surface water (exam 3)

hydroglogic cycle

describes the movement of water among the different reservoirs

pathways

the connection between reservoirs

transpiration

plants up-taking ground water and using it in their process

reservoirs

where water is stored

evaporation

liquid to gas

evapotranspiration

process of evaporation but with the aid of plants

where is most of Earth’s water?

97% is in the ocean

precipitation

• as air mass cools, it starts to condense

• condensation occurs

  • need a neuclei such as dust, salt, ice or water

• growth of drop until gravity brings it to the surface

runoff

the collective term to describe the movement of water from point a to point b on the surface

what are the 6 factors that affect runoff?

• geology

• slope

• vegetation covering

• time of the year

• soil saturation

• type of precipitation

factor of runoff: geology

what is it falling on? is it soil? is it unconsolidated? is it fractured? is it porous?

factor of runoff: slope (topography)

a high angle of slope increases runoff

factor of runoff: vegetation covering

the more vegetation the less runoff

factor of run off: time of the year

frozen ground vs non-frozen ground, lower evapotranspiration vs high evapotranspiration

factor of run off: soil saturation

is the soil is saturated there is no room for water to infiltrate

factor of run off: type of precipitation

fast, hard rain increased runoff, while slow, soft rain allows for infiltration, snow vs rain

why does water downcut?

to get to base level

headward erosion

water cutting back

downcutting

repeated precipitation events cause a preferential channel to form

fast water

erodes

slow water

deposits

stream formation

• runoff (either sheet flow or channel flow)

• headward erosion

• downcutting

• erosion

transportation

stream transport provides mechanism by which various size particles are separated

alluvium

well sorted material

bars

temporary deposits of sand, gravel, and course components

point bars

bar which occurs on the inside of a bend (streams deposit these)

in a straight stream channel

the highest velocity is in the middle

in a meander

the highest velocity is on the outside of the curve and the inside of the curve is the slowest

meander

curve in a stream