River Regimes And Flood Hydrographs Flashcards
What is a river regime?
The annual variation in the discharge of a river, the amount of water that travels through a river and how this changes throughout the year
What might influence the river regime?
Urbanisation
Deforestation
Slope/ gradient
Intensity/type of weather event
Rock type
What is a perennial channel?
Continuous flow in parts of its bed all year round during years of normal rainfall
What is an intermittent channel?
Normally ceases flowing for weeks or months each year
What is an Ephemeral channel?
Only flows for hours or days following rainfall
What type of river regime is the river wye?
Perennial as it has continuous flow all year around
Where is the river wye drainage basin would you expect to find intermittent or ephemeral channels?
Some tributaries in the mountains of mid wales near the source of the Wye will be ephemeral because of the extreme variations in the mountain climate
What is common in hydrograph’s in areas with snow cover?
In the summer months there will be an increase in discharge because of snowmelt
In warmer climates around India what in the cause for an increase in rainfall in the summer months?
Monsoons
What is the main geology of the River Wye?
Predominantly characterised by old red sandstone
What are the characteristics of sandstone?
It is permeable
Which means it increases the lag time reducing the peak discharge
How does building new houses affect the river regime?
It creates impermeable surface and drainage systems with reduce lag time and increase peak discharge
How does damming affect the river regime?
Prevents the natural flow of the river so discharge/flow downstream in reduced
What are flood hydrographs?
Graphs that show how a drainage basin responds to a period of rainfall
What is peak discharge?
The highest recorded discharge following a rainfall event
What is peak rainfall?
The highest amount of rainfall per unit of time
What is the rising limb?
Shows how quickly the discharge rises after a rainstorm
What is lag time?
The time difference between peak rainfall and peak discharge