Natural mechanisms
Runoff from rainfall and snowmelt.
Evaporation from soil and surface-water bodies.
Transpiration by vegetation.
Ground-water discharge from aquifers.
Ground-water recharge from surface-water bodies.
Sedimentation of lakes and wetlands.
Formation or dissipation of glaciers, snowfields, and permafrost.
its mass.
its surface area.
the acceleration due to gravity, g.
Furthermore, what are the factors affecting the velocity of a river?
Factors Affecting a River’s Velocity. The velocity of a river is determined by many factors, including the shape of its channel, the gradient of the slope that the river moves along, the volume of water that the river carries and the amount of friction caused by rough edges within the riverbed.
What is the velocity of a stream?
Stream velocity is the speed of the water in the stream. Units are distance per time (e.g., meters per second or feet per second). Stream velocity is greatest in midstream near the surface and is slowest along the stream bed and banks due to friction.
What factors affect the speed of an object?
The factors affecting the terminal speed of a falling object include:
What are the main factors that affect the water budget?
Factors that affect the local water budget include temperature, vegetation, wind, and the amount and duration of rainfall.
Which is the Earth’s largest source of drinkable water?
Distribution of the water on Earth
Ocean water: 97.2 percent.
Glaciers and other ice: 2.15 percent.
Groundwater,: 0.61 percent.
Fresh water lakes: 0.009 percent.
Inland seas: 0.008 percent.
Soil Moisture: 0.005 percent.
Atmosphere: 0.001 percent.
Rivers: 0.0001 percent.
Why are watersheds important to the environment?
Watersheds are important because the surface water features and stormwater runoff within a watershed ultimately drain to other bodies of water. It is essential to consider these downstream impacts when developing and implementing water quality protection and restoration actions. Everything upstream ends up downstream.
What is the flow of water?
Streamflow, or channel runoff, is the flow of water in streams, rivers, and other channels, and is a major element of the water cycle. It is one component of the runoff of water from the land to waterbodies, the other component being surface runoff.
What is the main source of groundwater?
Water that falls as precipitation flows along the surface of the ground. This surface water infiltrates into the ground surface and is held in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. Gaining access to groundwater sources therefore requires digging or drilling through the ground and into an aquifer.
How does a stream form?
As the water flows down, it may pick up more water from other small streams, springs or or from rain or snow melt. These streams may slowly join together to form a larger stream or river. Small rivers and streams may join together to become larger rivers.
What is the interaction between groundwater and surface water in a watershed?
Surface water and groundwater systems are connected in most landscapes. Streams interact with groundwater in three basic ways: streams gain water from inflow of groundwater through the streambed, streams lose water by outflow through the streambed, or they do both depending upon the location along the stream.
What makes water flow in a river?
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of water. Rivers are part of the hydrological cycle.
How does discharge affect the velocity of a stream?
Gaining streams are perennial streams: they flow year around. Both of these factors lead to an increase in stream velocity. The increased velocity and the increased cross-sectional area mean that discharge increases. As discharge and velocity increase so do the stream’s competence and capacity.
What are the factors affecting the velocity of a river?
Factors Affecting a River’s Velocity. The velocity of a river is determined by many factors, including the shape of its channel, the gradient of the slope that the river moves along, the volume of water that the river carries and the amount of friction caused by rough edges within the riverbed.
What is it called when raindrops fall to the earth?
Raindrops, along with all things that fall, drop to the Earth because of gravity. Yet, the process that raindrops undergo to get to the point where they fall is a little more complicated than a simple gravitational effect. Only then do the raindrops succumb to gravity and fall out of clouds.
How does dense vegetation influence infiltration and runoff?
More significant is the effect the vegetation has on the infiltration capacity of the soil. Vegetation also retards the surface flow particularly on gentle slopes, giving the water more time to infiltrate and to evaporate. In conclusion, an area densely covered with vegetation, yields less runoff than bare ground.
What is the discharge of a stream?
Stream Discharge. The discharge of a stream is the product of its velocity (V – length of travel per unit of time such as feet/second) times depth of the water (D – unit of length) times width (W of the water – units of length). (Make sure all all three lengths are expressed in the same unit.)
How does the gradient of the stream affect the velocity of the stream?
The gradient of a river is defined as grade measured in by the ratio of drop in elevation of a stream per unit of horizontal distance (in other words, the “steepness” of a river). Likewise, the steeper the river’s gradient, the faster the flow of water (due to the pull of water down the gradient by gravity).
What is the process of evaporation through plant leaves called?
Transpiration is the process by which moisture is carried through plants from roots to small pores on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor and is released to the atmosphere. Transpiration is essentially evaporation of water from plant leaves.
How could the reservoirs lose water?
A few ways that dams harm water supply include: By trapping river-borne nutrients, dams can lead to the growth of toxic algaes. Losses of water from evaporation and transpiration in weed-covered reservoirs can be up to six times higher than those from evaporation in open waters.
What is the definition of surface runoff?
Surface runoff (also known as overland flow) is the flow of water that occurs when excess stormwater, meltwater, or other sources flows over the Earth’s surface. A land area which produces runoff that drains to a common point is called a drainage basin.
What is the profile of a stream?
Typically, streams are said to have a particular profile, beginning with steep gradients, no flood plain, and little shifting of channels, eventually evolving into streams with low gradients, wide flood plains, and extensive meanders.
Why is streamflow monitoring important?
Stream flow is an important determinant of water quality and aquatic habitat conditions. High water temperature, low levels of dissolved oxygen, and deleterious levels of toxins can all be exacerbated by low stream flow.