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EAS 205 Midterm 1 > Flooding > Flashcards

Flooding Flashcards

1
Q

Define: Flood

A

An overflow of water that submerges land that is usually dry

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2
Q

What is a stream?

A

a body of water confined to a channel that feed into rivers

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3
Q

What is a river?

A

the major branch of a stream system

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4
Q

What is a drainage basin? What separates them?

A

the area of land from which a stream or river collects its water
topographical features divide basins (natural barriers)

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5
Q

What is the hydrological cycle’s main components, with a brief description?

A
  1. Evaporation - water turning to vapour
  2. Condensation - condensing of water vapour in clouds
  3. Precipitation - water falling back to earth
  4. infiltration - water soaking into the ground
  5. runoff- water that does not infiltrate
  6. groundwater - water that is deeply infiltrated that will refill rivers/streams
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5
Q

Define: discharge

A

The volume of water that flows through a river or stream at a specific point

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6
Q

What is discharge a function of

A

width x depth x flow velocity

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7
Q

What is sediment

A

All the material temporarily or permenatly suspended in the flow

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8
Q

What is a hydrograph? What does it tell us?

A

a plot of stream discharge at a point over time
lets us monitor stream outflow to predict flooding

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9
Q

What is capacity?

A

total sediment load carried by a flow

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10
Q

What is compentence?

A

the flows ability to carry material of a given particle size

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11
Q

What is base level?

A

the lowest level elevation to which a stream flows

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12
Q

What is gradient?

A

the steepness of a streams channel (elevation change)

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13
Q

What characterizes a braided stream

A

multiple channels split apart and join together
at high elevations

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13
Q

What characterizes a meandering stream?

A

winding, loop like bending of the chanel
low elevations

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14
Q

What is a floodplain?

A

A flat area, level with the top of the channel that floods when the stream fills over its banks

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15
Q

what are natural levees?

A

ridges of course material that build up on its banks confining floodwaters

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16
Q

Define: Downstream flood

A

floods that affect the larger portion of the drainage basin

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17
Q

Define: stage

A

the height of the water surface at a given location

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18
Q

Define: Upstream flood

A

occurs in small localized areas of the upper drainage basin

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19
Q

Define: Crest

A

the highest point or maximum elevation reached by water in a river/stream during a flood

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20
Q

Define: Flash flood

A

a sudden upstream flood that occurs in a short period of time

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20
Q

What is a flood frequency curve? what is its function?

A

graphical representation of past floods and their magnitude
tells us the likelihood that a similar flood will occur again

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21
Q

What is surface runoff affected by? why?

A
  1. ground cover - diff materials absorb more than others
  2. topography - shallow slope infiltrates more than steep slopes
  3. vegetation - plants absrob water reducing runnoff
  4. climate - rainfall, spring runoff, etc.
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22
Q

What human actions influence floods? (3)

A
  1. urban development
  2. Deforestation
  3. climate change
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23
Q

How does urban development impact flooding

A

less natural ground cover and vegetation reducing infiltration and increasing runoff

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24
Q

How does deforestation impact flooding?

A

there are less trees/plants to absorb water reducing infiltration and increasing runoff

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25
Q

How does climate change impact flooding?

A

increased rainfall, rising sea levels, glacial melting

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26
Q

What is restrictive zoning?

A

avoiding building in designated zones to reduce flood risk

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27
Q

What is a retention pond?

A

a man-made pond that captures and slowly releases storm water

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27
Q

What is a diversion channel?

A

channel built to redirect floodwaters to vulnerable areas

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28
Q

What is chanellization?

A

modification of river channels to improve flow and reduce flooding

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28
Q

What are levees?

A

natural or man made riverbank barriers to maintain floodwaters

29
Q

What are flood controlled dams & reservioirs?

A

structures that store excess water and release it gradually

30
Q

What is the biggest river flood mitigation technique?

A

not building on floodplains

31
Q

Describe the Edmonton flood of 1915

A

big flood that changed the development of urban areas in edmontons river valley

32
Q

Describe the 2013 Calgary flood

A

big flood due to heavy rains that resulted in the lowering of water levels in dams

33
Q

Explain the principle of catastrophism

A

geological principle that states earths landscapes are shaped by sudden, short lived, intense events

33
Q

Explain the principle of uniformitarianism

A

geological principle that states earths landscapes are shaped by continuous and uniform processes over long periods of time

34
Q

Explain the principle of catastrophic uniformitarianism

A

geological principle that states earths landscapes are shaped by both long and continuous processes and short intense events

35
Q

What does the bedding type tell us about flood deposits?

A

the sedimentary characteristics tell us about the presents of floods and their characteristics

36
Q

What are humans proximity to the coast?

A

40-90% of people live within 5km of the coast
pop density is much higher in coastal areas vs inland

37
Q

How do tectonics impact coastline characteristics?

A

differences in tectonic activity lead to vaired coastal landscapes

38
Q

Define: active margin

A

where tectonic plates are activly moving and interacting

39
Q

Explain a subduction zone and what kind of coastline it results in

A

when a oceanic plate slides beneath a continental plate causing uplifting
results in cliffs and rugged coastlines

39
Q

Define: passive margin

A

where tectonic plate activity is minimal, not where plates meet

40
Q

Explain what kinds of coast lines arise from passive margins

A

slight pushing of the oceanic plate on continental but no significant subduction
results in coastlines with long continental shelves and sandy beaches with gentle slope

41
Q

How does the materials of the coastline impact its characteristics?

A

impacts its resistance to erosion and the presence of different coastal features

42
Q

Explain how waves and energy affect coastal appearance

A

high energy environments result in more erosion, where as low energy environments have more sediment build up

43
Q

Define: relative sea level

A

the height of the sea level in relation to the land
- results from land masses and sea level rising/falling

44
Q

Explain what a emergent coastline is

A

when land rises or sea level falls decreasing relative sea level
results in wave-cut platforms

45
Q

Explain what a submergent coastline is

A

when land sinks or sea level rises increasing relative sea level
- results in drowned valleys

46
Q

How are waves formed?

A

via wind speed and fetch

47
Q

Explain wave movement as it approaches the shore

A

wave moves in circular motion, closer to the shore it turns into a ellipses shape before the wave breaks

48
Q

Explain how sediment moves along a shoreline

A

longshore currents and wave motion move sediment parallell to the coast

49
Q

Define: Sediment budget

A

how much sediment comes into an area minus how much sediment is exported out by the ocean

50
Q

What sediment conditions result in a eroding shoreline?

A

more sediment out than in

50
Q

What sediment conditions result in a built-up shoreline

A

more sediment in than out

51
Q

What is a groin? its function?

A

build to prevent beach erosion by trapping sediment by building barriers perpendicular to the shoreline

52
Q

What is a jetty? its function?

A

built to keep open channels and harbour entrances from sediment deposition

53
Q

Why did Bayocean fail?

A

because of the building of a jetty upstream, resulting in erosion downstream

54
Q

describe the foreshore

A

intertidal zone that is exposed between low and high tide

54
Q

describe the offshore

A

subtidal zone, with a lower gradient, not affected by waves, completely underwater

55
Q

Describe the backshore

A

supratidal zone not usually affected by water, formation of sand dunes

56
Q

describe the shoreface

A

subtidal zone, steep gradient, heavily influenced by waves, sediment in motion

57
Q

Briefly explain the origin of tides

A

via the gravitational pull of the sun (30%) and the moon (70%)

58
Q

What is storm surge?

A

abnormal rise in sea level caused by strong winds and low atmospheric pressure from storms

59
Q

What are the conditions required for a tropical cyclone

A
  1. warm ocean water
  2. low pressure
  3. coriolis effect causing air to spin
  4. continuous energy supply
59
Q

How does coriolis effect determine hurricane trajectories

A

causes cyclone trajectories to curve rather than move in a straight line

59
Q

What are the consequences of storm surge

A

coastal flooding, coast erosion, destruction of infrastructure and ecosystems

60
Q

How does climate change affect hurricanes

A

increased sea level, surface temperature, and precipitation will result in more intense hurricanes more often with greater damage

61
Q

briefly explain how hurricanes are present in the rock record?

A

hurricanes imprint the sedimentary rock record via coarse sediment deposits and fossils

62
Q

Describe the western interior seaway

A

a shallow inland sea that connected from the gulf of mexico to the arctic ocean
marine environment in alberta

63
Q

Describe Amadeus Grabau pulsation theory

A

discovered via rock deposits and fossils that earths features are due to the rythmic rise and fall of sea level

64
Q

Explain what cratonic sequences are

A

large-scale, regional sedimentary deposits that occur on stable continental crust,

65
Q

describe Jospeh Barrell cycles theory

A

discovered via sedimentary rock that sea level rises in cyclicity rhythms affecting rates of sedimentation

66
Q

Explain what happened in the messinian event during the messinian period

A

mediterranean sea disconnected form oceans causing water to evaporate leaving behind salt deposits

67
Q

Explain what happened in the messinian event during the zanclean period

A

atlantic ocean water found a path through the gibraltar strait filling the mediterranean sea
initially slow then very fast filling

68
Q

explain the differences in filling between the western and eastern mediterranean

A

filled at different rates due to topography acting as a barrier (sicily sill)

69
Q

What do the seismic section of the channel tell us?

A

tell us that there was 600m of erosion along the mediterranian seabed from rapid water flow

70
Q

How does the geological record explain sediment transport during the messinian flood

A

the flood transported 40 billion cubic meters of sediment within the channel

EAS 205 Midterm 1 (4 decks)

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