Key Words Flashcards
Lag time
Time taken from peak rainfall to Peak discharge
Rising limb
An increase in discharge (how a river quickly responds to a storm)
Receding/Falling limb
How long it takes a river to get back to its normal level
Base follow
The amount of water that would be in the river without the addition of stormwater
Bankfull discharge
Maximum discharge the river can carry without flooding
Peak discharge
The highest flow in the channel for that event
Storm flow
A discharge resulting from the storm precipitation involving overland flow, through flow and groundwater flow
Drainage basin
Area of land drained by a river and its tributaries
Evapotranspiration
The total output of water from the drainage basin directly back to the atmosphere
Groundwater flow
The slow movement of water through underlying rock
Infiltration
Downward movement of water from surface to soil
Overland flow
The tendency of water to flow horizontally across land
Perlocation
Downward movement of water within the rock under soil undersurface
Run off
All of the water that enters a river channel and eventually flows out of the drainage basin
Saturated
Any water store thats reached its maximum capacity
Stem flow
Precipitation that runs down the outside of tree trunks
Throughfall
Precipitation that reaches the ground by going through gaps in the vegetation canopy and drips from leaves and twigs
Throughflow
Movement of water down the slopes through soil layer under the influence of gravity
Transpiration
Loss of water from vegetation through pores (stomata) on leaves
Water balance
Balance between inputs and outputs in a drainage basin
