Hydrology definitions Flashcards
Aquifers
An underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock. Groundwater can be extracted using a well.
Baseflow
Baseflow is the portion of streamflow that is not run-off and results from seepage of water from the ground into a channel slowly over time.
Channel flow
The movement of water through a river channel
Discharge
The volume of water in the channel
Channel
The path through which the river flows.
Condensation
Condensation occurs when water vapour is turned back into water droplets as it cools down. Clouds are formed.
Drainage basin hydrological cycle
This is an OPEN SYSTEM with INPUTS and OUTPUTS, meaning water enters and leaves the system. It is defined by the watershed.
Drainage
The area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a river.
Evaporation
The transformation of water droplets into water vapour heating.
Evapotranpiration
The loss of water from a drainage basin into the atmosphere from the leaves, plants and surface stores
Groundwater flow
The deeper movement of water through underlying rock strata (layer).
Groundwater storage
The storage of water underground in permeable rock strata
Groundwater
The water is underground in cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock. It can often be collected in aquifers.
Hydrological cycle
The sequence of conditions through which water passes between the land, sea and the air.
Infiltration
The lateral downward movement of water from the surface into the soil.
Interception
The prevention of rain from reaching the earth’s surface by trees and plants
Surface run off
The movement of water over the surface of the land, usually when the ground is saturated or frozen or when precipitation is too intense for infiltration to occur
Percolation
The gravity flow of water downwards within the soil.
Precipitation
All forms of moisture that reach the earth’s surface
Recharge
Is where water moves downward from the surface water to groundwater. It is the primary method through which water enters an aquifer.
Soil water
The volume of water stored in the soil
Spring
The point which water flows from an aquifer to the earth’s surface.
Stemflow
Water running down a plant stem or tree trunk
Surface storage
The total volume of water held on the earth’s surface in lakes, ponds and puddles.
Throughfall
Is the process which describes how wet leaves shed excess water onto the ground surface.
Throughflow
The movement of water downslope within the soil layer.
Transpiration
The process by which plants take up water by their roots and water vapour exits the plants through their stomata.
Water table
The boundary between water-saturated ground and unsaturated ground.
