Chapter 11: Water Flashcards
How much of the Earth’s water is freshwater?
2.5% (most is in glaciers, ice caps)
How much of the earth’s freshwater is on the surface? ground water? ice caps and glaciers?
surface- 1%
groundwater- 20%
frozen- 80%
What is a tributary?
A smaller river flowing into a larger one
What is a watershed?
A watershed is an area of land drained by a river
What kind of flow would a river which flows slow and parallel be called?
Laminar flow
What is a turbulent flow?
A turbulent flow is when a river’s streamlines are intertwined, mixed. Much erosion takes place
Is most stream flow laminar or turbulent?
Turbulent
What features determine a stream’s velocity?
Gradient \, roughness& size, discharge
What is a hydrograph used for?
A hydrograph records the fluctuations in stream height over time (discharge)
What is the discharge of a stream? How is it mathematically measured?
Discharge is the volume of water in a stream moving past a point in a time interval
Q[discharge] = V[velocity]*A[cross sectional area]
[length^3 per unit time]
What is a suspended load?
A suspended load regards the transport of solid material through streams that is kept suspended by fluid turbulence, clay and silt
What is the bed load?
Solid material near bottom of river flow, sand and graval
What is the saltation load?
Switched from bed to suspended, bouncing/skipping
What does the competence of a stream refer to?
The competence of a stream is the maximum sized of particles that a stream can carry(higher velocity, greater competence)
What is the capacity of a stream?
The capacity refers to the TOTAL load a stream can carry (dependent on discharge)
Define oxbow and oxbow lake
An oxbow is an extreme bend in a river, an oxbow lake is when part of the river is bent to the extent that the region becomes cut off and remains as an isolatated, U-shapes body of water
What is a floodplain?
a floodplain is the shallow area neared to a rivers course that are periodically flooded
What is a riparian zone?
A riparian zone is a riverside area that is productive and species-rich
What do we call ecosystems that combine elements of both freshwater and dry lands?
Wetlands
What is a swamp?
A shallow area of water that occurs in forested areas
What is a bog?
A bog is a pond covered in /thick/ floating mats of vegetation