12 Topics.
0 of 5 Concepts Done
What to Study: Understand why water is called a cyclic resource and what the hydrological cycle describes. Remember the three phases in which water exists and the places among which it is exchanged. Why is the Earth called the Blue Planet?
What to Study: Remember which process goes with which storage place of water (oceans, atmosphere, ice and snow, surface runoff, groundwater). Be clear about the difference between evapotranspiration, sublimation and infiltration. Which common processes are not part of the cycle?
Asked in UPSC PrelimsUPSC 2010UPSC 2013UPSC 2021
What to Study: What share of the Earth's water lies in the oceans? Remember the freshwater stores (glaciers and ice caps, groundwater, lakes, soil moisture, atmosphere, streams, living things) and how they rank by volume. Be clear about the volumes of ice, groundwater, and rivers and lakes. Why is water spread so unevenly?
What to Study: When rain or snow falls on land, where does the water go? Know the share that returns to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration from the land. Understand runoff, infiltration and storage in glaciers as the other routes.
What to Study: Renewable water is constant while demand keeps rising. Why does this lead to a water crisis, in space and in time? How does pollution of rivers make it worse? Think about what can be done to improve water quality and increase the water available.