Andrew Rosen

Stream Drainage System:

- The main stem is the principal channel in a drainage
basin
- A drainage system is the pattern formed by the
streams, rivers, and lakes
- Dendritic drainage: Formed by homogeneous material
- Parallel drainage: Formed when there are slopes in
surfaces
- Trellis drainage: Formed by folded topography
(mountains). Synclines are down-turns where the main
channel resides
- Rectangular drainage: Formed by regions that have
faulting. Streams follow paths of least resistance and
are concentrated where exposed rock is weakest
- Radial drainage: Formed around a central point.
Sometimes volcanoes.
- Centripetal drainage is the opposite of radial and
flows down a central depression
- Deranged or contorted drainage is formed from
disruptions of pre-existing drain patterns
- A tributary is a stream or river which flows into a
main stem river (doesnt flow directly into a sea,
ocean, or lake)
- Tributaries serve to drain the surrounding drainage
basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading
the water out into an ocean or other large body
- V-shaped valleys are formed by strong streams
through downcutting
- A drainage basin is where a stream receives runoff,
throughflow, and groundwater
- Drainage basins are separated from each other by
watersheds
- Watersheds represent all of the stream tributaries
that flow to some location on a channel
Channel Type:
- A stream is a body of water that transports rock
particles and dissolved ions and flows downslope on a
path called a channel
- The deepest part is where the velocity is highest
- A straight channel is straight
- A meandering channel is curved
- A braided channel has islands
- Knickpoint: Change (rapid) in slope
Sediment:
- Laminar flow is when all water travels along similar
parallel paths
- Turbulent flow is when they take irregular paths
- Streams erode because rock fragments are
transported
- Turbulent flow keeps fragments in suspension longer
- Streams may erode by undercutting the banks
River Valley Forms and Processes:
- Long profile is a plot of elevation vs. distance
- Long profiles show a steep gradient near the source
of the stream and a gentle one towards the mouth
- If there is a dam, velocity decreases upstream so that
deposition of sediment occurs causing the gradient to
become lower
- Base level is the limiting level below which a stream
cannot erode its channel
- For streams that empty into oceans, base level is sea
level
- Local base levels can occur where streams meet a
resistant body of rock or artificial dam

- As streams overtop banks, velocity will be high but

then decrease
- Because of this, the coarser grained suspended
sediment will be deposited along the riverbank to
make a natural levee
- Terraces are exposed former floodplain deposits that
result when the stream begins down cutting into its
flood plain (regional uplift of lowering the regional base
level)
- Alluvial fans are deposits formed due to
gradient/velocity changes like that of mountain
streams that enter flat valleys
- When a stream enters a standing body of water,
there is a decrease in velocity, and the stream deposits
sediment in a delta (finger-like projections)
Stream Flow:
- Mannings Equation:
(left) and Chezy
Formula (right)

- Stream discharge: Q = A x V
- As the amount of water in a stream increases, the
stream must adjust its velocity and cross sectional
area in order to form a balance
- Discharge increases as more water is added to the
system
- As discharge increases, depth and velocity increase
- The rock particles and dissolved ions carried are the
load
- Suspended load are particles carried in the main part
of the stream
- Bed load is with coarse an ddense particles on the
bed of the stream but move by saltation (jumping) as a
result of collisions
- Dissolved load is when ions have been introduced by
weathered rocks
- Floods occur when the discharge is too high, the
stream widens, and the flooded areas are known as
floodplains
Groundwater:
- The surface below which all rocks are saturated with
groundwater is the water table
- Rain falls on the surface and seeps into the soil into a
zone called the zone of aeration (unsaturated zone)
where pores are filled with air
- They are eventually filled up to form saturated zones
- Porosity is the percent of volume of the rock that is
open pore space
- Well rounded, coarse sediments have high porosity
while fine sediments dont (basically how much water
can fit between the rocks)
- Poorly sorted sediments have low porosity because
fine granules fill spaces
- Porosity is low in igneous and metamorphic rocks
because the minerals are intergrown unless theyre
fractured

- Permeability is the degree to which the pore spaces

are interconnected, and the size of these
interconnections
- Ionic charges on the surface of rocks attract a think
layer of water (force of molecular attraction)
- If the size of interconnections is not as large as the
zone of molecular attraction, the water cant move
- Coarse rocks are usually more permeable than fine
grained rocks and sands are more permeable than clay
- Vesicular volcanic rock has a high porosity and low
permeability because of the bubbles inside
- An aquifer is a large body of permeable material
where groundwater is present in the saturated zone
(good aquifers have high permeabilities)
- The rate at which groundwater moves through
saturated zone depends on the permeability and
hydraulic gradient (difference in elevation divided by
the distance between two points on the water table)
- Unconfined aquifers have recharge areas (areas
where water enters the saturated zone) usually
occurring in high areas
- A groundwater divide is formed by glacial moraines
- Discharge areas are areas where groundwater
reaches the surface
Karst Features:
Karst topography: a distinctive landform assemblage
developed as a consequence of the dissolving action of
water on carbonate bedrock
- Sinkholes are funnel shaped and open upward
- Solution valleys (Karst valleys) are the remains of
former surface stream valleys whose streams have
been diverted underground
- Karst springs occur where groundwater flow
discharges from a conduit or cave (can discharge lots
of water)
- Streams flowing along the surface may enter a
sinkhole as a disappearing stream and flow
underground and then reappear
- Cavern formation: 1) initial excavation (dissolving and
creation of voids) 2) Decoration stage (water leaves
behind compounds in solution)
Lake Formation:
- Movement of Earths crust (fault lines)
- Grabens are formed when adjacent plates separate at
fault lines (oldest/deepest)
- A rift lake is a lake formed as a result of subsidence
related to movement on faults within rift zones (area of
externsional tectonics on continental) and are
sometimes bounded by large cliffs
- Lakes formed by volcanoes are small
- Lakes are found in abundance in high latitudes where
glaciers were
- Kettle and Finger lakes were formed by sediment
damming
- Lakes eventually fill with sediments to form terrestrial
ecosystems
Lake Features:
- Input: precipitation, runoff, channels and aquifers,
and artificial sources
- Output: Evaporation, groundwater flows, artificial
extraction
- Thermoclines are layers of changing temperature per
depth
- Shorelines change: Tides, nearshore currents, sea
level changes, and sediments

- Waves: wind speed, distance of wind blow. Lakes and

rivers have small SA so they dont have big waves
Wetlands:
- Marshes form near ponds and lakes
(reeds/grasses/soft-stemmed plants)
- Bogs begin as shallow ponds that fill with rotting
leaves and plants
- There is little air under the mat of plants so it takes
long for things to rot
Effects of Land Use:
- Damns can cause enhanced clarity and reduced
variability due to periphyton abundance
- Dams can change temperatures and thus insect
development
- Dams isolate ecosystems and prevent migration of
anadromous and catadromous species
Hydrologic Cycle:

- Runoff = precipation evaporation +/- changes in

storage
Pollution:
- A lotic ecosystem is the ecosystem of a river, stream,
or spring (biotic and abiotic factor)
- Acid rain forms from sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide
Lakes:
A lake is a body of water completely surrounded by
land.
More than 90% of Earths surface waters are
contained in lakes.
Less than 1% of Earths surface waters are found in
rivers and streams at any moment in time.
The origin of most lakes is not related to stream
activity.
Conditions necessary for the formation and
continued existence of a lake:
1. A natural basin with a restricted outlet.
2. Sufficient input of water to keep the basin at least
partially filled.
Most of the worlds lakes contain fresh water. Less
than 40% of lake waters are salty.
Any lake that has no natural drainage outlet, either
as a surface stream or as a sustained subsurface flow,
will become saline.
The water balance of most lakes is maintained by
surface inflow, sometimes combined with springs and
seeps from below the lake surface.
Lakes are most common in regions that were
glaciated within the relatively recent geologic past
because glacial erosion and deposition have deranged
the normal drainage patterns and have created
innumerable basins.

 The series of large lakes in eastern and central Africa

is due to major crustal movements and volcanic
activity.
Thousands of small lakes in Florida were formed by
sinkhole collapse where rainwater dissolved calcium
from massive limestone bedrock.
Most lakes are very temporary features in the natural
landscape, geologically speaking. Few have been in
existence for more than a few thousand years.
1. Inflowing streams bring sediments to fill them up.
2. Outflowing streams cut channels that progressively
deepen and drain lakes.
3. As lakes become more shallow, an increase in plant
growth accelerates the process of infilling.
Dry lake beds located in desert regions are called
playas. When temporarily filled by intermittent streams
these bodies of water are called playa lakes.
Permanent desert lakes are nearly always products of
either subsurface structural conditions that provide
water from a permanent spring or of exotic streams
that have their source in nearby mountain.
Lakes may affect climate and weather.
1. It is generally more humid around lake areas.
2. Because water warms and cools more slowly than
land, temperatures near lakes are generally milder
than temperatures at the same latitude but more
distant from lakes.
Other lakes Science Olympiad participants may wish
to research include kettle lakes, moraine lakes, oxbow
lakes and man-made reservoirs.
Rivers:
I. Hydrologic Cycle
A. ~ 50% of rain returns to the atmosphere through
evaporation or transpiration from plants
B. ~ 15% to 20% of rain normally ends up as surface
runoff in rivers
II. Channel flow
A. A stream is a body of running water confined in a
channel and moving downhill under the influence of
gravity.
B. Geologists use the term streams for any body of
running water, from a trickle to a huge river.
C. Headwaters are the upper part of a stream near its
source in the mountains.
D. The mouth is where a stream enters the sea, a lake,
or a larger stream.
E. The cross profile of a stream in steep mountains is
usually a V-shaped valley cut into solid rock.
F. Near its mouth, a stream usually flows within a
broad, flat-shaped valley.
G. The stream channel is surrounded by a flood plain of
sediment deposited by the stream.
H. The sides of a channel are called its banks; the
bottom of the channel is called the stream bed.
I. Water may run off as sheetwash, a thin layer of
unchanneled water flowing downhill. Sheetwash, along
with the impact of raindrops on the land surface, can
produce sheet erosion.
J. Tiny streams, called rills, merge to form small
streams.
III. A drainage basin is the total area drained by a
stream and its tributaries.
A. A tributary is a small stream flowing into a larger
one.

B. A drainage basin can be outlined on a map by

drawing a line around the region drained by all the
tributaries to a river.
C. A drainage basin is a ridge or strip of high ground
dividing one drainage basin from another.
IV. Flooding
A. A recurrence interval is the average time between
floods of a given size.
B. Flood erosion is caused by the high velocity and
large volume of waters in a flood.
C. Flood deposits are usually silt and clay; good for
agriculture, but bad for cities.
D. Flood control structures
1. Upstream dams
2. Artificial levees that are embankments built along
the bands of a river channel.
3. Riprap is protective walls of stone constructed along
riverbanks.
V. Erosion and deposition
A. Stream velocity is the speed at which water travels
in a stream.
B. A stream reaches its maximum velocity near the
middle of a channel.
C. Friction near a streams banks and bed slows the
water.
D. When a stream goes around a curve, the region of
maximum velocity shifts to the outside of the curve.
E. Velocity is the key factor in a streams ability to
erode, transport or deposit.
VI. Gradient
A. Stream gradient refers to the downhill slope of a
bed.
B. Channelization refers to artificially steepening a
gradient to increase the speed of runoff to help control
flooding and improve navigation on a river.
VII. Channel shape and roughness
A. The shape of the channel controls stream velocity.
B. Hard, resistant rock is difficult to erode, so a stream
may have a narrow channel in such rock resulting in
more rapid flow.
C. Softer rock erodes more easily thus widening the
channel and slowing the water which, in turn causes
the deposition of sediments.
D. Roughness of the channel
1. Streams can flow rapidly over a smooth channel.
2. A boulder-strewn channel creates more friction
causing water flow to
slow.
3. A ripply, wavy sand bottom is rougher than a
smooth sand bottom.
VIII. Discharge
A. The discharge of a stream is the volume of water
that flows past a given point in a unit of time.
Discharge = width x depth x velocity.
B. Discharge (cfs) = channel width in feet
x average channel depth in feet
x average velocity (feet per second)
C. Example: 100 ft. x 15 ft. x 6/sec = 9000 cubic
ft/sec
D. Discharge increases downstream
1. Water flows out of the ground into the river through
the streambed.
2. Small tributaries flow into larger streams.
IX. Stream erosion
A. Hydraulic action is the ability of flowing water to
pick up and move rock and sediment.

B. Water may slowly dissolve rocks, especially

limestone.
C. Abrasion is the grinding away of a stream channel
by the friction and impact of the sediment load.
X. Stream transportation of sediment
A. Bed load is large or heavy sediment particles that
travel near or on the streambed.
1. Traction refers to rolling, sliding or dragging.
2. Saltation refers to short leaps or bounces off the
bottom.
B. A suspended load is sediment light enough to
remain lifted indefinitely above the bottom of a stream
by water turbulence.
C. The dissolved load is the soluble products of
chemical weathering processes.
XI. Stream deposition
A. Bars are ridges of sediment deposited in the middle
or along the banks of a stream.
B. Deltas or alluvial fans are deposits of sediments
near the ends of streams.
XII. Braided streams
A. Bars may divert stream flow to cause a stream to
widen. Many such diversions may create a braided
stream, a network of interconnected rivulets around
numerous bars.
B. Braided streams form particularly well in streams
laden with sediments.
XIII. Meandering streams and point bars
A. Meanders are formed by fine-grained silt and clay.
B. Meandering is more common in the lower reaches of
a river where sediments tend to be finer.
C. Meanders develop because a streams velocity is
highest on the outside of curves where erosion is
promoted.
D. Low velocity on the inside of a curve promotes
deposition. These becomepoint bars.
E. A meander cutoff is a new, shorter channel across
the narrow neck of a meander. The cutoff meander
becomes an oxbow lake.
XIV. Flood plains
A. A floodplain is a broad strip of land built up by
sedimentation on either side of a stream channel.
B. Flood plains may be composed almost entirely of
horizontal layers of finegrained sediment interrupted
by coarse-grained channel deposits.
C. Other flood plains are dominated by meanders
shifting back and forth.
XV. Deltas
A. Deltas are bodies of sediment deposited near the
mouths of rivers.
B. Distributaries are small, shifting channels that carry
water away from the main river channel and
distributes it over the surface of a delta.
XVI Alluvial fans
A. An alluvial fan is a large fan-shaped or cone-shaped
pile of sediment that usually forms where stream
velocity decrease as it emerges from a narrow
mountain canyon onto a flat plain.
B. On large fans, deposits are graded in size within the
fan, with the coarsest sediments dropped nearest the
mountains and the finer materials deposited
progressively farther away.
XVII. Valley development
A. Downcutting is the process of deepening a valley by
erosion of the streambed.

B. Base level is the theoretical limit for erosion of the

earths surface. For those streams that reach the
ocean, base level is close to sea level.
XVIII. Graded streams
A. Graded streams exhibit a delicate balance between
its transporting capacity and the sediment load
available to it.
B. Lateral erosion widens a valley by undercutting and
eroding valley walls.
C. Headward erosion slows uphill growth of a valley
above its original source through gullying, mass
wasting, and sheet erosion.
XIX Drainage patterns
A. Dendritic patterns resemble branches of a tree or
the veins in a leaf.
Dendritic patterns develop on uniformly erodable rock.
B. Radial patterns resemble the radiating spokes of a
wheel. These form on high, conical-shaped mountains.
C. Rectangular patterned tributaries have frequent 90
bends and tend to join other streams at right angles.
D. Trellis patterns are formed by parallel main streams
with short tributaries meeting at right angles.
Hydrologic Cycle:
The hydrologic cycle, better known as the water cycle,
describes the movement of water through the
hydrosphere. The easiest place to begin is with
evaporation. As the sun heats up the Earth's surface,
water evaporates, meaning it changes from a liquid to
a gas, and enters the air. Another important way that
water vapor can enter the atmosphere is through
transpiration, which is the loss of water from parts of
plants, mainly their leaves. Once water vapor is in the
atmosphere it goes through the process of
condensation, where it returns to a liquid state and
forms clouds. Once water droplets in the clouds
become large enough they will begin to fall to the
ground as precipitation. Once precipitation reaches the
ground some of the water will become run-off and flow
to a river or other body of water. Also, some water will
infiltrate the ground and become groundwater, where
it can replenish aquifers. Eventually the water will
again evaporate and the cycle will continue.
Stream Drainage:
Streams follow a general pattern based on topography.
Drainage Channels form where runoff cuts into the
ground.
Dendritic Drainage is the most
common and looks similar to a
tree. Dendritic Drainage occurs
where a region is above a single
type of bedrock (homogeneous).
Which gives the entire area a
similar resistance to erosion and
therefore a seemingly random
placement of tributaries. Most
tributaries will join a larger stream
at an acute angle.

Parallel Drainage generally form

where there is a large hill.They
develop in areas with parallel
regions of rock that are harder to
erode.

Trellis Drainage Patterns form

where there is a folded topography
like the Appalachian mountains.
tributaries enter the main Stream
at near right angles.

Radial Drainage
Profile
Upon that thought, many of you are probably thinking
the mouth of a river, or sea level. You would be
absolutely correct. In the case for large rivers, a delta
or Mouth of the river at sea level Is indeed a "Base
Level", in fact, sea level itself is considered the
"Ultimate Base Level". How then can a waterfall be a
base level? Well, some wonderfully drawn pictures
(/sarcasm) should give some light on it.

This picture shows a Longitudinal Profile, or a General

Profile of a river as compared to Distance and
Elevation. As you can see on this picture, The origin Is
at the highest Elevation, while the mouth is at the
Ultimate Base Level. By looking at this graphic, we can
make some general assumptions:
1. The closer to the origin you are, the faster the water
will flow
2. The closer to the mouth you are, the slower the
water will flow
3. Sediment will be scoured closer to the higher
elevation
4. Sediment will be deposited at the lower elevations
5. There Is a higher stream gradient the closer to the
origin you go
6. There is a lower stream gradient the closer to the
mouth you go.
So how does this work into waterfalls? Let me show
you with another concept: Downcutting!
Downcutting is the deepening of a river channel
relative to its surroundings. That is, how far does it dig
into the ground. As natural examples tell us, The
amount of downcutting on a river is dependent on
where on the river it forms. Look at this example on
the next page:

This picture shows what downcutting looks like on a

normal river. At point A, the river is very fast moving
and at a higher elevation to that of sea level, so it
downcuts at a steady rate. At point B, the river is
slowing down some, and is getting closer to sea level,
so downcutting is considerably slower here than at
Point A, and at Point C, downcutting is almost nonexistent. However, science has shown us that
downcutting does not continue down to sea level at
the same speed in all cases. This is where we dive into
the base level features.
Lets review what we have determined so far:
Base Level is the closest to sea level a river can go.
Downcutting helps a river in its descent to Ultimate
Base Level
Now, if Downcutting doesnt always continue to sea
level, what blocks its path? Well, in order to
understand this, we have to add a little onto our
definition of a base level. Base Level is the closest to
sea level a river can flow at any one location. In other
words, in real time, the base level at Point A on our
graphic could be different to the Base Level of point
B. It all depends on the rock layers. This is where we
get into the final focus point.
At any one time, rock layers can dictate base levels.
Geologically speaking, nothing impedes downcutting.
However, at our timescale, we can witness
downcutting happening before our very eyes. That is
essentially what a waterfall is, an agent of
downcutting. Look at this graphic of a waterfall:

By looking at the graphic, we can determine a

definition. A Waterfall is a morphological feature
defined by water flowing over a hard rock layer. In the
case of most waterfalls, the water that flows over the
falls erodes the softer layer at the base. Once it erodes
enough, the unsupported hard layer above collapses.
This is what makes a waterfall appear to retreat. So
how does this fit into river morphology? It acts like a
new point of origin. Look at this final graphic to the
right:

Formation of Lakes:
- Glaciers form lake basins by making holes in
loose/soft soil, depositing minerals across stream beds,
or leaving buried chunks of ice behind that melt
- Glaciers retreat and sediments accumulate from
tributaries (organic material from watershed and
aquatic plant/algae)
- Used for dating (Pb-210 and C-14). Also can use
sharp increases in pollen in plants. Diatom
abundance/composition is also used.

In actuality, this is what a longitudinal profile looks like,

if you were to make it precise. Though mine is a sloppy
mess, hopefully you can see what Im trying to get
across. It has these stair steps, base levels, that act as
a mini origin, restarting the morphological process.
These dont have to be waterfalls. Lakes, other rivers,
even man made dams have this kind of effect.
Channels:
Flood Plain
A flood plain is the flat area that tends to be covered in
water when the river rises. As a flood increases the
rivers size it slows the river down causing it to drop
sediment which in turn allows for very fertile soil.
Natural Levee
A natural levee is formed when sediment(alluvium) is
deposited along the edge of the stream forming a
ridge
A Point Bar forms where the water going through a
meanders drops alluvium on the inner bank
The Neck is the point of land between the two edges
of a meander.
The Cutoff occurs when the stream erodes through
the neck causing the river to be back to a straight
course.
The result is an Ox-bow Lake which is a separate
body of water from the stream

Ground Water:
Ground Water is water that is in the ground. It exists in
the pore spaces and fractures in rock and sediment. It
originally was rainwater or snow. Water will move down
into the earth until it reaches a layer of soil where it
can not penetrate. This layer is called the
impenetrable layer. The uppermost reaches of this
water is called the water table.
Facts- Groundwater makes up about 1% of the water
on Earth. That's about 35 times the amount of water in
lakes and streams! It occurs everywhere beneath the
Earth's surface, but is usually restricted to depths less
that about 750 meters. The surface below which all
rocks are saturated with groundwater is the water
table

Light Variability:
- Light controls temperature (solar radiation) and
photosynthesis (for dissolved O2)
- Solar radiation determines wind pattern in lake basins
and water movement
- Algae suspended in water (phytoplankton), algae
attached to surface (periphyton), and vascular plants
(macrophytes)
- Organic C compounds absorb light and suspended
materials absorb and scatter
- Vertical extinction coefficient (k) is the percentage of
the surface light absorbed or scattered in a 1 meter
long vertical column of water
- Light penetrates deeper with low k-values (btw
attenuation means decrease)
- The euphotic zone is the max depth where algae and
macrophytes can grow (0.5%-1% of the amount of light
available at surface)
Density Stratification:
- After ice-out (Spring) the water column is cold and
isothermal
- Because of nature of water, lakes tend to stratify in
distinct layers
- When the temperature (density) of the surface water
equals bottom, it can be mixed easily. This is known as
turnover
- As it becomes warmer and more buoyant, the top
stops mixing with the bottom
- Three layers: Epilimnion, metalimnion, and
hypolimnion from top to bottom
- Fetch is the exposure of lake to win and effects
mixing (size does too)
- Spring turnover, summer stratification, fall turnover,
winter stratification
- Lakes with two mixing periods like above are dimictic
as opposed to polymictic
- Holomictic lakes are mixed from top to bottom. Partial
is meromictic
- The nonmixing bottom layer is called the
monimolimnion and the one that mixes completely is
the mixolimnion
- Monimolimnion has high [] of dissolved solids
The Watershed: Drainage basin (all land and water
areas that drain towards a lake)
- Water quality decreases with an increasing ratio of
watershed area to lake area
- Lakes with small watershed that are made from
groundwater flow are seepage lakes
- Lakes fed primarily by inflowing stream are drainage
lakes
- Seepage lakes are susceptible to acid rain because of
low buffering capacity
Lake Chemistry:
- Function of the climate and basin gelology

- Has ion balance (sum of negative ions = sum of

positive) of three major anion and four major cations
(HCO3-, SO4-2, Cl-/Ca+2, Mg+2, Na+, K+
- Hardwater lakes have a lot of calcium and
magnesium and soft water lakes dont
- TDS (total dissolved salt) is the total amount of ions
in the water
Lake Zones:
- Littoral zone is near the shore where sunlight fully
penetrates
- The euphotic zone is from the surface depth to the
depth where light levels become too low for
photosynthesis (occurs within the epilimnion)
- The limnetic zone is the open water area where light
doesnt reach the bottom
- The bottom sediment is known as the benthic zone
(has many organisms (invertebrates))
Trophic Status:
- Eutrophic lakes have high nutrients and plant growth
while oligotrophic dont. Mesotrophic are in the middle
Lake Inputs:
A. Precipitation directly upon lake surface
1.Normally a small proportion of total input
2.Large lakes can receive a large proportion from direct
precipitation (Lake Victoria >70%)
3.Dead Sea has nearly zero direct precipitation upon
surface
B.Surface influents of drainage basin
1.Normally the major input
2.Quantity, timing, and quality affected by vegetation
C.Groundwater seepage
1.Commonly a major source in certain geological
settings
a)Rocky, mountainous, high gradient basins
b)Glacial till
c)Karst and doline lakes in limestone
2.Difficult to accurately estimate
D.Groundwater as discrete springs
1.Calcareous regions
2.Fractured basalts
Lake outputs:
A.Surface outlets
1.Drainage lakes lose water mainly by flow from a
surface outlet
2.Lakes with sediments composed mainly of clays and
silts usually have surface outlets
B.Seepage into groundwater
1.Normally occurring in shallow waters
2.Lake sediments can regulate this loss
C.Evaporation
1.Dependent on season and latitude
2.Wind velocity, humidity, temperature, etc. regulate
the rates of evaporation

3.Lakes in closed basins lose water primarily by

evaporation
D.Evapotranspiration
1.Hydrophytes (water loving) plants can transpire
great quantities of water where present
2.Riparian and littoral vegetation main contributors to
loss
3.Most important in shallow, small, relatively
productive lakes, ponds, ditches, and streams
Global Water Balance:
A.More evaporation from the oceans than returned via
direct precipitation -source of most terrestrial
precipitation
B.Hydrologic regions among continental land masses
1.Exorheic -rivers originate and from which they flow to
the sea
2.Endorheic -rivers arise but never reach the sea
3.Arheic -no rivers arise (deserts in the latitudes of the
trade winds)
C.Continental average precipitation comparable except
South America
D.Global fluxes, content, and retention times
1.Retention time in atmosphere is ~9 days
2.57-80% of precipitation is returned to the
atmosphere through evaporation (world average is
65%)
E.Can humans modify the global water balance?
1.Dams, canals, diversions, agriculture, and basin
modification
2.Global atmospheric CO2increase and warming
a.Melt 1% of global polar ice cap and sea level rises
about 80 cm
b.Melt 10% of global polar ice cap and sea level rises
about 8.0 m
Runoff:
A.Soil and geological substrate regulate the rates and
pathways ofhillslope runoff
1.Landscape form, land use, and management
requirements should be or are linked to these
processes
2.Overland flow occurs when absorptive capacity is
exceeded by therate of rainfall or meltwater influx
B.Subsurface flow
1.Infiltration and percolation to the zone of saturation
followed by relatively slow movement to drainage
channels
2.Subsurface stormflow is shallower and more rapid