Slide 1

Water covers 71% of Earths surface and is the dominant agent governing environmental processes. The rates of human usage of water outpace the natural rates of renewal.

Slide 2

Slide 3

Transpiration above the Amazon rainforest Plant stomata

Slide 4

Runoff Enters Channels that Join Other Channels to Form a Drainage System.

Slide 5

Drainage Systems Stream is a flowing body of water following a channel. A River is a major branch of a stream system. A Drainage System is a network of channels. The total area feeding water to a stream is the Watershed.

Slide 6

Flow A is cross-sectional area (m 2 ). V is flow velocity (m/s). Q is stream discharge (volume/time: m 3 /s). Q = AV Discharge Is the Amount of Water Passing a Given Point in a Measured Period of Time.

Slide 7

The amount of water in a rivers watershed increases downstream, with the addition of tributaries.

Slide 8

Characteristics of Channels Gradient Discharge Sediment load Base level

Slide 9

Running Water Erodes Sediment. Maximum Flow Velocity Suspended Load Bed Load Dissolved Load Ca, Cl, Na, Mg, K

Slide 10

Meandering Channel

Slide 11

Cut-off meander bends form Oxbow Lakes.

Slide 12

Braided Channel

Slide 13

Flooding Is a Natural Process in Healthy Streams

Slide 14

Floodplain Features

Slide 15

Fluvial Landscape Evolution

Slide 16

Stream Piracy Base Level Dams

Slide 17

Fluvial Sediment Builds Alluvial Fans and Deltas.

Slide 18

Delta Terminology