Drainage Basin Flashcards
What is the systems theory
A framework used to describe and analyse the interaction of parts of the physical and human world
What is an isolated system
No input or output of energy or matter
What is a closed system
There is input, output and transfer of energy but not matter or mass
What is an open system
Inputs and outputs of both energy and matter
What type of system is the drainage basin
Open system
Give examples for each of the two inputs of the drainage basin
MATERIALS
precipitation
ENERGY
heat
Potential energy (height)
What are the stores and transfers in the drainage basin
STORES
interception
Soil store
Groundwater store
Channel store
TRANSFERS
Throughflow
Infiltration
Groundwater flow
Percolation
Surface runoff
What are examples of the two outputs in the drainage basin
MATERIAL
discharge
Sediment
ENERGY
heat in the water
Kinetic in the river flow
What is a drainage basin
An area of land where water from rain or snowmelt drains downhill into a river, lake or sea. It acts as a funnel, collecting all of the water within the area and channeling it into the river
How are drainage basins separated from one another
They are separated by an imaginary line called the watershed, which is usually found on a ridge of highland
How does the drainage basin operate as an open system
The hydrological system within a drainage basin is described as an open system as it consists of inputs, storage, transfers and outputs
