The hydrosphere - Key terms

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Undergraduate Physical Geography (Hydrosphere) Karteikarten am The hydrosphere - Key terms, erstellt von Sharondeep am 25/03/2014.
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Drainage basin An area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.
Watershed A ridge of high ground surrounding a basin.
Transpiration Biological process where water is lost from vegetation.
Throughfall Water falling of leaves to the ground.
Stemflow Water reaching the ground by trickling down the stem/trunk.
Secondary interception The presence of undergrowth meaning the water may fall from vegetation to lower vegetation as oppose to the ground.
Surface runoff Surface storage like puddles may flow away over the surface thus becoming surface runoff.
Antecedent precipitation The amount of water already in the soil.
Infiltration capacity The maximum amount of water that can pass into the soil (mm/hour)
Throughflow The lateral movement of water within the soil.
Capillary action The process by which water is drawn up to the surface (during dry periods).
Percolation the slow passage of a liquid through a filtering medium
Water table the level below which the ground is saturated with water
Channel flow Water that enters the river channel and then flows out of the drainage basin.
Channel storage Water stored in the rivers channel.
The water balance An equilibrium state in the basin where inputs are equal to outputs.
Soil moisture deficit When E > P
Cumecs Cubic metres per second
Bankfull discharge When river discharge fill the channel to maximum capacity without spilling over onto the floodplains. The maximum volumetric capacity of the channel.
Velocity Rate of flow.
Isovels Lines of equal velocity.
Thalweg The line of the fastest flowing water.
Sinuous Having many curves and turns.
Eddies Circular movements of water causing small whirlpools.
Longitudinal profile (of a river) The plot of a river's height above base level against the distance from source to mouth.
Potholing An extreme form of abrasion where small pebbles whirl round in circular eddies and drill holes into the rock bed.
Unconsolidated Loose material
Cavitation A type of extreme hydraulic erosion. Where there is exaggerated turbulence, shockwaves from the bursting air bubbles hit and weaken the banks.
River competence The maximum size of material that a river is able to transport.
Capacity The total load actually transported by a river.
Saltation Pebbles, sand and gravel being temporarily picked up and bounced along the riverbed.
Traction Larger boulders or cobbles being rolled along or slid along the bed.
Impermeable Not allowing fluids to pass through.
Spur A Spur in Geography is a narrow neck of highland extending into a river valley, often forming the divide between two tributaries.
Headward erosion Headward erosion is the lengthening and cutting upstream of a valley or a gully at its head.
Gorge A narrow valley between hills or mountains, typically with steep rocky walls and a stream running through it.
Salinity The dissolved salt content of a body of water.
Colloids Suspended particles to light or small to settle.
Turbidity Together, colloids make a fluid look cloudy, hazy. The more cloudy a fluid looks the more turbid it is.
Delta A river delta is a landform that forms at the mouth of a river, where the river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, or reservoir. Deltas form from deposition of sediment carried by a river as the flow leaves its mouth. Over long periods, this deposition builds the characteristic geographic pattern of a river delta.
Floodplain An area of land prone to flooding when a river has exceeded bankfull discharge.
A bluff line A prominent slope marks the edge of floodplain. Bluffs are truncated spurs.
Truncated spurs They are rounded areas of land which have been cut off. They are often rounded at the top but steep at the bottom. They are formed when glaciers move through the main valley and cut off spurs.
Accretion The gradual accumulation of layers or matter.
Anastomosing The reconnection of two streams that previously branched out.
Fluvioglacial landscapes Fluvioglacial landforms are landforms molded by glacial meltwater.
Ephemeral Existing only briefly.
Helicoidal flow Helicoidal flow is the cork-screw-like flow of water in a meander. It is one example of a secondary flow.
Points of inflexion Where the meander bends.
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