17 - WATER IN THE LITHOSPHERE

Question 1

Movement of water in soil - Zone of aeration

Answer 1

The area of an unconfined aquifer above the water table where the pore spaces among soil particles and rock formations are filled with air

exists above the water table generally unsaturated soil moisture

Question 2

Zone of saturation - Aquifier

Answer 2

porous and permeable layers of soil and water that can be at least partially saturated can be unconfined or confined

Question 3

Aquiclude

Answer 3

impermeable soil and rock layers that resist groundwater infiltration
a geological formation which is impermeable to the flow of water. It contains a large amount of water in it but it does not permit water through it and also does not yield water. It is because of its high porosity. Clay is an example of aquiclude.

Question 4

traditional well

Answer 4

circular opening or drill hole that penetrates the water table so that water can be drawn pumped to surface

Question 5

artesian wells

Answer 5

wells penetrating confined aquifers so that the water flows to the surface under its own pressure

Question 6

Water flow in streams

Answer 6

water moves to streams because of gravity and gradient slope as runoff (overland flow). and through flow (interflow) or base flow (groundwater flow)

Question 7

interception

Answer 7

precipitation that doesn’t make it to the surface because it is stopped by vegetation , raindrops falls on vegetation and evaporates

Question 8

velocity

Answer 8

rate at which the position of a given body changes with time, friction and turbulence at channel boundaries causes flow to slow down,

Question 9

velocity in streamflow

Answer 9

velocity is higher at the surface of water friction slows down the velocity of water, water moves quicker in the center of the bank. Once we get a bend the velocity switches form the center to the outside fast water on the outside and slow water on the inside

Question 10

streamflow

Answer 10

gravitational movement of water in channels

Question 11

Discharge Q

Answer 11

measurement of streamflow or the volume of water moving past a given point per unit time usually m^3/sec
Q=UA u is velocity and a is area wxdepth = area

Question 12

Discharge Q

Answer 12

discharge increases with channel cross section , channel depth increases faster than width

discharge decrease downstream in a wider channel width and lower slope

Question 13

what are the 6 physical factors affecting discharge?

Answer 13

Impermeable rock ex. granite - water is unable to infiltrate resulting in more surface runoff, increasing volume of channel and its speed

Permeable rock - more infiltration resulting in less surface runoff and less volume in river

size of drainage basin - small water will enter the river quicker and faster

Relief of drainage basin - if the slope of the basin is steep water in the river is likely to move down faster increasing its speed

precipitation - heavy rain can cause saturation in the soil and cause more runoff increasing river speed

vegetation - allows more infiltration an interception causing less surface runoff and slowing down the speed of the river

Question 14

How is river discharge affected by human factors?

Answer 14

Destruction of vegetation (deforestation) – Less infiltration + interception causes more surface run off and increases speed of the water

presence of dams allow river flow to be controlled which may cause more discharge or less below the dam