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Water cycle EQ 2 - Coggle Diagram
Water cycle EQ 2
climate change
- precipitation (input) - warmer atmosphere holds more water. impacts such as increasing rainfall intensity, geographical area of precipitation increasers in tropic + decreases above + below the tropics, length + frequency of heatwaves increase
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Causes uncertainity: - increases in annual temp lead to greater evaporation from surface water and reservoirs in summer, although spring discharge may increase
- greater rates of evapotranspiration
- impacts of
types of drought
- meterological - dry weather patterns dominating an area
- agricultural - lack of moisture in surface soil to support plant life
- hydrological - occurs when there is evidence of low water supply - reservoirs, stream etc dry up
ENSO
- normal pacific conditions: - trade winds from east to west. warm water pushes west upwelling, evaporation, rainfall over pacific
El Niño: - trade winds weaken, ocean current slows, causing rainfall over s America, get drought in Australia
La Niña - trade winds strengthen, ocean current + upwelling stronger, rainfall over Australia get drought in s America
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human actions + flooding
- economic + population growth since the 20th century has caused floodplains to be built upon, changing land use, urbanisation etc,
river management; - channelisation - an effective way of improving river discharge + reducing the flood risk
- the trouble is that it simply displaces the river downstream. some other locations may be overwhelmed by the increased discharge
- dams - block the flow o sediment
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Australia
- drought a recurrent feature in Australia, 30%of country rainfall deficient. El Niño events worsen thus.
- ;Big Dry' of 2006 was a 1 in 1000 year event and is associated with long term climate change
- australia unlike Sahel, have managed their scare water sources well
- large scale recycling water, desalination plants , new conservation strategies etc.
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