freshwater ecologu

Source: The original point from which a river flows, typically found in highland areas or as a natural spring.
Mouth: The end point of a river where it enters a larger body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake.
Confluence: The point where two or more flowing bodies of water join together.
Tributary: A smaller stream or river that flows into a larger main stem river.
Stream Channel: The physical path or depression that contains the water flow, consisting of a bed and banks.

Watershed / Drainage Basin: The total area of land where all precipitation collects and drains into a common outlet, such as a river or bay.
Topography: The arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area, which dictates the direction and speed of water runoff.
Water Table: The upper level of the underground zone of saturation where the soil or rocks are permanently saturated with water.

Long River Profile: A longitudinal section of a river from its source to its mouth, showing the change in gradient.
- Upper Course: The steepest section near the source characterized by V-shaped valleys and high erosion.
- Middle Course: A section with a gentler gradient where the river begins to meander and discharge increases.
- Lower Course: The flattest section near the mouth where deposition is the dominant process, often featuring wide floodplains.
Geomorphology: The scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical, or biological processes.

Precipitation: Any form of water (liquid or solid) falling from the atmosphere to the Earth's surface, such as rain, snow, or sleet.
Evapotranspiration: The sum of evaporation from the land surface plus transpiration from plants.
Impermeable / Impervious: Surfaces that do not allow water to pass through (e.g., concrete, solid rock), often leading to higher surface runoff.

Erosion: The process by which the river bed and banks are worn away by the force of water and the load it carries.
Transportation: The movement of eroded material (sediment) downstream by the river flow.
Deposition / Sedimentation: The process where a river loses energy and drops the material it was carrying.
Hjulstrom-Sundborg Scale: A graph used to analyze the relationship between water velocity and the size of particles to determine if a river will erode, transport, or deposit sediment.
Sorting Processes:
- Horizontal Sorting: Occurs when a river enters a large body of water; larger, heavier sediments drop first near the shore, while smaller particles are carried further out.
- Vertical Sorting: The arrangement of sediments in a single location where larger particles settle at the bottom and smaller ones at the top.

Meander: A winding curve or bend in a river produced by the lateral erosion of the banks.
Levee: A natural or artificial embankment built along the edges of a river to prevent overflow onto the floodplain.
Braided Channel: A stream consisting of multiple small, shallow channels that divide and recombine around sediment bars, usually caused by high sediment loads and variable discharge.
Delta: A landform created by the deposition of sediment at the mouth of a river as the flow velocity decreases upon entering slower-moving water.

Discharge (Q): The volume of water flowing through a river channel per unit of time, calculated as Q = A \times v (cross-sectional area times velocity).
Hydrograph: A graph showing the discharge of a river over time at a specific point.
Storm Hydrograph: A graph representing the river's response to a specific rainfall event.
- Rising Limb: The portion of the hydrograph showing the increase in discharge as runoff reaches the river.
- Recession Limb: The portion where discharge decreases back toward base flow levels.
- Base Flow: The portion of streamflow that is sustained by groundwater seepage rather than direct surface runoff.