Freshwater Flashcards
what is infiltration
When water enters or seeps into something, e.g the soil.
What is surface run-off
The access amount of water that flows over the surface
evapotranspiration
Everything that is evaporated into the air
through flow
The flowing of water in the soil, e.g in small streams towards a river
what type of system is a drainage basin
an open system
What is an example of an output
Evaporation
What is the hydrological cycle
the cycle of water that describes the continual movement of water
What is an open system
something that allows movement of energy and matter across its boundaries.
What is the main input in a drainage system
Precipitation
What are some factors effecting evaporation
vegetation cover, colour of the surface and the amount of water available
what is potential evapotranspiration
the water loss that would occur if there was an unlimited supply of water in soil for use by vegetation.
What does groundwater occur as a result of
- Infiltration of part of the total precipitation at the ground surface
- Seepage through the banks and bed of surface water bodies such as ditches, rivers, lakes and oceans
- Groundwater leakage and inflow from adjacent rocks and aquifers
Artificial recharge from irrigation, reservoir and so on.
What is river discharge
River discharge is the volume of water passing a given point over a set of time.
what is an example of a store
vegetation
What is Through flow
Water that either falls through gaps in vegetation or which drops from leaves, twigs or stems
Stemflow
the flow of intercepted water that flows down the trunk or stem
What is soil moisture
Soil moisture refers to the subsurface water in the soil
What is field capacity
refers to the amount of water held in soil after excess water drains away
What is the wilting point
the minimum amount of water a plant needs not to wilt
what is recharge
the refilling of water in pores where the water has dried up or been extracted by human activity.
how can we describe water flow as
turbulent, NOT uniform
What is lamer flow
the movement of water in a series of sheets. It is common in groundwater and glaciers, but not in rivers
Approach segment
A rivers flow before a storm
Rising Limb
the rivers response to the rainfall period.
Peak discharge
occurs when the river reaches its highest level.
Lag time
the period between maximum precipitation and peak discharge.
Falling or recession limb
where discharge is decreasing and river levels are falling.
Stormflow
The discharge from a storm
Baseflow
maintains the rivers flow during periods of low precipitation by realising water slowly.
Bankfull discharge
occurs when a rivers water level reaches the top of its channel; any further increase in discharge will result in flooding.
