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GeoP - rivers > Key Stuff > Flashcards

Key Stuff Flashcards

1
Q

Precipitation

A

water falling from sky as rain, hail, sleet or snow

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2
Q

throughflow

A

horizontal movement of water through the soil

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3
Q

baseflow

A
  • flow of water below the water table (groundwater flow)
  • towards river channel
  • slowest flow of water
  • result of water percolating through soil/bedrock
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4
Q

overland flow

A

movement of water across surface

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5
Q

infiltration

A

movement of water down into the soil

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6
Q

throughfall

A

movement of precip from vegetation to surface

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7
Q

interception

A

capture of precip by vegetation so it doesn’t fall directly onto ground

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8
Q

stem flow

A

movement of captured precipitation down the stems and trunks of vegetation

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9
Q

surface storage

A

water stored that has not infiltrated the surface

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10
Q

groundwater storage

A

percolated water that is held in aquifers below the water table

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11
Q

antecedent moisture

A

moisture retained in soil after a period of rainfall

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12
Q

evapotranspiration

A

combination of moisture loss due to evaporation and transpiration

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13
Q

lag time

A

period between peak rainfall and peak discharge

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14
Q

peak discharge

A

time when the river has maximum amount of water flow

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15
Q

rising limb

A

the line on the graph that represents discharge increasing to peak discharge

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16
Q

falling limb

A

the line on the graph that represents the discharge decreasing from the peak discharge

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17
Q

traction

A

transportation of large sediment by rolling along river bed

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18
Q

pool

A

deep channels where the river flows

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19
Q

riffle

A

shallow areas in river channel

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20
Q

laminar flow

A

low velocity movement of water in a uniform pattern, parallel streams. no cross-currents or swirls. one direction.

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21
Q

turbulent flow

A
  • disorderly flow
  • many changes in velocity (speed & direction)
  • caused by friction, esp when river channels are irregular
  • eddies (swirling reverse currents) common in this flow, downstream direction
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22
Q

suspension

A

transportation where particles are suspended in flow

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23
Q

saltation

A

sediment hops along river bed

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24
Q

abrasion

A

grinding of sediment on river bed/bank

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25
Q

hydraulic action

A

water forces air into cracks applying pressure and weakening rock

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26
Q

solution

A

transportation of dissolved material

27
Q

porosity

A

determines how much water can be absorbed and stored by the rock

28
Q

permeability

A

rate that water can pass through a rock

29
Q

water table

A

line separating the unsaturated zone and saturated zone

30
Q

recharge

A

refilling zone of saturation due to lack of water

31
Q

thalweg

A

line of maximum velocity, also deepest point

32
Q

helicoidal flow

A
  • corkscrew movement of water (spiral-shaped)
  • occurs in bends in river channel (meanders)
  • responsible for erosion/deposition in meander
  • potentially forms river cliff
33
Q

bluff

A

edge of floodplain

34
Q

soil water

A

water present in soil after infiltration

35
Q

drainage basin

A

an area of land drained by a river and its tributaries

36
Q

watershed

A

the line dividing drainage basins from each other (highest land surrounding the basin)

37
Q

transpiration

A

the evaporation of water from a plants leaves stem or flowers

38
Q

river discharge

A

the volume of water flowing through a river channel; measured at any given point in cubic metres per second

39
Q

channel flow

A

water that moves through established channels, like rivers or streams

40
Q

aquifer

A
  • underground water stores
  • a body of porous rock or sediment saturated with groundwater
41
Q

spring

A

a natural outlet of groundwater, i.e. anywhere where groundwater flows out onto the surface

42
Q

formation of spring

A

1) where permeable rock meets impermeable rock, causing infiltrated water to build up and eventually escape as a spring
OR
2) where the water table meets the surface (especially on a hill) causing the discharge of water

43
Q

baseflow hydrograph

A

the lvl of water a river holds without contributions by overland flow
- normal discharge line (without precip)

44
Q

stormflow hydrograph

A

the additional water in river bank during storm, made of overland flow + throughflow

45
Q

bankfull discharge

A
  • max capacity of river
  • if discharge > this, river will burst banks and flood
46
Q

drainage density

A

total length of all rivers and streams in a drainage basin divided by the total area of a drainage basin
- indicator of how well the drainage basin is drained

47
Q

drainage density hydrograph impact

A

high drainage density = more streams and rivers, so peak discharge is high and short leg time. due to lots of rivers, water is drained quickly, so steep falling limb

low drainage density = overland flow more likely to infiltrate than make way to channels, so long lag time, low peak discharge

48
Q

cavitation

A

air bubbles go into gaps and implode due to pressure, weakening the rock

49
Q

sedimentation

A

the process of being deposited as a sediment

50
Q

hjulstrom curve

A

logarithmic graph
- shows how velocity of river affects the material and whether it will be eroded, transported or deposited

51
Q

straight river channel

A
  • mainly upper course
  • single, straight channel
  • vertical erosion prevalent
  • thalweg moves from side to side
52
Q

meandering river channel

A
  • middle and lower course of the river
  • series of bends and curves from side to side
  • deposition on inside of bend
  • erosion on outside of bend
53
Q

braided river channel

A
  • large sediment deposits within channel, causing many channels to form, separated by islands of sediment
  • usually occur where discharge fluctuates
  • river deposits when it loses energy
  • doesn’t usually occur in upper course
54
Q

river cliff

A

a cliff created when the bank is undercut by erosion on the outside of the bend

55
Q

point bar

A

a deposit of fine sediment, e.g. sand on the river bank inside of a meander bend.
usually changes position as meander changes shape

56
Q

water abstraction (human impact)

A
  • removal of water from a water body like a river, lake, reservoir or groundwater store
  • unsustainable if abstraction rate is higher than replenishing rate
    effects:
  • water can deplete on surface and groundwater level
  • affects channel flow and discharge, more deposition
  • water table may fall when groundwater overexploited, so less groundwater seepage into the above groundwater stores.
    causes above-ground water levels to fall?
57
Q

water storage (human impact)

A
  • damms directly stop and control channel flow, barrier in way of river channel
  • reservoirs behind dams can raise water table behind dam, affecting soil saturation
  • may lead to lowering of water table in other areas water that wld be in other areas is being stored in dam
  • usually v. large (reservoirs), so store a lot. LOT of water can enter atmosphere through evap etc, increasing cloud formations so affecting precip.
58
Q

causes of flooding

A
  • prolonged rainfall
  • intense rainfall
  • impermeable surfaces (land use…)
  • melting snow (temperatures…)
59
Q

impacts of flooding

A
  • sediment onto floodplain, waterlogs plants and endangers wildlife
  • floods transport materials, can deposit them in clean water supplies
  • damage buildings, destroy hmes/businesses etc
  • homelessness, poverty, disease
60
Q

predicting flood risk

A
  • probability of a flood of a certain size can be predicted based on past flooding records. known as flood recurrence interval
  • can be modelled using software / other equipment, to predict how diff circumstances would affect flooding (slope, topography, precip rates etc)
  • helps inform low/med/high risk, and so decided construction work / insurance policies (important)
61
Q

adaptation

A

accepting flooding is happening and adapting to it once the flood event has happened

62
Q

mitigation

A

attempting to reduce the impacts of the flood events before it happens

63
Q

infiltration rates (clay and sand)

A

clay: 0-4 mm/hr
sand: 3-12 mm/hr

GeoP - rivers (10 decks)

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