potential resource a resource that exists but is unusable in its current state, such as salt water, ice and water vapour precipitation a form of water from the atmosphere; e.g. rainfall, snow primary research collection of original information rainfall variability the change from year to year in the amount of rainfall in a given location relative humidity the amount of moisture in the air renewable resource a resource that can be naturally replaced if carefully managed secondary research collection of resources on an issue, prepared by others and offering different viewpoints soak place where groundwater moves up to the surface southern oscillation a major air pressure shift between the Asian and east Pacific regions; its most common extremes are El Niño events storm surges a sudden increase in sea level as a result of storm activity and strong winds; low-lying land may be flooded Torrential rain heavy rain often associated with storms, which can result in flash flooding troposphere layer of the atmosphere closest to the Earth, extending about 17 kilometres above the Earth’s surface, but thicker at the tropics and thinner at the poles; where weather occurs typhoons the name given to cyclones in the Asian region uranium a dense grey radioactive metal used as a fuel in nuclear reactors virtual water all the hidden water used to produce goods and services water footprint the total volume of fresh water that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by an individual or a country water scarcity when the demand for water is greater than the supply available water stress a situation that occurs in a country with less than 1000 cubic metres of renewable fresh water per person whiteouts a weather condition where visibility and contrast is reduced by snow; individuals become disoriented because they cannot distinguish the ground from the sky
9.14.3
Reflection
Revisit the inquiry questions posed in the Overview: What effect does the uneven distribution of water resources have on the lives of people? How does weather and climate, including severe weather events, influence the distribution and wellbeing of human populations? 1. Now that you have completed this topic, what is your view on the questions? Discuss with a partner. Has your learning in this topic changed your view? If so, how? 2. Write a paragraph in response to one of the inquiry questions, outlining your views.
Post-test
Online post-test
eWorkbook
Customisable worksheets for this topic Reflection
Digital document Key terms glossary
TOPIC9 Water in the world 337
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator