drainage basin (hydrological cycle) Flashcards
What is the drainage basin?
The area from which a river gets its water. The boundary is marked by an imaginary line of highland known as a watershed
What is the discharge of a river?
The volume of water passing a given point in a river at any moment in time
What is an input in the hydrological cycle?
Precipitation
What is a storage in the hydrological cycle?
Interception; surface storage; soil moisture; and groundwater
What is a flow (transfer) in the hydrological cycle?
Infiltration; percolation; surface run-off (overland flow); through flow; and groundwater flow
What is an output in the hydrological cycle?
Evaporation; transpiration; and a river carrying water to a lake or the sea
What is precipitation?
Any source of moisture reaching the ground, e.g. rain, snow, frost
What is interception?
Water being prevented from reaching the surface by trees or grass
What is surface storage?
Water held on the ground surface, e.g. puddles, lakes
What is infiltration?
Water sinking into soil / rock from the ground surface
What is soil moisture?
Water held in the soil layer
What is percolation?
Water seeping deeper below the surface
What is groundwater?
Water stored in the rock
What is transpiration?
Water lost through pores in vegetation
What is evaporation?
Water lost from ground / vegetation surface
