Definition
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Key word
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The process by which water vapour changes to liquid water
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Condensation
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All the water that enters a river channel and eventually flows out of the drainage basin
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Run-off
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A part of the system where energy/mass is stored or transformed
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Store
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The downward movement of water within the rock under the soil surface
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Percolation
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This applies to any water store that has reached its maximum capacity
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Saturated
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This is an area of land drained by a river and its tributaries
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Drainage basin
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The slow movement of water through underlying rocks
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Groundwater flow
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The water contained in the Earth's oceans and seas but not including inland seas
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Oceanic water
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A form of linkage between one store/component and another that involves movement of energy or mass
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Flow
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The precipitation that falls on the vegetation surfaces or human-made cover and is temporarily stored on these surfaces
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Interception storage
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The total output of water from the drainage basin directly back into the atmosphere
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Evapotranspiration
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This consists of groundwater, soil moisture, lakes, wetlands and rivers
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Terrestrial water
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A discontinuous layer of water at or near the Earth's surface
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Hydrosphere
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The portion of precipitation intercepted by the canopy that reaches the ground by flowing down stems, stalks or tree bole
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Stemflow
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The process by which liquid water changes to a gas
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Evaporation
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Those processes that affect the total mass of ice at any scale
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Cryospheric processes
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A set of interrelated components working together towards some kind of process
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System
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The loss of water from vegetation through pores on their surface
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Transpiration
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The addition of matter and/or energy into a system
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Input
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The water locked up on the Earth's surface as ice
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Cryospheric water
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Water found in the atmosphere
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Atmospheric water
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The downward movement of water from the surface into soil
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Infiltration
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The tendency of water to flow horizontally across land surfaces when rainfall has exceeded the infiltration capacity of the soil and all surfce stores are full to overflowing
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Overland flow
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The balance between inputs and outputs in a drainage basin
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Water balance
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The portion of the precipitation that reaches the ground directly through gaps in the vegetation canopy and drips from leaves, twigs and stems
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Throughfall
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The movement of water down-slope through the subsoil under the influence of gravity
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Throughflow
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