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REVISION BOOKLET

HYDROLOGY & RIVER


1.0. Hydrological cycle
What?
Closed or open system? Why?
Identify input, transfer, stores & output
Diagram to show Hydrological cycle

HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
What?
Hydrological cycle is the circulation of water in
any of its forms liquid, solid, gas through the
major stores of the global system; atmosphere,
lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere.

Hydrological cycle
Label 1-8
Identify input, outputs,
Flows & stores.
1. Evaporation
2. Transpiration
3. Condensation
4. Precipitation
6. Infiltration
5. Run-off/overland
flow
8. Groundwater flow/
baseflow
7. Throughflow
7
Input
Output
flow
flow
flow
flow
Output
Hydrological cycle
Input
e.g. precipitation
Output
e.g. water vapour/
evaporation
Stores
e.g. ocean
Stores
e.g. clouds
atmosphere
Stores
e.g. river
Stores
e.g. soil
Transfers or flows
Terms:
Evaporation
Transpiration
Condensation
Precipitation
Run-off/overlandflow
Infiltration
Throughflow
Groundwater or baseflow
A Closed system
The hydrological cycle is a closed system.
Why it is a closed system?
At the global scale the hydrological cycle is a closed
system since it has inputs or outputs of water. Water is
held in stores such as oceans, ice caps and the soil.
Water moves along pathways between these stores by
processes such as precipitation, evaporation and
runoff.
In other words, all the water circulates through the
stores where the output from one store becomes an
input to the next, and so on.
Water movement in a Global
hydrological cycle
Water that falls as rain, snow or ice from atmosphere will
infiltrate/soak (1) into the soil.
Some of the water that fall onto the ground/earth surface will flow
on the surface as surface run-off/overland flow(2) and store as
surface stores in lakes, rivers and ice-caps and glaciers.
Water that infiltrates into the soil will be taken(3) by plants via
roots. Some might continue to flow deep into the soil as
percolation(4) and store as groundwater.
Water store as groundwater move up the soil via capillary action(5).
The water stored in surface storage will enter the soil via seepage
(6) forming groundwater storage.
The groundwater will eventually flow into ocean via
baseflow/groundwater flow (7).
Water stored in surface storage in lake, puddles, river etc will flow
on the surface of the ground as runoff(8) and joining the ocean.
1.1. The Drainage Basin
What?
Open or close system? Why?
Identify input, outputs, transfer and stores
Diagram of a drainage basin
Movement of water within drainage basin
Processes operating within drainage basin;
define, factors influencing & importance
Drainage Basin
What?
An area of land drained by a river and its
tributaries.
The drainage basin also formed a system.

Is it a closed or opened system? Why?

Drainage Basin
1
2
3
4
5
6
8
Throughfall
7
9
percolation
10
11 bsaeflow
12
13
14
Flow diagram of a drainage basin
Drainage basin as an opened system
A drainage basin will have inputs and outputs
with two other parts of the global cycle,
atmosphere and oceans.
The drainage basin is therefore an open system
since there are movements of both in and out of
the system.
Water enters as an input from the atmosphere
leaves the basin as an output to the ocean or the
atmosphere or continuing on through the system.
Water movement in a drainage basin
Precipitated water may reach the drainage basin through 3 ways.
Firstly water may be intercepted & stored by vegetation. Through the process of stemflow
and throughfall water previously intercepted by vegetation reaches the surface storage.

Secondly precipitated water may fall directly on surface storage as direct precipitation if
there is no vegetation to intercept. In both cases, once the surface storage is filled up with
water, precipitated water has 3 options, it can either go up as evaporation, go sideways as
surface run-off and flows over the surface to the channel storage or absorbed into the soil
and stored in the soil moisture storage through the process of infiltration.

In the soil, water may flow laterally to the channel storage as throughflow or it can
percolate down to the groundwater storage once the soil moisture storage is filled up.
Some of the groundwater may flow laterally to the channel storage as baseflow or it can
seeps or leaks out of the system. These only occur the groundwater storage is full.

Lastly, precipitated water may fall directly on the channel storage as channel precipitation.
However some precipitated water may be lost from the drainage basin system through the
process of evaporation for water stored in the surface and channel storage and through the
process pf transpiration if he water is lost of vegetation.



Process operating within Drainage
Basin
Terms Definition
Precipitation Water in any form which falls form the atmosphere to the surface
of the earth surface e.g. ice, rain, snow
Channel
precipitation
Water in any form which falls directly on rivers, streams or channel
Direct
Precipitation
Water in any form which falls directly on the surface storage (lake,
pond, puddles)
Interception Water that is stored by vegetation i.e. leaves of trees, twigs and
branches
Throughfall Water either falls through gaps in the vegetation or which drops
from leaves, twigs or stems.
Stemflow Water that trickles along twigs and branches and finally down the
main trunk
Terms Definition
Evaporation A process by which liquid or solid is changed into gas. In hydrology,
the conversion of solid and liquid precipitation (snow, ice and
water) into water vapour in the atmosphere.
Transpiration A process by which water vapour escapes from living plant through
the leaves and enters the atmosphere via stomata.
Overlandflow/
surface runoff
The movement of water over the ground surface.
infiltration The process which water soaks into is absorbed by the soil.
throughflow Water moving laterally through the soil.
percolation The vertical movement of water in the zone of unsaturated rock or
soils.
Baseflow/grou
ndwater flow
The lateral movement of groundwater as it seesp slowly into the
bred of the river
Capillary rise Suction effect of the dry soil as it moves water form wetter parts of
soil to the dry parts of soil.
Factors affecting & importance
Terms Factors affecting & Importance
Precipitation Affect how river behave.
Influence inputs & output (streamflow)
Rainfall intensity influence route water takes i.e. infiltrate or run-off.
Interception 3 components:
1.Interception loss-retained by plant surface later evaporated or
absorbed by plant.
2. Throughfall
3. Stemflow surface storage
Importance:
Slow down transfer of water via run-off
(not only vegetation cover also include road, building, drainage,gutter
Evaporation Effective:
Warm sunny day, windy, surrounding air is dry, present of water on
ground or on plant leaves
Overland
flow
Stream
flow/channel
flow
Infiltration Factors affecting amount:

Human activities can affect infiltration
Throughflow
Soil moisture
storage
percolation
Groundwater
storage
1.2. rainfall-discharge relationships
within drainage basin
Water balance
Flood hydrograph
Factors affecting flood hydrograph
-Climate
-drainage basin characteristics


Water balance
Soil moisture
Surplus: If precipitation exceeds
evapotranspiration and the excess is not been
used by plants.

Deficiency: Evapotranspiration exceeds
precipitation.

Recharge: Replacement of water lost during drier
periods.

Field capacity
The maximum amount of water soil can hold.

A water surplus can result in wet soils, high river
levels and run-off whereas a deficit leads to dry
soil, falling river levels and possibly drought.

Water Deficit
Evapotranspiration is in excess of precipitation
and any previously available moisture has been
used, in soil moisture utilisation.
Water balance

Importance
Why it vary with time and space?
Vary with time
Vary with space
Importance of water balance
Flood Hydrograph
Antecedent
moisture
D
i
s
c
h
a
r
g
e

(
m
3
/
s
)

Bar graph-start, intensity & duration of rainfall
Line graph-rivers discharge over time
Storm flow:
Discharge (most
Water reaches
Stream as
Overland flow &
Direct channel
Precipitation) from
Single storm event.
Baseflow:
Starting & finishing
Level of discharge
Representing (maintain
Even during low pp)
The river flow.
Rapid increase
In discharge-run-off
River reaches
Highest level
Discharge is falling &
River falling to base level. (water flow through
Soil to channel via through flow)
Lagtime-period between max pp &
Peak discharge (delay pp & rise in discharge
Due to takes time for pp to flow into river)
Storm Hydrograph
What?
It records the discharge (volume of water in a river)
pattern of a river at a specific gauging station over a
short period of time, following a single rainfall event.

Importance:
1. Hydrologists assess rate of discharge increase so
allowing them to predict flood & make precaution to
avoid damage to property & loss of life.
2. Geographical tools that can express character of the
river. If the average & extreme behaviour of a river is
known, people are in better position to live with it.
Factors influencing Storm Hydrograph
Climate

prolonged rainfall, ground become saturated &
infiltration replaced by run-off. (PP intensity
exceeds infiltration capacity)

Snowfall-heavy snowfall occurs water freezes and
stop entering river held in storage & river drops. As
temp rises rapidly meltwater reaches river. The
ground remain frozen for some time & prevent
infiltration from occurring.



Temperature & Evapotranspiration:

Size & shape
Drainage density
Porosity & permeability of soils
Rock types
Slopes
Vegetation types
Land use
1.3. RIVER PROCESSES & LANDFORMS
PROCESS:
River erosion:
What?
(a) Abrasion/corrasion
(b) Solution/corrosion
(c) Attrition
(d) Hydraulic action
River Transportation
River Deposition
1. Discharge is reduced following a period of low precipitation

2. As the river approached the sea or lake, velocity is reduced

3. In shallow water, which occurs on the inside of a meander

4. The load of the river suddenly increases caused for
example, by debris from landslide.

5. The river overflow its banks causing velocity outside the
channel to reduce.


Hjulstrom curve
Hjulstrom
curve
Discharge & Velocity:
Discharge:the volume of water in a river passing a
measuring point in a given time. It is calculated my
multiplying the velocity of the river by the cross-
sectional area of the river at measuring point. (cubic
metre per seconds or cumecs)

Velocity: the speed of the water flow i.e. the distance
travelled per unit time e.g. metres per second. It is
influence by three factors:
(i) Channel shape in cross section
(ii) Roughness of river beds and banks
(iii) Channel slope
Pattern of flows
Turbulent flow:
Consists of a series of eddies, both vertical
and horizontal in a downstream direction.

Where occur?
-Meandering channels with alternating
Pool and riffle.
-High velocities
-Cavitation in which pockets of ir explode
under high pressure
Laminar flow:
Horizontal movement of
Water in a series of sheets or laminae, where
Layers of water slip past each other.
Common in groundwater and glacier
Rarely in river. Best condition for it
To occur:
Shallow channels, smooth straight channels
Low velocities
Helicoidal flow
Downstream spirally on water flow associated
with meandering channels.
Helicoidal flow
Helicoidal core
Thalwag
Meander
river
Thalwag
Channel types
Channel type
In this curve the steepest gradients are found in the upper reaches of the
river, where sediment input is abundant, bed roughness is high, and
channels are small, because we need lots of energy to erode sediment and
transport it downstream. Because of that, channels show low sinuosity
(there is no energy left to be wasted in a longer channel).

As we go away from the uplifted source we encounter lower slopes,
sediment gets redeposited, the channel widens and bed roughness
decreases. Deposition will continue until the slope is steep enough so that
a balance between erosion and deposition is established, and the river will
then flow in meanders. Thus any irregularity in the slope of a river will be
temporary on a geological time scale.

The river, its slope and its channel patterns, will change progressively in
response to the interaction of uplift, sea level changes, and irregularities
in the hardness of the bedrock. A smooth stream profile will have been
established after all forces balance.
Landforms
A water fall & Gorges
Waterfall: A steep fall of river water where its course is markedly
And suddenly interrupted.
A river flow over hard rock meets a
Band of less resistant rock or flows
Over the edge of a valley
As the river approaches the brink of the falls,
Velocity increases causing underlying rock
To be worn away as water falls on it
Through process of hydraulic action & abrasion.
In time, the harder rock
May become unstable (due to
Weight of water and lack of
Support and eventually
Collapse.
Pools & riffles
Riffle-areas of deposition
Of coarse material creating
Areas of shallow water
Pool-areas of deeper
Water between riffles
Point bars/slip-off
Sloe:
A gently sloping bank
On the inside of meander
Formed as the result
Of deposition areas
Where the flow
Of water is slow. The material
Deposited is eroded from the
Outside bank of a meander
Whick spiral downstream &
Deposited inner bank as point bar
Cliff
Point
bar
How pool and riffle lead to
development of a meander
As water flows over these landforms (pool and riffle) velocity is
increases as it passes over the riffled surface while it flows more
sluggishly out of deeper pools. The sequence of pools and riffles will
continue to develops until the average spacing is 5-7 times the width
of the channel.

This regular spacing is said to be as a result of the secondary flow such
as helicoidalflow.The helicoidal flow moves material from the outer
bend where erosion occurs forming cliff and deposits it on the inner
bend of the next bend forming a slip-off slope, this movement
increases the sinuosity of the river, producing a regular meandering
channel which is about ten times the bed width.
Meanders are sinuous winding bends in a river channel which usually
occur at gentle gradients in the middle and lower courses of a river.
Meanders are sinuous winding bends in a river channel which usually occur at
gentle gradients in the middle and lower courses of a river.

Meanders are formed due to the alternating pools and riffles in the channel
causing the river to flow from side to side. The flow line of maximum velocity is
called a thalweg. The thalweg is directed towards the bank as it flows through the
fastest route to get to the mouth. As the thalweg hits the bank it erodes away
sediment, creating a river cliff. On the side of the channel with slower flow, the
sediment is deposited as the water does not have the capacity to transport it's
load any longer, forming a slip off slope or point bar/ alluvial deposits opposite the
river cliff. Once the meander is formed, it is maintained by the surface and
subsurface flows that corkscrews throughout the cross section of the channel. This
is called helical or helicoidal flow. As this process continues, the meanders migrate
downstream and gradually widen the valley floor.

Riffles: shallower parts of the channel resulting from the deposition of coarse
sediments.

Pools: deeper sections of the channel eroded by turbulent currents.
Braided channel
Braided channel
Floodplains
Floodplain-an area od relatively flat land on either side of channel formed by deposition
When a river floods. Mostly well developed in lower coarse of a river as river nears the sea
Coarsest material
Is dropped first,
Forming a small
Natural embankment
Called levees, alongside
The channel.
With every flooding, It deposits layer of Alluvium (sand, silt & clays) gradually built
Up floodplain. Width of Floodplain determined by meander
Migrating & lateral erosion, valley floor widen. Edge of floodplains are flanked
on both sides by prominent slopes called bluffs.
As river spreads
Over its floodplain, there
Is a sudden increase in both
Wetted perimeter &hydraulic
radius.

This results in an increase
In friction, decrease in velocity
& deposition of material
Previously held in suspension.
Deltas
Formation of a delta
Delta a landform produced by the deposition of sediment at the mouth
Of a river as it enters a sea or lake.
As a river flows into area
of slow moving water; lake
Or sea river velocity decreases
Deposition of bedload & suspended
Material occur.
In addition, the meeting of
Fresh & salt water produces
An electric charge which causes
Clay particles to coagulate
(cluster), increasing weight
& encourage these particles
To settle on sea bed.
(fluocculation)
Types of delta
Arcuate delta:
Triangular in
Shape with a
Smooth coastline
Birds foot delta:
Fingers of
Deposited material
Extend out into sea
Along line of
tributaries
Alluvium fans
Alluvium fans are fan-shaped landforms
similar to deltas but deposited on land.
It is formed when rivers coming from steep-
sided valleys in upland area enter flatter plain.
At such point the river spreads out, decreasing
velocity, causing sediment to be deposited.

Human impact
Effects landuse changes on catchment flows, stores and stream flows
1.Agriculture-changes in agr affect infiltration, surface run-off, infiltration & percolation. E.g. overgrazing. (compact soil
trampling of animals & removal veg-eaten)
-Ploughing, application fertiliser & equipment alter texture, storage & infiltration capacility of soil.
-land drainage schemes .e.g. cutting deeper ditches, laying pipes lower water table & accelerate transfer of water to
stream

2. Changing forest cover-afforestation slow down runoff result lower stream discharge, increase transpiration losses.
Deforestation-cutting & burning down all trees-decrease infiltration, soil moisture storage, increase overland flow.
Reforestation-lower water table-higher interception, decrease overland flow & higher infiltration rate.

3. Ubanisation- impermeable ground-less infiltration, reduce ground water storage and reduce surface run off and
lower ET, overland flow increase.

4. Groundwater abstraction- purpose; industrial use, domestic and irrigation.
-irrigation-fall in water table e.g. Texas irrigation reduced water table 50 m.

5. Water storage-dam and reservoir-purpose is to control flow to reduce floods & supplement river flows during
periods of below average rainfall-greater water loses and increase groundwater levels.

Floods
Define-a high flow of water which overtops the banks of a river.
Causes-large input of water to river by quickflow processes: prolonged heavy rainfall-saturated,
intense rainfall, snowmelt with frozen soil, steep valley sides, an impermeable bedrock or thin soils,
lack of vegetation, urbanisation, silting of river, drains, gutters and underground sewer.
Effects:
Primary:
Loss of life, contaiminated drinking water, rapid erosion and undercutting of bridges, crops washed by
floodwater & sediment deposited in flooded locations

Secondary:
Diseases water borne sewage and toxins, disrupted services; gas and electricity, disruption of
communications

Tertiary:
-changes to river and drainage channels, temporary unemployment until services are restored, farmland
being covered by new sediments, insurance rates being increased for floodplain inhabitants
Forecasting:
Likelihood or statistical probability of flooding
occuring can calculated using a flood
frequency graph, where the records of a
rivers discharge over the longest time
available are ranked from the highest peak to
the lowest discharge recorded.

Preventation
Case study Mississippi 1993, Bangladesh 1998

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