Weather & Flowing Water (part two) Flashcards
Define creep in terms of geology:
Slow almost imperceptible mass movement.
-this is a continuous process
Define Solifluction:
-Flow of soil occurring mostly cold high latitudes
What are the three pathways of water at the surface?
- Infiltration
- Evapotranspiration (Vegetation uptake and
evaporation) - Runoff
What four features does infiltration depend on?
- Physcial characteristics of soil
- Coarse soils = greater inflitration rates - Moisture content of soil
- Dry soils absorb more moisture - Vegetation cover
- Dense cover prevents infiltration - Nature of rainfall
- Strong and long storms cause run-off
- Run-off flows to streams or permeable soil or rock
What three factors affect a streams velocity?
- Gradient
- Channel Characteristics
- Discharge
Define gradient:
Change in stream elevation between two points
-Steeper river slopes (gradient)
equal faster flow
Define Channel Characteristic:
Shape, Size and Roughness
- V or U shape, Big or small, rough or
smooth
Define Stream Discharge:
Water volume passing a channel’s cross-section
in a certain amount of time
What percentage of all the water on Earth is usable for humans, animals, and insects to share?
less that one percent. (0.62%)
What is the most critical resource the earth has?
Water
What is the second most important resource we have on earth?
Soil
The Zone of Saturation is also called:
The Phreatic Zone
Zone of aeration is also called:
The Vadose Zone
In the Vadose Zone, water moves by:
percolation, capillary actions, and evaporation
what is capillary action?
water moving from wetter soil to drier soil