2375218
Description
Flashcards by Clare Magor, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Clare Magor
about 9 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| Channel | The part of the river valley occupied by the water itself |
| Hydraulic action | The power of the volume of water moving in the river |
| Abrasion | Occurs when larger load carried by the river hits the bed and banks, causing bits to break off |
| Attrition | Load carried by the river knocks into other parts of the load, so bits break off and make the material smaller |
| Solution | The dissolving of certain types of rock such as chalk and limestone by rainwater. This is a means of transportation as well as an erosion process |
| Load | Material of any size carried by the river |
| Traction | The rolling along of the largest rocks and boulders |
| Saltation | The bouncing movement of small stones and grains of sand along the river bed |
| Suspension | Small material carried within the river |
| Long profile | A line representing the course of the river from its source (relatively high up) to its mouth where it ends, usually in a lake or the sea, and the changes in height along its course |
| Cross profile | A line that represents what it would be like to walk from one side of a valley, across the channel and up the other side |
| Waterfall | The sudden, and often vertical, drop of a river along its course |
| Gorge | A narrow, steep-sided valley. |
| Meander | A bend or curve in the river channel, often becoming sinuous where the loops are exaggerated |
| Oxbow lake | A horseshoe or semi-circular area that represents the former course of a meander. Oxbow lakes are cut off from a supply of water and so will eventually become dry. |
| Floodplain | The flat area adjacent to the river channel, especially in the lower part of the course. This is created as a natural area for water to spill onto when the river reaches the top of its banks |
| Levees | Raised banks along the course of the river in its lower course. They are formed naturally but can be artificially increased in height |
| Discharge | The volume of water passing a given point in a river at any moment in time |
| Drainage basin | Area from which a river gets its water. The boundary is marked by an imaginary line of highland known as a watershed |
| Flood or storm hydrograph | A line graph drawn to show the discharge in a river in the aftermath of a period of rain |
| Flashy | A hydrograph that responds quickly to a period of rain so that it characteristically has a high peak and a short lag time |
| Relief | Height and slope of the land |
| Impermeable | Rock that does not allow water to soak into it |
| Porous | Rock that has spaces (pores) between particles |
| Pervious | Rock that allows water to pass through it via vertical joints and horizontal bedding planes |
| Deforestation | Cutting down trees |
| Urbanisation | The increase in the proportion of people living in cities, resulting in their growth |
| Floods | These occur when a river carries so much water that it cannot be contained by its banks and so it overflows on to surrounding land – its floodplain |
| Hazard | An event that occurs where people’s lives and property are threatened and deaths and/or damage result |
| Soil erosion | The removal of the layer of soil above the rock where plants grow |
| Hard engineering | This strategy involves the use of technology in order to try to control rivers |
| Soft engineering | This option tries to work within the constraints of the natural river system and involves avoiding building on areas especially likely to flood, warning people of an impending flood and planting trees to increase lag time |
| Multi-purpose project | A large-scale venture with more than one aim. Many water projects relate to flood control, water supply, irrigation and navigation |
| Straightening meanders | These occur when the natural curve in a river’s course is left as the river follows an artificially more direct course that has been created for it, speeding up its flow out of an area |
| Floodplain zoning | Controlling what is built on the floodplain so that areas that are at risk of flooding have low-value land uses |
| Economic | This relates to costs and finances at a variety of scales, from individuals up to government |
| Social | This category refers to people’s health, their lifestyle, community, etc |
| Environmental | This is the impact on our surroundings, including the land, water and air as well as features of the built up areas |
| Water Stress | This occurs when the amount of water available does not meet that required. This may be due to an inadequate supply at a particular time or it may relate to water quality |
| Areas of deficit | Locations where the rain that falls does not provide enough water on a permanent basis. Shortages may occur under certain conditions, e.g. long periods without rain. |
| Areas of surplus | Areas that have more water than is needed – often such as areas receive a high rainfall total, but have a relatively small population |
| Sustainable | Ensuring that the provision of water is long term and that supplies can be maintained without harming the environment |
| Conservation | The thought use of resources; managing the landscape in order to protect existing ecosystems and cultural features |
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