Vocab
What is Ablation
combined processes (such as sublimation, fusion or melting, evaporation) which remove snow or ice from the surface of a glacier or from a snow-field
What is Discharge
the volumetric amount of water carried by a body of water per unit time
What is Groundwater
water that exists underground in saturated zones beneath the land surfac
What is Turbulent flow
the randomly directed, loud flow of water due to visible physical barriers, such as rocks.
Free Point
Free Point
What is Accumulation
the step where large amounts of water collects and is stored by the Earth
What is Drift
a name for all sediment (clay, silt, sand, gravel, boulders) transported by a glacier and deposited directly by or from the ice, or by glacial meltwater
What is Hydrologic cycle
the continuous circulation of water in the Earth-Atmosphere system
What is Water table
an underground boundary between the soil surface and the area where groundwater saturates spaces between sediments and cracks in rock
Describe how glaciers erode and deposit sediments and rock
Glaciers erode and transport rock as they flow down slope. Then, when the glaciers start to melt or recede, the sediment is deposited as unsorted glacial till, often in characteristic landforms such as moraines and their associated sedimentary facies.
What is Artesian system (spring)
an aquifer with groundwater confined under pressure between layers of impermeable rock, causing the water to rise above the aquifer when tapped
What is Floodplain
the land surface adjacent to a stream or river that is formed, in-part, by river processes and floods during discharge events that flow out of the channel and onto the surrounding land surface.
What is Laminar flow
type of fluid (gas or liquid) flow in which the fluid travels smoothly or in regular paths,
Describe water’s journey through the hydrologic cycle
Water moves between the atmosphere and the surface through evaporation, evapotranspiration, and precipitation. Water moves across the surface through snowmelt, runoff, and streamflow.
Explain what determines glacial mass balance
If the amount of melting across the glacier increases, then the glacier will have a negative mass balance, and the glacier will shrink. If the amount of snow or ice that the glacier receives increases but the amount of melt stays the same, then the glacier will grow. The glacier will have a positive mass balance.
What is Channel geometry
the description of the size and shape of the channels in which water flows
What is Glacier
forms when snow accumulates over time, turns to ice, and begins to flow outwards and downwards under the pressure of its own weight.
What is Permeability
the property of rocks that is an indication of the ability for fluids (gas or liquid) to flow through rock
Define groundwater and describe how it flows
Groundwater is a part of the natural water cycle (check out our interactive water cycle diagram). Some part of the precipitation that lands on the ground surface infiltrates into the subsurface. Water in the saturated groundwater system moves slowly and may eventually discharge into streams, lakes, and oceans.
Describe the variables that affect transportation and deposition of sediments by surface water
Whether sediment will be eroded, transported or deposited is depended on the particle size and the flow rate of the water. Water flow, also called water discharge, is the single most important element of sediment transport.
What is Delta
Deltas are wetlands that form as rivers empty their water and sediment into another body of water
What is Gradient
the incline, slope or degree of increase in some measure (such as temperature, pressure or even color) that develops as one moves in time, position or along some scale.
Porosity
a measure of the void spaces in a material.
Describe ways that flowing groundwater can cause changes in landscapes
Flowing water causes sediment to move. Flowing water can erode both rocks and soil. You have already learned that materials can dissolve in water. With enough time, even rocks can be dissolved by water.
Name three variables affecting stream flow and velocity
gradient, cross-sectional shape, channel size and roughness, and discharge all affect a stream's flow velocity