10 questionsð¬ð§English
ð§ Drainage Basins & the Water Cycle â A-level
Geography · A-level â practise water stores and flows, the water balance, storm hydrographs and human impacts on basins.
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Questions
Which global store holds the largest share of Earth's freshwater?
Groundwater
Cryosphere (ice sheets and glaciers)
Atmosphere
Lakes and rivers
20s
Why is a drainage basin described as an open system?
Its watershed has no fixed boundary
Only energy crosses its boundary
Energy and matter cross its boundary
Water circulates without ever leaving
20s
What is the name for the lateral movement of water through the soil towards a river channel?
Infiltration
Overland flow
Percolation
Throughflow
20s
In the water balance equation P = Q + E ± ÎS, what does Q represent?
Groundwater recharge
Interception by vegetation
Evapotranspiration
Total runoff (stream discharge)
20s
A basin has precipitation of 900 mm, evapotranspiration of 500 mm and a storage gain of 100 mm. What is the runoff?
200 mm
500 mm
300 mm
400 mm
30s
On a storm hydrograph, what does lag time measure?
Time from peak discharge to return to baseflow
Time from start of rain to peak discharge
Time from peak rainfall to peak discharge
Time from start of rain to end of rain
20s
Which basin characteristics are most likely to produce a short lag time?
Steep slopes and high drainage density
Gentle slopes and permeable chalk bedrock
Dense forest cover and deep soils
Elongated shape and low drainage density
30s
How does urbanisation usually change a river's storm hydrograph?
Shorter lag time and higher peak discharge
Shorter lag time and lower peak discharge
Longer lag time and lower peak discharge
Longer lag time and higher peak discharge
30s
Why does deforestation in a basin often increase flood risk downstream?
Greater channel storage in upland streams
Higher infiltration capacity of exposed soil
Less interception, so more rapid surface runoff
More evapotranspiration from bare soil
30s
Overland flow caused by rainfall intensity exceeding the soil's infiltration capacity is called:
Return flow
Baseflow
Hortonian overland flow
Saturated overland flow
30s