Surface and Ground water Chapter 11 Hydrologic Cycle Streams Stream is a term for all water flowing in a channel regardless of the size creek, rivers, brooks arrollos. Tributaries small feed streams. Two types of Flow Laminar Flow Turbulent Flow Laminar flow: The streamlines of the flowing water are parallel to e< other, moving in straight lines, and the water is not mixed. The surfc of laminar flowing water is relatively flat and undisturbed. Turbulent flow: The streamlines and the water are all mixed togeth< The surface of a turbulent flow of water is choppy and disrupted. Measuring stream Characteristics Gradient (elevationdistance) ( ft/milies, meters/Km) Velocity V (distancetime) (m/sec, ft/sec) Discharge Q (Volumetime) (ft 3 /sec) * Shape and roughness (Bed channel floor) (Banks sides of the channel) Sediment Transport Suspended Load Bed Load Dissolved Load Erosion As streams flow toward the sea, they erode rocks and sediment, three common processes erode a stream channel. Abrasion Hydraulic lifting Dissolution Drainage Basins FIGURE Most of the surface water in the United States flows to the sea from approximately a dozen major streams. Drainage Patters 3 Types of stream channels patters Braided stream Meander stream Straight stream channels Sinuosity of a stream Stream Deposition Levees Backswamps Alluvial fans Deltas Amazon river Delta Mississippi Delta GROUNDWATER Porosity ( %) A measure of the amount of space between particles, porosity is expressed as the percentage of total volume Permeability Describes how easily water can move through the rock or sediment. It is determined by both the porosity and how well the spaces are connected ( to allow flow from one space to another ) Groundwater Springs Spring Karst Topography Caves