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Physical Geography > River Systems > Flashcards

River Systems Flashcards

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1
Q

What are Hydrological Concepts?

A

Hydrology is the science of water, its global circulation, distribution, and properties, especially water at and below Earth’s surface. Surface water hydrology and groundwater hydrology

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2
Q

What does Fluvial mean?

A

-Fluvial means “river.”

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3
Q

When are Processes / landscapes / systems are termed fluvial?

A

when related to rivers (main channel in a network) and streams (more general term; water flowing in a channel)

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4
Q

What are the two driving forces of Fluvial Systems?

A

Insolation
Gravity

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5
Q

What is the importance of rivers?

A

Transport and distribute the products of weathering, mass movement, and erosion. Distribute mineral nutrients.
Shape the landscape
Source of fresh water and habitat for wildlife

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6
Q

Why are rivers important to humans?

A

Source of energy (hydroelectric).
Source of potable water.
Dilute and transport waste.
Cooling for industry.
Transportation
Etc.

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7
Q

Are are the main regions of rivers (3)?

A

Net Erosion
Net Transportation
Net Deposition

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8
Q

Where do river beds and banks occur?

A

River bed and banks occur where friction reduces velocity

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9
Q

What do river beds and banks cause?

A

Deposition

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10
Q

Where do we find estuaries and mouths?

A

River estuary and mouth where the tide influences the flow

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11
Q

What do estuaries and mouths cause?

A

Deposition

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12
Q

What is Zone 1 related to?

A

Headwaters, Net Erosion

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13
Q

What happens in Zone 1 (headwaters, net erosion)?

A

Headwater streams swiftly flow down steep mountain slopes and cut deep, V-shaped valleys. Waterfalls and rapids occur in this zone.

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14
Q

What is Zone 2 related to?

A

Transfer Zone

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15
Q

What happens in Zone 2 (transfer zone)?

A

Lower-elevation streams merge to flow down gentle slopes. Valleys broaden as coalescing rivers start to meander.

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16
Q

What is Zone 3 related to?

A

Depositional Zone, Net deposition

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17
Q

What happens in Zone 3 (Depositional Zone, net deposition)?

A

At the lowest elevations, a river meanders across a broad, nearly flat valley and floodplain. At a river’s mouth, it may divide into separate channels as it flows across a delta extending out to sea. The coastal plain and delta are made of river sediments.

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18
Q

Roughly, how much water is flowing through earths rivers?

A

500,000,000 Olympic swimming pools worth

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19
Q

Define a Sediment Yeild:

A

The quantity of sediment that overland flow removes from an area in each period

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20
Q

What are the components of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE)?

A

A = soil loss in tons per hectare per year;
R = rainfall-runoff erosivity factor
K = soil erodibility factor
LS = slope length factor
C = cover management factor
P = support practice factor

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21
Q

What is humid climate associated to?

A

a humid climate is associated with a high drainage density

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22
Q

What are dry climates associated with?

A

a typical desert has a very low drainage density.

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23
Q

What is a drainage pattern?

A

the arrangement of channels in an area

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24
Q

What are drainage patterns influenced by?

A

influenced by climatic and geologic conditions.

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25
Q

How do you calculate a drainage density?

A

total length of all stream channels in the basin/area of the basin

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26
Q

What are the seven common drainage patterns?

A

Dendritic drainage,
Trellis drainage,
Radial drainage,
Parallel drainage,
rectangular drainage,
Annular drainage,
Deranged drainage.

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27
Q

_______________ drainage: Energy expanded by this drainage system is efficient because the overall length of the branches is minimized.

A

Dendritic Drainage

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28
Q

_______________ drainage: characteristic of dipping or folded topography. Such drainage exists in the nearly parallel mountain folds of the Ridge and Valley Province in the eastern United States (e.g., Tennessee).

A

Trellis Drainage

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29
Q

_________ drainage: A radial drainage pattern results when streams flow off a central peak of dome.

A

Radial Drainage

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30
Q

____________ drainage: associated with steep slopes.

A

Parallel drainage

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31
Q

________________ drainage: formed by a faulted and jointed landscape, which directs stream courses in patterns of right-angle turns.

A

Rectangular drainage

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32
Q

_____________ drainage: A pattern of stream flow in which the stream tends to form a circular path around the hill. It happens when there is a layer of less resistant rock in the hill.

A

Annular drainage

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33
Q

_____________ drainage: in the areas with disrupted surface patterns, such as the glaciated shield regions of Canada. It is associated with no clear geometry and no true stream valley pattern.

A

Deranged drainage

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34
Q

Define a stream:

A

Streams, a mixture of water and solids.

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35
Q

How do streams create fluvial landscapes?

A

through erosion
transport
and deposition of materials in a downstream direction.

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36
Q

What factors contribute to the energy of a stream?

A

gradient
base level
volume of flow (discharge)

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37
Q

Define a gradient:

A

The gradient of a stream is defined as the drop in elevation per unit distance.

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38
Q

True or False: a river has a steeper slope nearer the headwaters and a more gradual slope downstream.

A

true

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39
Q

What level of a stream does not erode its valley?

A

Base level

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40
Q

What is the ultimate base level?

A

Sea level

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41
Q

What does geomorphic work depend on?

A

gradient, base level, and volume of flow (discharge)

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42
Q

What are some characteristics of streams at base level?

A

No gradient, lowest energy and clay sized.

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43
Q

What are some characteristics of a stream at Headwaters?

A

High gradient, high energy, and coarse gravel.

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44
Q

how do we find the angle of a gradient?

A

to find angle of gradient we use rise over run

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45
Q

What type of stream has potential energy?

A

A stream situated well above base level has potential energy.

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46
Q

When does a stream have kinetic energy?

A

As the water flows downslope under the influence of gravity, this energy becomes kinetic energy, able to do geomorphic work (erosion).

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47
Q

What is geomorphic work related to?

A

erosion

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48
Q

What are we referring to when we talk about energy?

A

mass and velocity

49
Q

What is the flow of a stream affected by?

A

The flow of water in a stream is affected by channel geometry.

50
Q

Why is velocity nearly zero along each bank and increases to a maximum near the stream’s center?

A

Due to the friction between the water and the banks.

51
Q

Where does velocity of a stream increase?

A

near the stream’s center, also increases from the bottom of the channel to the water surface.

52
Q

Where do we find maximum stream flow?

A

along the centre line of the channel

53
Q

What are some characteristics of stream flow?

A

flow velocity is greatest in the middle and near the top of a stream.

54
Q

Explain what Discharge is:

A

the amount of water flowing past a point over time

55
Q

Why might a streamflows discharge increase downstream?

A

the area being drained increases

56
Q

Thus, the discharge may decrease with distance, because of high potential ____________________.

A

evapotranspiration (or removals)

57
Q

What are Exotics streams?

A

Streams may originate in a humid region and subsequently flow through an arid region. Thus, the discharge may decrease with distance, because of high potential evapotranspiration (or removals)

58
Q

What is an example of an exotic stream?

A

The Nile River

59
Q

What are some differences between Typical vs. Exotic Streams?

A

-Typical: increasing stream velocity and discharge.
-Exotic: Declining discharge with distance downstream.

60
Q

How are changes of discharge driven?

A

by precipitation and temperature

61
Q

What are the three forms of Discharge?

A

Perennial
Ephemeral
Intermittent

62
Q

__________________: Flows all year, fed by snowmelt, rainwater, groundwater, or combination (inputs).

A

Perennial

63
Q

___________________: Flows only after precipitation events (fed by precipitation).

A

Ephemeral

64
Q

____________________: Flows for weeks or months each year, fed by some groundwater inputs.

A

Intermittent

65
Q

What is a Hydrograph?

A

A graph of stream discharge over time for a place.

66
Q

True or False: Urbanization can increase peak flow and shorten lag time between storm peak and stream discharge peak.

A

True

67
Q

How does Urbanization impact flow?

A

Urbanization can increase peak flow and shorten lag time between storm peak and stream discharge peak.

68
Q

Explain Fluvial Processes and Landforms:

A

The ongoing interaction between erosion, transportation, and deposition in a river system produces fluvial landscapes.

69
Q

Explain Erosion in terms of fluvial systems:

A

Erosion in fluvial systems is the process by which water dislodges, dissolves, or removes weathered surface material.

70
Q

True or False: The material eroded in fluvial systems is never transported to new locations.

A

False, in erosion, it takes away material and transports it.

71
Q

What is Deposition in terms of fluvial systems?

A

Deposition is the location which eroded materials end up.

72
Q

What are Erosion, transport, and deposition affected by?

A

Discharge
Channel Gradient
Channel Shape

73
Q

What is Hydraulic Action?

A

Hydraulic action is a type of erosive work performed by flowing water alone.

74
Q

When is Hydraulic Action at its maximum?

A

Hydraulic action is at a maximum in upstream tributaries of a drainage basin, where sediment load is small, and flow is turbulent.

75
Q

Why is Hydraulic Action highest in upstream tributaries of a drainage basin?

A

where sediment load is small, and flow is turbulent.

76
Q

What type of velocity and flow does Hydraulic Action have?

A

High velocity
Low Volume

77
Q

Explain Abrasion:

A

This sediment laden water can mechanically erode the streambed

78
Q

What size of sediment does abrasion work with?

A

Large

79
Q

What is abrasion also called?

A

Liquid Sandpaper

80
Q

What does erosion by hydraulic action and abrasion do to the stream?

A

Causes it to deepen (channel incision)
Widen (lateral erosion)
and/or lengthen (headward erosion)

81
Q

What are the three types of fluvial transport loads?

A

Dissolved Load (solution)
Suspended load
Bed load

82
Q

What is a dissolved load?

A

A chemical solution

83
Q

What is a suspended load?

A

fine-grained particles, impacts water clairty

84
Q

What is a bed load made of?

A

Coarser Materials

85
Q

What are the two Channel Patterns?

A

Multiple Thread Channels
Single Thread Channels

86
Q

What are Multiple Thread Channels?

A

Either braided or anabranching, tend to occur in areas with abundant sediment or in the lowest reaches of large river systems.

87
Q

What are Single-thread Channels?

A

They are either straight or meandering. Straight channels tend to occur in headwater areas where gradient is high. In lower gradient areas with finer sediments, meandering is more common.

88
Q

Where do we find single-thread channels?

A

tend to occur in headwater areas where gradient is high. In lower gradient areas with finer sediments, meandering is more common.

89
Q

Which thread pattern forms into a braided pattern?

A

Multiple-thread channels

90
Q

What thread channel uses anabranching channel?

A

Multiple-thread channels

91
Q

What is an anabranching channel?

A

multiple large channels are present across a vast floodplain.

92
Q

many streams in steep mountain regions or in bedrock-controlled channels have a relatively __________ channel pattern.

A

straight

93
Q

What is a stream called where channel slope is gradual, streams develop a more sinuous (snakelike) form, weaving back and forth across the landscape?

A

Meandering Stream Pattern

94
Q

Where do we find Nickpoints?

A

Often produced by resistant rock strata, Niagara Falls.

95
Q

What is a flood?

A

A flood is defined as high water flow that overflows natural banks

96
Q

How is flood risk expressed?

A

Flood forecasting based on magnitude and probability of occurrence

97
Q

What is Principle of uniformitarianism?

A

The past is the key to the future.

98
Q

What is a Proxy?

A

Proxies allow us to understand how conditions were and have changed since long before we started measuring these things.

99
Q

What is paleoclimatology?

A

understanding how conditions were and have changed since long before we started measuring these things.

100
Q

How can we use of Dendrochronology in flood reconstruction and forecasting?

A

Trees respond to their environment, either positively or negatively, and this is often reflected in their rings. We can use this to date past floods and cycles.

101
Q

True or False: Climate change may be changing the baseline for flood forecasting

A

True.

102
Q

Why is it important to understand the risk of flooding?

A

In 1950, the red river saw the largest flood since 1861

103
Q

Why do floods most often occur?

A

Caused by the melting of a particularly large snowpack + heavy spring precipitation

104
Q

True or False: Urbanization can affect flood danger.

A

True

105
Q

How does urbanization affect flood danger?

A

Due to impacts on runoff + an increase in infrastructure at risk of being damaged.

106
Q

How can we manage foods?

A

Retention ponds
Restricting development in low-lying areas
Artificial levees Bypass channels

107
Q

What are human impacts on flooding?

A

: Damming, diversion, and land use change

108
Q

How does human impacts influence flooding?

A

Impact where and how water moves across the landscape, erosivity, erodibility, sediment load, and where sediment is transported and deposited.

109
Q

Why does changing landscape matter, in terms of flooding?

A

Changing where water flows and pools can lead to significant disruption or destruction of habitats, which rely on river-fed nutrients, sediment, and water.

110
Q

True or False: Approximately 40% of all water discharged by rivers worldwide is intercepted by dams, which retain 25% of the sediment flow from the riverbanks to the oceans

A

True

111
Q

What are some impacts of flooding?

A

Nutrient dynamics
-Oxygen levels
-Fish and invertebrate populations
-Evaporation

112
Q

What are some secondary consequences of damming?

A

Induced Seismicity
Increased pressure under reservoirs applies stress to underlying rocks, and forces water into cracks and fissures which can lubricate fault lines.
Geopolitical conflict

113
Q

Define Hydrology:

A

Hydrology is the science of water and its global circulation, distribution, and properties—specifically, water at and below Earth’s surface.

114
Q

What are the basic fluvial systems?

A

The basic fluvial system is a drainage basin, or watershed.

115
Q

True or False: Drainage divides define the catchment area of a drainage basin.

A

True

116
Q

How is discharge calculated?

A

calculated by multiplying the velocity of the stream by its width and depth for a specific cross section of the channel

117
Q

what happens when there is excess sediment in a stream?

A

a stream may become a maze of interconnected channels that form a braided stream pattern

118
Q

What happens when there is a gradual slope to a stream?

A

stream channels develop a sinuous form called a meandering stream.

119
Q

What do Fluvial Depositional Landforms include?

A

floodplains,
alluvial fans,
alluvial terraces, and
river deltas.

Physical Geography (15 decks)

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