Water balance and flood hydrographs Flashcards
1
Q
What is water balance
A
Balance between inputs and outputs
2
Q
What is a river regime
A
Annual pattern of water movements
3
Q
Precipitation =
A
discharge + evapotranspiration +/- changes to storage
4
Q
Water balance graphs plot what
A
Potential evapotranspiration
Precipitation
5
Q
Discharge =
A
cross sectional area x velocity
6
Q
High short peak
A
Short lag time
Water reaches river quickly causing peak discharge
More likely to flood
7
Q
Low long peak
A
Long lag time
Some water reaches the river after a long period of time
Less likely to flood
8
Q
What does a flood hydrograph plot
A
Hours along horizontal axis
Precipitation along left vertical axis
Discharge along right vertical axis
9
Q
Key words to describe flood hydrographs might include
A
Rising limb Falling limb Peak discharge Peak rainfall Surface runoff Lag time (between peak discharge and peak precipitation)
