosphere
- all of the water on the surface.
cryosphere
- frozen part on the earth's surface such as glaciers
atmosphere
- envelope of gases surrounding the planet
the drainage basin water cycle
-
mouth
- where the river ends.
watershed
- edge of drainage basin separates different basins.
tributary
- small stream that enters the main stream
channel
- water in the main stream
confluence
- where tributary meets the river
stemflow
- the flow of water along branches and stems of trees and other plants to the ground
interception loss
- rainwater stored temporarily on the leaves, stems and branches of vegetation which is evaporated and does not reach the ground surface
throughfall
- rainfall, initially intercepted by vegetation which drips to the ground. also known as leaf drip
interception storage capacity
- when rain starts there is more interception loss. as more rain occurs storage capacity decreases
wind speeds
- as wind speeds increase leaves move and throughfall increases due to leaf drip. this means less interception loss
vegetation type
- trees = interception means more capacity held in trees. grass = lower capacity (less interception loss) agricultural crops = less capacity (as grass is in rows)
tree species
- broad leaves means more storage as there is wider surface area
soil's infiltration capacity
- soils such as clay have low infiltration rates + low through-fall. sandy soil = high infiltration, low runoff and high rates of through-fall
saturation of soil
- before there is rain, saturation is high meaning there is more porous space (more infiltration peculation)
rock permeability
- rocks such as chalk and sandstone have high infiltration rates and low runoff. rocks such as granite have no infiltration rates (non-porous) - most runoff