Water cycle Key Terms Flashcards
Drainage basin
An area of land which is drained by a river and its tributaries.
Water cycle occurs in this area.
An open system as can lose / gain water from hydrological system.
Watershed
The boundary of land that drains into the drainage basin.
Permeability
How easily water permeates into a material.
Overland flow / runoff
Rainfall that runs off the ground surface either because the soil is saturated or the intensity of the rain surpasses the soils infiltration rate.
Baseflow / groundwater flow.
Water input to streams and rivers from natural reservoirs such as aquifers.
Through fall
Water that was intercepted by vegetation falling to the ground.
Through flow
Water flowing horizontally through the soil to stream and river channels.
Abstraction
The extraction of water from rivers and boreholes for public water supply, agriculture etc.
Dew Point
The temperature at which condensation occurs.
Confluence
When two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a singular channel.
Groundwater
Water stored underground in permeable and porous rocks known
as aquifers.
Stemflow
The flow of water along the branches and stems of vegetation to the ground.
Percolation
The movement of surface and soil water into the underlying permeable rocks.
Residence time
The time of which a molecule of water / carbon remains in natural storage for.
