Geography River Tees Flashcards
UPPER COURSE
What type of rainfall is common in the upland areas of the Pennines?
Frontal Rainfall.
What is the average annual precipitation in the Pennines?
1200mm/year.
Why does the Pennines region experience higher rainfall compared to other areas?
Western location and upland topography which contributes to Orographic rainfall.
What is Orographic rainfall?
Moist air forced to rise over hills, cooling and condensing to form precipitation.
What results in high amounts of run-off in the Pennines?
Steep Sided V shaped valleys.
What results in limited soil stores in the Pennines?
Thin soils and bare rock.
What does low permeability peaty soil have?
When saturated, they have low infiltration rates.
What are the typical infiltration rates of peaty soils in the Pennines during winter and summer?
1mm/hour in Winter and 5mm/hour in Summer.
What surface store is common in the Pennines?
Puddles.
HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS
What role do reservoirs like Cow Green and Selset play in the River Tees’ water management?
They hold 40,000m of water and help regulate discharge levels of the River Tees.
How does limited human development in the upper course of the River Tees affect it?
Results in more natural landscapes, which allows interception, infiltration and through flow to take place.
What has been the impact of hill sheep farming on the landscape of the River Tees area?
Extensive deforestation and reduced interception. Little need for irrigation.
LOWER COURSE
What does the lower course lie in?
Rain Shadow.
What is the annual precipitation in the lower course of the River Tees?
650mm/year.
What does the low lying flat flood plain encourage?
Infiltration.
What role do the moderately permeable clay-rich soils play in infiltration rates in the lower course
Higher infiltration rates in the rural areas with 20mm/hour in summer and 4mm/hour in winter. (4x faster than the upper course)
HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS
What is the population of Teesside and Darlington?
Teessides population is 300,000 and Darlingtons population is 100,000.
How does this influence urban water management?
Creates more impermeable surfaces and drainage channels which transfers via surface run-off quickly to rivers (Skerne).
Why are urban areas more prone to convectional storms compared to rural areas?
Urban heat island.
How has the intensification of farming and machinery in the lower course of the River Tees affected soil permeability?
Causes soil compaction, which leads to the soil becoming less permeable and creating more surface stores and runoff during high periods of precipitation.
Why has the use of irrigation increased in the lower course of the River Tees?
Climate change.
What does the intensification of farming and urbanisation result in?
Extensive deforestation which results in less interception.
