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Hydrology Flashcards

1
Q

Drainage basin

A

Areas of land that surround a river and provide it with water

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2
Q

Watershed

A

Drainage basins are divided by watersheds - may be visible as a ridge of highland, however may not be visible as it’s affected by underground geology or the change in the level of land is imperceptible

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3
Q

Source

A

Where a river begins ; water upwells from the ground where it’s continuously collecting

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4
Q

Tributary

A

Smaller rivers that feed into a main river

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5
Q

Confluence

A

Where two tributary rivers meet

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6
Q

Mouth

A

Where a river ends eg. Lake or sea

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7
Q

Open system

A

A system that has external inputs and outputs of energy or matter eg drainage basin

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8
Q

Isolated system

A

Systems with no interactions with anything outside of the system boundary. No input or output of energy or matter

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9
Q

Closed system

A

Systems that have transfers of energy into and out of system however there’s NO transfer of matter

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10
Q

Cascading system

A

Systems that have a transfer of mass and energy along a chain of component subsystems ; the output of one subsystem is the input for another subsystem eg coastal zone

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11
Q

Flow

A

The movement of something between stores ; usually water

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12
Q

Store

A

Where water is kept (temporarily)

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13
Q

Ground water

A

Water held in soil and crevices between rocks and sediments aka saturated zone

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14
Q

Water table

A

Upper layer of saturated zone (ground water) that is breached by humans for extraction and use

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15
Q

Recharge

A

Extracted water may be replaced by rainwater, infiltration, inflow and seepage from rivers and lakes

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16
Q

Springs

A

Natural upwelling of ground water due to rock changes below the surface ; can act as the source of a river

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17
Q

Throughfall

A

Precipitation that falls directly onto the ground

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18
Q

Leafdrip

A

Water that falls from trees and plants

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19
Q

Stemflow

A

During or after rainfall, the flow of intercepted water down the trunk or stem of a plant

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20
Q

Overland flow

A

Water that flows over the lands surface. Occurs when precipitation rate exceeds infiltration rate and when the soil is saturated.

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21
Q

Channel flow

A

The movement of water in streams and rivers

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22
Q

Infiltration

A

When water soaks into or is absorbed by the soil ; infiltration capacity is the maximum rate at which rain can be absorbed in a given time

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23
Q

Percolation

A

The slow movement of water through the pores in soil or permeable rock (occurs lower down below infiltration)

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24
Q

Groundwater flow

A

Some groundwater slowly flows out into rivers from the side or below

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25
Baseflow
The name for the groundwater flow that keeps a river charged with water between rainfall events
26
Interception
The process where water is caught and stored by vegetation
27
Soil water
Water stored by soils and above deeper ground stores. Used by vegetation to grow
28
Surface water
Water stores on the surface eg puddles, marshes, bogs, lakes
29
Channel storage
Water stores in rivers and streams
30
Evapotranspiration
The water loss that occurs due to the combined processes of evaporation and transpiration from the heating of the sun
31
River discharge
The river flows into lakes or seas The amount of water in the river channel at a specific point ; calculated by area x velocity (cumecs)
32
Permeability
The measure of the ability of soils and rocks to allow the movement of water through them
33
Porosity
The capacity of soils and rocks to absorb and hold water
34
River regime (annual hydrograph)
Shows the monthly variation in the discharge of a river over a year
35
Flood hydrograph (storm hydrograph)
Shows how the discharge of a river varies over a short time, from a few days to longer, usually the effect of an individual storm or a group of storms
36
What are the 4 types of river regimes
Glacial, nival, pluvial, tropical
37
Rising limb
Tells us how quickly the discharge rises
38
Receding / falling limb
Tells us how fast the discharge declines after reaching peak discharge
39
Lag time
The difference between peak rainfall and peak discharge
40
Hydraulic action
The direct and continuous force of flowing water wears away the soils and rocks of the bed and banks (can lead to cavitation)
41
Cavitation
The direct and continuous force of flowing water forces air into cracks in the soil and rocks of the bed and banks. These implode and create a mini shockwave, breaking soils and rocks apart
42
Abrasion (corrasion)
The wearing away of the bed and banks by sediment carried by the water
43
Solution
Particles in certain rocks (mostly limestone) are dissolved by weak acids in the water
44
Traction
Larger rocks being rolled along the river bed
45
Saltation
Smaller rocks moved by bouncing along the river bed
46
Suspension
When materials like silt are very light and are suspended in the water
47
Solutions
When materials like limestone and dissolved and the chemicals are in the water
48
Stream / river sediment
The total load of sediment a river can carry
49
Stream / river competence
The maximum size / weight of a particles that can be carried by the water
50
Laminar flow
A smooth straight channel where water flows in sheets parallel to the channel bed
51
Turbulent flow
Occurs where there are higher velocities and an increase in bed roughness Associated with hydraulic action
52
Helicoidal flow
Corkscrew motion due to presence of alternating pools and riffles in the channel bed
53
Thalweg
The line of lowest points along the entire length of a river The line shows the stream of maximum velocity in a river
54
Braided channel
Occurs when the channel is divided by islands or bars (areas where sediment has been deposited)
55
Spur
A hill / mountain
56
Bluff
Interlocking spurs
57
Riffle
Eddies (circular currents of water) cause deposition of larger sediments creating ridges of sediment
58
Pool
Erosion causes pools ; deeper parts of a meander
59
River cliff
Found on outer bank of river where there is undercutting
60
Point bars / slip off slopes
Deposition on the inside of the bank
61
Floodplain
An area of land around a river that floods during heavy rainfall events
62
Levees (dykes)
Raised banks made of sediment formed during flooding or built by humans
63
Deltas
Found near the mouth of a river when it fans out into distributary channels
64
Flocculation
When clay sediments join together and the gain in mass causes it to sink and be deposited
65
Recurrence interval
Refers to the regularity of a flood of a given size
66
Amelioration
Make a bad / unpleasant situation better
67
Disaster aid
Any aid, such as money, equipment, staff and technical assistance given to a community after a disaster
68
Flood abatement
Reducing the amount of runoff

Geo (3 decks)

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