Flooding - Human Activity and Flooding Flashcards
what type of human activities has increased the frequency and severity of flooding?
clearing of land for agriculture, building of cities, and construction of transportation networks
t or f: some measures to reduce flooding in one area have led to increased flooding in other areas
t
land-use factors that affect flooding
- removal of natural vegetation
- destruction of wetlands
- construction activity
- urbanization
what are the consequences of widespread removal of forests and grasslands?
- less infiltration capacity resulting to more overland flow and increases the ability of water to move downslope
- increased overland flow and erosion thereby resulting in sediment pollution
excessive dislodged sediment is moved off the
landscape into drainage systems which causes
channels to become filled with sediment
sediment pollution
how does sediment pollution affect flooding?
reducing the capacity of streams to carry water thereby increasing the frequency and severity of flooding
this refers to the level of suspended sediments
turbidity
why are wetlands important in reducing flooding?
wetlands are natural flood-retention basin, they accumulate floodwater
land consisting of marshes or swamps; saturated land
wetlands
wetlands are commonly found in ____________ and ____________ in which case they are called ___________
topographic depressions ; adjacent to river channels ; riparian wetlands
how does destruction of wetland affect flooding?
reducing the landscape’s ability to store water
are lands that occur along the edges of rivers, streams, lakes, and other water bodies
riparian zones
in many parts of the world, wetlands have been viewed as __________
wastelands
t or f: wetlands are generally porous
t
large pipes called _____ are typically sued for small streams that flow intermittently
culvert
what is the downside of using a culvert?
the amount of discharge able to flow through the culvert is limited to its diameter and is unable to handle large volume of water, thereby causing upstream areas to become flooded
most construction activities involves _______thereby, increasing chances of flooding
removal of natural vegetation
The process of removing silt from a body of water (e.g., sand and gravel extraction)
desiltation
urban areas in developed countries typically have significant portions of the land covered with __________ such as concrete and asphalt, causing less infiltration capacity
impermeable surfaces
t or f: urbanization leads to shorter lag times between precipitation events and peak discharge
t