Surface Water Flashcards
Tributary
A smaller river flowing into a larger one
Watershed
The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries
Oxbow
an extreme bend in a river
Oxbow Lake
the bend is cut off and remains an isolated U-shaped body of water
Floodplain
The area adjacent to the river’s course that are flooded periodically
Riparian zone
Riverside areas that are productive and species rich
Laminar flow
Streamlines are parallel, little or no mixing occurs between adjacent layers in fluid. Laminar flow is slow and creates little erosion
Turbulent flow
Streamlines are intertwined. Intense mixing between adjacent layers in the fluid. Erosion and transportation of sediment take place
Velocity is controlled by:
Gradient, channel features, discharge
Suspended load
Clay and slit which are kept suspended by fluid turbulence, and deposited only where tubulence is minimal
Bed load
Larger particles such as sand and gravel
Saltation load
intermitten bouncing/skipping. Larger particles move by rolling or sliding
Settling velocity
rate of settling in still water
Suspended load is controlled by:
Velocity and settling velocity
Competence
Maximum-size particles a stream can carry, depends on velocity
Capacity
Total load a stream can carry, and depends on discharge
Hydrograph
A plot of stream discharge at a single point over time
Direct precipitation
Rainfall that lands directly on the surface of a water body
Surface runoff
Precipitation falling on the land that moves as a sheet or as small trickles directly on the ground surface to the main stream
Horton-ian Overland Flow
When rainfall intensity exceeds the rate of water infiltration in the soil
Interflow
Precipitation that enters the subsurface and moves channels without recharging the groundwater system
Groundwater recharge
Precipitation passes through the unsaturated zone and enters the groundwater flow system
Snow melt
Can contribute a constant recharge to the surface water system is gradual (glacier melting)
