Explain the role of cryospheric change in the water cycle.
In a period of cooling (glacial period) the cryosphere will grow in size. This is because the water cycle is slowed considerably as the ice restricts the return of the water to the sea and ocean.
In a period of warming the cryosphere will add water to the cycle. As the water cycle restarts more of the ice melts and returns water to the sea.
Variation in runoff volume is a product of a number of factors. These include antecedent rainfall, vegetation cover, underlying bedrock and relief.Human activity is also a significant factor.
Outline flows within the water cycle operating on a hill slope.
surface runoff occurs when water runs directly over the ground, which may be due to saturated soils or an impermeable ground surface.
infiltration occurs when the water moves from the surfacedown through the soil until it reaches the groundwater or an impermeable layer in the ground.
What is streamflow?
All of the water that enters a drainage basin will either leave through the atmosphere or through streams that drain the basin - tributaries - into other rivers or directly into lakes and oceans.
On a local scale, the carbon and water cycles are both open systems, but on a global scale, they are closed systems. Each of these systems contains flows/transfers, inputs, outputs and stores/components.
