Running Water Ch 12

Front 1

Hydrologic cycle

Back 1

ocean to atmosphere to continents then back to the ocean. Evaporation - condensation - precipitation, or for the water on land it happens by evaporation, condensation, movement of water vapor from ocean to land, precipitation, and runoff

Front 2

Runoff

Back 2

the surface flow in streams and rivers

Front 3

Infiltration capacity

Back 3

the maximum rate at which surface materials absorb water.

Front 4

Sheet flow

Back 4

more or less continuous film of water flowing over the surface.
(sheet erosion)

Front 5

channel flow

Back 5

surface runoff is confined to trough-like depressions that vary in size from tiny rills with a trickling stream of water to the Amazon river

Front 6

rill, brook, stream, and river

Back 6

channel flows

Front 7

gradient

Back 7

veritcal distance/horizontal distance = slope

Front 8

velocity

Back 8

measure of waters downstream distance water travels in a given time.

Front 9

discharge

Back 9

volume of water that passes a particular point in a given period of time. Q=VA
q=discharge
v=velocity
a=cross-sectional area

Front 10

Dissolved load

Back 10

invisible, part of streams load consisting of ions in solution.
moves in the water itself

Front 11

hydraulic action

Back 11

direct impact of running water - the removal of loose particles by the power of moving water

Front 12

abrasion

Back 12

running water carrying sand and gravel that erodes exposed rock (worn and scraped) (potholes)

Front 13

suspended load

Back 13

the smallest particles (clay and silt) carried by running water, which are kept suspended by fluid turbulence.

Front 14

bed load

Back 14

the part of a streams sediment load, mostly sand and gravel, transported along its bed - saltation=bouncing and skipping intermittently

Front 15

Alluvium

Back 15

all detrital sediment transported and deposited by running water

Front 16

Braided Stream

Back 16

A stream with mulitple dividing and joining channels separated by sand and gravel bars
- happens when channel sediment supply exceeds the transport capacity of the sand and gravel bars. Bed load transport in arid and semi arid areas with sparse vegetation

Front 17

Meandering streams

Back 17

single sinuous channel with broudly looping curves.

(cut banks and point bars)

Front 18

Cut banks

Back 18

deeper side of the meadering stream channel - forms by greater velocity and fluid turbulence that erodes it.

Front 19

Point bars

Back 19

opposite of cut bank, made in meandering streams opposite of cut banks, low velocity an dflui turbulence leads no eroding but build up.

Front 20

Oxbow Lakes

Back 20

point bars and cut banks eroding into u shapes on meandering streams. eventually a cutoff meander forms

Front 21

floodplain

Back 21

areas where channels overflow on their banks and spread across adjecent low lying, relatively flat areas

Front 22

Natural Levees

Back 22

ridges of sandy alluvium deposited on the floodplain

Front 23

Delta

Back 23

an alluvial deposit that causes the shoreline to build outward into the lake or the sea(progradation)

Front 24

Alluvial fans

Back 24

sediment that is piled into a fan shape after a rainstorm in mountain canoyons leaing into adjacent lowlands.

Front 25

Drainage basin

Back 25

area drained by a stream and its tributaries

Front 26

divide

Back 26

separates a drainage basin from adjoining ones

Front 27

base level

Back 27

limits the level of erosion because it is the lowest level to which a stream can erode

Front 28

graded stream

Back 28

delicate balance of all stream parameters. no significant erosion or depositions. if it is steep it is from eroding and if it is shallow it is from deposition. irregularities are smoothed out and may readjust if base level/climate changes.

Front 29

valley evolution

Back 29

1) down cutting
2) lateral erosion
3) headward erosion
4) stream piracy

Front 30

down cutting

Back 30

excess energy deepens valley (landslides and mass wasting)

Front 31

lateral erosion

Back 31

widens valley, mass movements play a role

Front 32

headward erosion

Back 32

lengthening stream in upstream end of valley

Front 33

stream piracy

Back 33

capturing of 1 stream by anther due to headward erosion. diverts flow

Front 34

stream terraces

Back 34

remnants of a former flood plain above preset day floodplain renewed erosion after depsotion; can be caused by cahnges in base level and increased precipitation in places where banks are easily eoded. (alluvium deposits)

Front 35

incised meanders

Back 35

streams that are resricted to deeep, meandering canyons cut into bedrock. happens by renewwed down cutting after meanders occured, regional upift and streams over rock

Front 36

antecedent stream

Back 36

streams that existed before local uplift changecd topography and maintained their course during uplift.