Hydrology, Glaciers, Groundwater, and Coastlines Lecture Notes

This set of flashcards covers key concepts related to hydrology, glaciers, groundwater, chemical cycling, coastal processes, and mass movements.

Hydrologic cycle

The continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth.

Stream

A body of water with a current, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake, or another stream.

Watershed/Drainage Basin

An area of land where all the water that falls in it drains into a particular stream, river, or lake.

Tributary

A river or stream flowing into a larger river or lake.

Annual Peak Flow (APF)

The maximum discharge of a river in a year.

Recurrence Interval

The average time between events of a certain size, calculated using the formula: RI = \frac{(N + 1)}{M} where N is the number of years of record and M is the rank of the flood event.

100-year flood vs 20-year flood

A 100-year flood has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year, while a 20-year flood has a 5% chance.

Impacts of urbanization on flood potential

Increased impervious surfaces lead to higher runoff, reduced infiltration, and increased flood frequency and magnitude.

Stream load sediment transport methods

1. Dissolved load; 2. Suspended load; 3. Bed load.

Meandering rivers

Rivers that bend and curve through their landscape, characterized by features such as cut banks, point bars, and oxbow lakes.

U-shaped valley vs V-shaped valley

U-shaped valleys formed by glacial erosion, while V-shaped valleys are typically formed by river erosion.

Darcy's Law

A principle that describes the flow of groundwater through porous media, expressed by the equation: Q = kA\frac{dh}{dl} where Q is the discharge, k is the hydraulic conductivity, A is the cross-sectional area of flow, and \frac{dh}{dl} is the hydraulic gradient.

Unconfined aquifer

An aquifer that is not confined by an overlaying impermeable layer, allowing water to flow freely.

Confined aquifer

An aquifer that is sandwiched between two impermeable layers, creating pressure and often leading to artesian conditions.

Chemical cycling

The movement of chemical elements and compounds between living and non-living parts of the ecosystem.

Stock and flux in the global carbon cycle

Stock refers to the amount of carbon stored in a pool, and flux refers to the rate of transfer of carbon between pools.

Longshore currents

Water currents that move parallel to the shoreline, created by wave action.

Rip currents

Strong, narrow channels of water that flow away from the shore, formed when waves break over a sandbar.

Longshore drift

The movement of sand along the beach, caused by the angle of wave approach.

Mass movements (slope failures)

The downslope movement of soil, rock, and vegetation due to gravity.

Four types of mass movements

1. Landslides; 2. Mudflows; 3. Slumps; 4. Rockfalls.

Factors impacting slope stability

1. Soil moisture; 2. Vegetation; 3. Geological features.

Active margin

A tectonic plate boundary characterized by significant geological activity, including earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Passive margin

A tectonic plate boundary that is not associated with significant geological activity, typically featuring broad continental shelves.

Beach

A landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake, or river, formed by the accumulation of sediment.

Beach face

The sloping part of the beach that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide.

Berm

A flat area of the beach that forms at the upper limit of wave action, typically created by sediment deposition.