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Surface Water

Surface Water. Chapter 9 Notes. The Water Cycle. Runoff. Surface water flowing downslope is called runoff. Factors affecting runoff/infiltration: Soil composition Soil saturation Rate of precipitation Vegetation Steepness of slope. Stream Systems. All streams flow downhill

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Surface Water

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  1. Surface Water Chapter 9 Notes

  2. The Water Cycle

  3. Runoff • Surface water flowing downslope is called runoff. • Factors affecting runoff/infiltration: • Soil composition • Soil saturation • Rate of precipitation • Vegetation • Steepness of slope

  4. Stream Systems • All streams flow downhill • Rivers that flow into other streams are called tributaries. • A watershed or drainage basin is the land area whose water flows into a stream system. • A divide is an elevated land area that separates two watersheds.

  5. Watersheds

  6. Stream Load/Carrying Capacity • Moving water carries sediment • The amount of sediment (carrying capacity) depends on the amount of water and its velocity • Sediment can be • Suspended (silt, clay, and sand) • Bed load (sand, pebbles, and cobbles) • Dissolved (salts and minerals)

  7. Discharge of a Stream • Discharge is the volume of water that flows past a point in a given amount of time • Discharge = width x depth x velocity • Mississippi: 17,000 m3 per second • Amazon: 170,000 m3 per second

  8. Floods • Floods occur when water spills over the stream’s banks • The broad, flat area covered by flood waters is known as a floodplain • Floodplains develop very fertile soil due deposits of nutrients

  9. Natural Levees • Sediment carried by flood water is deposited along the banks • Natural ridges called levees are formed

  10. Stream Development

  11. Deposition of Sediment • When streams slow down, sediment they are carrying is deposited • Deltas: triangular deposit where a stream enters a lake or ocean • Alluvial fans: sloping, fan-shaped deposits in dry stream beds

  12. Stream Rejuvenation • A change in base level can cause an “old” stream to begin downcutting again. • Meanders can become deep canyons (entrenched meanders) • example: Colorado River

  13. Lakes • Most lakes in Europe and North America are in recently glaciated areas • A meandering river can form an oxbow lake through erosion and deposition of sediment

  14. Eutrophication

  15. Wetlands • Wetlands play an important role in improving water quality • Wetlands serve as a filtering system that traps pollutants, sediment and pathogenic bacteria • Wetlands provide important habitat for wildlife

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