Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Earth Systems: Chapter 8
The Hydrologic Cycle
26
Science
Undergraduate 1
10/11/2012

Additional Science Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
True or False- the hydrologic cycle is intimately related to the rock cylce.
Definition
True: its related through its effects on erosion and sedimentation.
Term
74% of the fresh water on earth is
Definition
frozen in ice caps and glaciers
Term
98.5% of unfrozen fresh water is:
Definition
ground water
Term
What is precipitation?
Definition
Precipitation is rain, hail, snow, etc.
Term
What does condensation mean?
Definition

It means water vaport changes back into a liquid or solid.

 

Term
Movement of water is powered by?
Definition
Solar Energy and the Sun.
Term
What does transpiration mean?
Definition
It's when moisture taken up by plant roots passes through the plant and eventually evaporates from the leaf surfaces.
Term
What is happening when water slowly penetrates into the soil?
Definition
Infiltration.
Term
What does streamflow consist of?
Definition
It consists of storm flow and base flow.
Term
What is storm flow?
Definition
The overflowing of channels as a result of percipitation.
Term
What is baseflow?
Definition
The water fed into a channel directly by ground water.
Term
Streams that have no base flow and can dry up seasonaly are?
Definition
ephemeral
Term
Streams that have base flow and don't dry up are?
Definition
perennial
Term

The passage way of a strem is the...

 

Definition
channel.
Term
What is a stream's load?
Definition
The total of all the sediment and dissolved matter a stream is transporting.
Term
What seperates drainage basins?
Definition
a divide.
Term
Every stream as a ______________ which is the total area that contributes water to a stream.
Definition
drainage basin
Term
True or false. Earth's streams and drainage systems are constantly evolving in response to changing conditions.
Definition
TRUE
Term
What is a stream's grandient?
Definition
Measurement of the vertical distance that a stream channel descends between two points along its course.
Term
What factors controls a stream's behavior?
Definition

1. average width and depth of channel

2. channel gradient

3. average velocity of the water

4. the discharge

5. the sediemtn load

Term
What is discharge?
Definition
It's the quantity of water passing a point on a stream bank during a given interval of time.
Term
What do you call a stream that joins a larger stream?
Definition
A tributary.
Term
A channel that forms a series of smooth, looplike bends is called ______.
Definition
a meander.
Term
Where does erosion occur on a meander loop?
Definition
Erosion occurs on the outer banks, while sediment build-up occurs on the inside of a pend.
Term
What is a point bar?
Definition
It's the build-up of sediment in a stream.
Supporting users have an ad free experience!