Water in the Environment Flashcards
Abiotic Landscape Concept
Physical processes can change streams and lakes
Biotic Landscape Concept
Changes that effect the organisms that live there
Morphometry
Quantitative description of the shape and size of bodies of water
Lake and stream shape
Depends on topography and substrate
substrate
what an area is made of
sand, rocks, dirt,…
Lake and stream shore length
difficult to measure and is dependent on topography
Lake and stream area
Calculated by surveying and software
Lake and stream depth
varies, contour lines used for maps
Bathymetric Map
a map of contour lines in a lake
Lake and stream volume
Calculated by artificially dividing the lake into measurable sections
Lake and stream watershed
the area of land that contributes to the water supply, Defined for surface water and ground water
Catchment basins
Watershed
Stream Velocity
Rate of water movement,
Dependent on depth and shoreline shape
Stream Gradient
Drop in elevation,
Follows path of least resistance along the topography
Stream Cross sectional area
Measurement along a transect of the stream,
(1/2)Deepest PartWidth
Stream discharge
Water carried per minute,
average velocity*cross-sectional area
Lake position
Affects chemistry, productivity, and diversity of a lake,
ranges in diversity -3 to 3
River Continuum Concept
Classifies streams according to the position in the watershed
Intermittent Streams
Flows part of the year, seasonal climactic events
First Order
Flows year round,
May be spring fed
Second Order
Formed as a junction of two First Order
N Order
Formed as a junction of two (N-1) Order
Hydrological Cycle
A global closed system
Hydrological Ground water
Ground Water have seeps and springs