hydrology (part 2) Flashcards
the hydrologic cycle is powered by the ____
sun
what are the 5 steps of the hydrologic cycle
- water evaporates into earths atmosphere
- moisture is collected to form clouds and then the clouds precipitate
- when the water falls to the ground it goes into lakes, oceans, and streams
- runoff happens when ground hold water
- some water spreads to plants and then it is released back out thru transpiration
how much of the earths water is fresh
3%
of the percentage of earths fresh water how much surface and ground water are drinkable
31%
stream velocity
how fast water can go mostly depends on the gradient
stream gradient
the slope of a stream channel
discharge
amount of water passing through a certain point in a given amount of time
competence
measure of the maximum size of sediments a stream can carry
capacity
measure of the total amount of sediments a stream can carry
youth stream development properties
waterfalls and rapids, a lot of erosion, straight path, v-shaped valley, fast speed
mature stream development properties
floodplains start to appear, curving patterns, slower speed, gentle slope, less erosion
old stream development properties
extreme meanders, wide floodplain, slow speed, oxbow lakes, natural levees, flat
point source pollution
single source where pollution is directly coming from ex. factory or sewage treatment plant
nonpoint source pollution
usually runoff moves pollutants through water and groundwater ex. fertilizer, sediment from construction, oil on road
karst topography
areas with bedrock containing calcite, dolomite, and other easy dissolving materials (sinkholes, lost rivers, caverns)
carn formation
rainwater containing carbonic acid which spreads into the ground (most commonly associated with limestone)
watershed
rainwater, ice, snow meet at a certain point which flows into a larger body of water
what is another name for watershed
drainage basin
permeability
the rate water can pass through pore spaces of rock
porosity
the amount of space between the pore spaces of a rock
circle particles have a (higher, lower) porosity than angle shaped particles and well sorted particles have a (higher, lower) porosity than poorly sorted particles
higher
zone of saturation
where all the pore spaces are filled
water table
the layer above the zone of saturation
zone of aeration
the area between the surface and the water table that can still hold water
spring
the water table meets the surface and as a result groundwater flows out
ordinary well
humans dig in the ground to get groundwater
aquifer
permeable layers of rock and sediment that carry and store groundwater enough to supply wells
artesian formation
aquifer dips underground and is squished between impermeable rocks
geyser
hot spring shooting water and steam into the air
consequences of using too much groundwater
water table drops so wells go dry, salt water will spread into overused aquifers
subsidence
when groundwater is being taken the ground then is compacted and sinks down
