GEOL105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Water Cycle, Ocean Current, Alluvium

• School: University of Delaware
• Department: Geology
• Course: GEOL105
• Professor: Kohut Edward

Document Summary

Drives weather, climate and the water cycle: gravity. Water plays a critical role: exists on all 3 states on earth. More compounds dissolve in water than any other substance: has a high heat capacity, solid is less dense than liquid. Ice oats: important for landslides, erosion, physically and chemically breaks down rock, transfers heat as part of ocean circulation, climate and weather, essential for life. Transfer of water btwn. oceans, atmosphere, surface water on land and groundwater. Part of weather processes, in uenced by climate. Streams: water owing over surface is runoff, runoff collected in a channel is a stream, rivers are just large streams. Stream principals are the same regardless of size. Streams ow downslope to their base level : another stream, basin, or ocean. The faster a stream ows, more and heavier material can be carried. Slow streams carry only the nest material: bedrock streams. Generally in steep terrain: uplands, mts, streams ow faster.