ATS2545 Final: Sem 1_ATS-2545 Exam Notes
25 May 2018
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ATS-2545
ATS-2545 NOTES
Semester 1
ATS-2545
Exam Style (2 hours)
• Answers in question booklet
• LH page blank for notes or diagrams
• 16 questions
o Answer any 8 (10 marks each)
o 15 minutes per question
o Max. half page answers
UNIT Objectives
• Understand the controls on global freshwater availability
• Be aware of risks to the security of global water supplies arising from
human activity
• Understand hydrologic processes including: precipitation, infiltration,
overland flow, and groundwater flow
• Understand some of the hydrologic processes arising in a range of
geographical environments, including drylands, urban areas and
tropical forests.
• Develop experimental skills needed for laboratory measurements of
hydrologic properties such as porosity and saturated hydraulic
conductivity
• Understand the place of hydrologic considerations in debates about the
management of logging, bushfire, and other forms of landsurface
change
ATS-2545
ATS-2545 Exam Notes
Week 1: The nature of global hydrology
Hydrology – The formal study of water (solid, liquid and gas): the flow and roles of
water in the environment
Flux – The time taken for water to be replenished
Evapotranspiration – The combined loss of water from a given area by evaporation
from the land and transpiration from plants
Global hydrology – water scarcity
❏ More than 1 billion people in developing countries lack access to safe
drinking water
❏ More than 2 billion people lack adequate water for sanitation
❏ Water scarcity leads to
❏ Basin closures (Murray)
❏ Impacts on streams and biota
❏ Over-exploitation of groundwater
❏ Societal and economic problems (e.g. economic growth slowed)
❏ Drivers of water scarcity
❏ Population growth
! Rising demand on water and food
o Population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050
o By 2050, WHO predicts that 4 billion people will face
severe fresh water shortages
❏ Economic development – rising demand
❏ Climate change
❏ High demand on high volume bio fuel crops
❏ Move to urban centres –
! System leakage, evaporative building cooling towers
❏ Tree plantations – paper
Water Resources
Renewable fresh water resources
❏ Only 1% of freshwater is located in rivers and groundwater
❏ Water is renewable as part of water cycle – supplies can be replenished
❏ Rely heavily on surface runoff and groundwater for freshwater supplies
Document Summary
Exam style (2 hours: answers in question booklet, lh page blank for notes or diagrams, 16 questions, answer any 8 (10 marks each, 15 minutes per question, max. half page answers. Hydrology the formal study of water (solid, liquid and gas): the flow and roles of water in the environment. Flux the time taken for water to be replenished. Evapotranspiration the combined loss of water from a given area by evaporation from the land and transpiration from plants. More than 1 billion people in developing countries lack access to safe drinking water. More than 2 billion people lack adequate water for sanitation. Societal and economic problems (e. g. economic growth slowed) Rising demand on water and food: population expected to reach 9. 7 billion by 2050, by 2050, who predicts that 4 billion people will face severe fresh water shortages. High demand on high volume bio fuel crops. Only 1% of freshwater is located in rivers and groundwater.
