Environmental Systems and Societies Lecture Notes

Flashcards about freshwater, flooding and flood mitigation, water scarcity and water quality, and water management futures.

A __ is an area of land that is drained by a river and its tributaries.

Drainage basin

__ is the process where liquid water turns into a gaseous state and disperses into the air.

Evaporation

__ are areas where permeable or porous rock beneath the surface can hold and store volumes of water.

Aquifers

__ is streamflow that has infiltrated the ground outflow and is discharged into a stream channel or spring.

Groundwater flow

The __ is the level above which the ground is saturated with water and the border between unsaturated and saturated zones.

Water table

__ is the quantity of water flowing through a cross- section of a stream or river per unit time, measured in cumecs.

River discharge

__ is the line of least resistance along the course of a river, caused by less friction and drag created by the bed and banks.

Thalweg

__ is the measure of a river’s efficiency.

Hydraulic Radius

__ is the chemical erosion of the rocks of the riverbank, where water flows from rocks like limestone making it slightly acidic.

Solution

__ is when small pebbles bounce along the riverbed.

Saltation

In the upper course of a river, the gradient is steeper, channels are narrow and shallow, and __ process is highest.

Erosion

The __ Curve Model highlights the relationship between sediment size, channel velocity and the processes that subsequently occur: erosion, deposition or transportation.

Hjulstrom

__ is the maximum size of load that a river can carry, largely determined by velocity.

Competence

__ is the total amount of load that is carried by a river.

Capacity

__ are areas of hard rock that a river has to bend around as it is harder to erode.

Interlocking spurs

In the middle course of a river, __ happens on the OUTSIDE of the bend where water is moving faster, forming a river cliff

Erosion

In the middle course of a river, __ happens on the INSIDE of the bend where water is moving slower, forming a river beach/ slip-off slope

Deposition

__ are characterized by the flat land on each side of the river channel in the middle & lower course.

Floodplains

__ are very low gradient areas where deposition of slit and sand occurs, helping the floodplain from flooding.

Levees

__ form when a river meets the mouth (sea or lake) in the lower course and slows down to deposit its load (silt).

Deltas

__ is the time between peak rainfall and peak discharge, where a long lag time indicates precipitation slowly enters the river.

Lag time

__ rocks do not allow any water to pass through, leading to reduced infiltration, increased surface runoff, and faster water flow to the river channel.

Impermeable

A __ drainage basin shape reduces lag time and increases the discharge curve’s steepness.

Circular

__ is the probability of a hazard event causing harmful consequences.

Risk

__ leads to fewer places for water to drain, deterioration of water quality, increased water demand, and increased runoff leading to flood control problems.

Urbanization

__ strips land of soil, causing soil erosion and higher peak discharges, as well as decreasing interception and allowing water to reach the channel faster.

Deforestation

__ for flood control can include straightening, deepening, or widening the channel, which can increase discharge and velocity but may also cause more severe flooding upstream and downstream.

Channel modifications

measures involve working with nature to manage flooding, while measures involve building structures to prevent flooding.

Soft engineering, hard engineering

__ ensures buildings are away from high flood risk areas.

Land use zoning

__ is the population’s demand exceeding the supply of water, measured by comparing water availabilities to population size in an area.

Physical Water Scarcity

__ is when available water cannot be fully utilized due to restricting funding, high extraction/transportation costs, lack of available technologies, or polluted water.

Economic Water Scarcity

__ is depleted amounts of available water in river systems & reservoirs.

Hydrological Drought

__ is insufficient soil moisture, deforestation, and increased evaporation (hot climates).

Agricultural Drought

__ include regulating water usage, soil & water conservation, reducing water consumption and pollution, desalination of seawater, and rainwater harvesting.

Drought Mitigation

__ are the chemical, biological and physical characteristics of water.

Water Quality

__ is the amount of water available.

Water Quantity

__ involves siltation and sedimentation from erosion of hillslopes that leads to cloudiness caused by suspended solids.

Turbidity

__ is characterized by over-irrigation of Agricultural fields.

Salinity

__is a process in a water body where too many nutrients are added ~ depleting oxygen.

Eutrophication

Irrigation disturbs the water-salt balance, leading to __, where crops are watered through man-made means rather than relying on rainfall.

Salinization

__ is the movement of water in soils or in the ground.

Seepage

__ is the over-accumulation of water in a plant’s root zone, decreasing the available oxygen to the roots.

Water-logging

__ are small pores/cracks in rock and soil beneath the surface/below the water level are filled with water.

Saturation

__ is the movement of water within spaces of porous material due to the forces of adhesion, cohesion and surface tension.

Capillary Action

An __ is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure trapped between 2 layers of impermeable rock.

Artesian Aquifer

__ are a strategy that meets the needs of different stakeholder groups.

Multipurpose schemes

IBDM stands for __.

Integrated Drainage Basin Management

__ are areas where water covers the soil or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including the growing season.

Wetlands