Hydrology And Fluvial Geomorphology Flashcards
What is precipitation
Water falling from the sky, rain is the most important form of precipitation
What is interception?
Rain that is intercepted before it reaches the surface of the ground. It is usually intercepted by vegetation
What is throughfall/stemflow?
When leaves become saturated in prolonged rainfall, water drips to the ground or flows down the outside of the tree trunk
What is surface storage?
When infiltration capacity is exceeded and water starts to build up on the surface, producing puddles
Infiltration?
The movement of water from the surface into the soil. The speed it does this at depends on how permeable the soil is
Overland flow?
The movement of water along the surface of the ground. It is a relatively quick process
Hortonian overland flow?
Created by hard surfaces where the water reaches fast speeds. In recently ploughed areas it can lead to serious soil erosion
Soil storage?
When water is held in the soil. Depending on the type of soil, water can be held for longer. Clay soil has small pores so it holds water well. Sandy soil has large gap in it so it can’t hold water very well
Porous?
The more porous soil is the harder it is for it to hold on to water but lets water in easily
Percolation?
The movement of water from the soil into the bedrock
Throughflow?
Water that flows downhill through the soil, parallel to the surface. Slower than overland flow but quicker than base flow
Groundwater?
Water that is stored inside the bedrock. Contains the water table which moves up and down depending on the amount of water percolating through the rock
Baseflow?
The movement of water through the bedrock to a river, when it reaches the surface it emerges as a spring
Evapotranspiration?
When the process of evaporation and transpiration are combined together
Channel flow?
The movement of water in a river. It reaches the river by overland, through or base flow. It flows downhill as river discharge
