Hydrosphere Flashcards
(44 cards)
Worldwide distribution of water
Rivers -
mi^3
0.33
% of total
0.0001
Atmospheric moisture
mi^3
3.3
% of total
0.0001
Soil moisture & vadose zone
mi^3
16.3
% of total
0.0005
Saline lakes and Inland Seas
mi^3
26.0
% of total
0.0008
Freshwater lakes
Mi^3
30.0
%of total
0.0009
Groundwater
mi^3
2,075
% of total
1.80
Ice caps and Glaciers
mi^3
317,850
% of total
97.55
Oceans
mi^3
326,000
% of total
100
Steams
is a body of flowing water regradless of size
Rivers
are large streams
Gradient and Slope
is where water flows downhill under the force of gavity
Gradient
the steepness of the vertical drop in the steam of channel (ft/mile)
Cross-sectional area
the cross sectional are of flow - (width x depth) ft^2
Shape
the geometry of the path the steam follows is it straight of curved
Channel Roughness
a measure of the irregularity of the steams bottom ( manning’s roughness coefficient
discharge
the instantaneous volume of water per unit time passing a point in space in the steam ( ft^3/s)
Drainage Basin
is the geographic area that contributes water to a steam. it is defined by topography the surface water divide. it is importment to know the drainage basin for a steam
Hydrograph
a graph that shows stream discharge over time.
sinuosity
a measure of the path taken by the stream channel
Sinuosity ratio vaule
the distance measured along the steam channel betweentwo points divide by the straight line distance the same two points.
Meanders
low gradient streams flow across the land in a series of curves, twist and turns. example lake oxbow
point bars and cut banks
as the water flows into a meander, the force of the mvoing is directed to the outside bank which is recoded and sediment tends to deposit along the inside bank forming a struture
Braided streams
streams that cannot carry all he sediment dumped into them form braided channels. channels are choked with sediment and the water a new channel. this repeated process can form complex multiple channels that dead end and go nowhere
streams deposition
streams deposit thier sediment load when they no longer enough energy to carry the sediment. that usually happens when the velocity of the water decreases. Velocity will decrease if the channel area increases of the gradient becomes flatter or the discharge decreases.