GEOL105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Volumetric Flow Rate, Alluvium, Drainage Basin
Document Summary
Drives weather, climate, and water cycle: gravity. Exists in three states on earth: solid, liquid, and gas. Universal solvent: more compounds dissolve in water than any other known substance. Solid is less dense than liquid: ice floats. Transfers heat as part of ocean circulation. Transfer of water between oceans, atmosphere, surface water on land and groundwater. Part of weather processes, influenced by climate. Transfer by evaporation from storage in oceans to water storage in atmosphere (clouds) transfer of water by precipitation to storage in snow packs, glaciers, and lakes transfer by streams (flows downhill) back to storage in the oceans. Runoff collected in a channel is a stream. Rivers are just large streams: stream principles are the same regardless of the size. Streams flow downslope to their base level : base level: either another stream, basin, or ocean. The faster a stream flows, more and heavier material can be carried. Slow streams can carry only the finest material.
