Drainage basins- factors impacting local hydrological cycles

is the global h.c an open or closed system, ans why?

closed

nothing is gained or lost

at a local scale, is the hydrological cycle of a drainage basin an open or closed system, brief why?

open

there are inputs and outputs of water

what is the definitiin of a drainage baisn?

the area of land drained by a river and its tributaries 

a drainage basin is a system of i________ processes with i_____, f____, s_____ and o_____.

interlinked

inputs flows stores and outputswh

why is understandinf how water moves through a drainage basin important?

in managing water resources, predicting flood risks,assessing envir changes

why are drainage basins known as catchment areas

because they ‘catch’all the precip falling within the watershed boundary which separates one basin from another

how can drainage baisns lose water (brief)

evap, transpiration, surface run off to sea, percolation into grounwater stores

INPUTS IN DRAINAGE BASINS:

main?

patterns and how they csn differ?

precip= main

vv includes rain, snow, sleet, hail

patterns can vary spatially and temporally with their: intensity, duration and type

^^ impacts how water moves thjrough a basin

EG: short and heavy rain= high surface run off

prolonged rain (at a more gradual/ calmer pace?)= increased inflitration and percolation

what does snow fall do to time taken for water to return to river?

but what can happen? and when?

increases it/ delays it 

therefore increasing residence time

because water has to wait until melt occurs

this can lead to a sudden increase in river dicharge tho, during spring thaw

what are the 3 types of rainfall?

convectional

relief

frontal

which areas do drainge basins get more relief and frontal rainfall? give an eg,, what can this lead to?

which areas get more heavy bursts at points? and why? give an eg

(both egs= in uk)

western side of uk= more exposed to relief (orographic) and frontal rain

eg: counties like cumbria get over 2000 mm of rain a year some years, this makes ground more saturated, and increases water tables, and high antecedent moisture(water from one storm that hasnt yet had time to drain away before more rain arrives)

drainage basins in east anglia= drier BUT in summer= can expereice heavy rainfall bursts as high convectional rainfall= can increase flash floods

what does the rate of infiltration depend on?

soil type( perm)

saturation level 

surface conditions 

diff between throughflow and percolation?

throughflow= lateral mvement of water within the soil layer

percolation= water seeps deeper into underlying rock

s______ flows are generally s_____ and can significantly i____ river d__________ long after r______ has stopped

subsurface

slower

influence

discharge

rainfall

give some examples of outputs

evap

transpir

evapotranspir

river dicharge/channel flow

diff between evap

transpir

and evapotranspir?

evap= water returns to atmosphere from open water bodies, soil or veg surfaces

transpir= plants release water vapour from leaves into air

evapotranspir= these processes together/ combined

what is channel flow/ river discharge?

movement of water in rivers and streams that ultimately drains into the sea or a lake