The drainage basin as a system
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Question
Define drainage basin.
Answer
The **area of land drained by a river and its tributaries** — the catchment, bounded by the watershed.
Question
What is the watershed?
Answer
The **boundary of a drainage basin** — the high ground separating one basin from the next.
Question
Why is a drainage basin an open system?
Answer
Both water and energy **cross its boundary in and out** — rain enters; water leaves as discharge and evapotranspiration.
Question
Name the four parts of the basin system.
Answer
**Inputs** (precipitation), **stores**, **flows/transfers**, and **outputs** (evapotranspiration, river discharge).
Question
List the main stores in a drainage basin.
Answer
**Interception**, **surface storage**, **soil water**, **groundwater** and **channel storage**.
Question
List the main flows in a drainage basin.
Answer
**Infiltration**, **throughflow**, **overland flow**, **percolation** and **base flow**.
Question
What is the water-balance equation?
Answer
**Precipitation = evapotranspiration + run-off +/- change in storage.**
Question
Fastest vs slowest flow to the river?
Answer
**Overland flow** is fastest; **throughflow** slower; **base flow** (groundwater) slowest.
Question
Why does interception storage stop rising in a storm?
Answer
Leaf surfaces have a **storage limit** — once full, no more rain can be intercepted and it passes to the ground.
Question
How does urban development change the system?
Answer
Impermeable surfaces cut **infiltration** and storage; drains and bare ground raise **overland flow** — a faster response.
Question
Name the two outputs of a drainage basin.
Answer
**Evapotranspiration** (to the air) and **river discharge** (to the sea).
Question
One strength and one weakness of the systems approach?
Answer
Strength: it shows **interrelationships** and predicts discharge/land-use effects. Weakness: it is a **simplification** with fuzzy boundaries and patchy data.
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Topic 7.1 hub
Drainage basin hydrology and geomorphology
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