Thonyrose Sanflor Rheinwil ‘Maxene’ A.

Pilota
Schuselle ‘Elle’ P. Rayno
BSED CHEM-1

Start off Maxene:

Good day! Today we're gonna talk about STREAMS AND FLOODS. By the way, I am
Thonyrose Sanflor Rheinwil A. Pilota but you can call me Maxene for short and I’m with
Schuselle Rayno, and I think you can call her Elle. Without much fuss, we’re gonna start off with
a question:

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT STREAMS? AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT
FLOODS?

BUT, BEFORE THAT, HOW IMPORTANT IS WATER CYCLE? WHAT IS WATER

CYCLE?

We're just gonna explore a little about the water cycle.

Precipitation, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is a vital

component of how water moves through Earth’s water cycle, connecting the ocean, land, and
atmosphere. Knowing where it rains, how much it rains and the character of the falling rain,
snow or hail allows scientists to better understand precipitation’s impact on streams, rivers,
surface runoff and groundwater. Frequent and detailed measurements help scientists make
models of and determine changes in Earth’s water cycle.

The water cycle describes how water evaporates from the surface of the earth, rises into the
atmosphere, cools and condenses into rain or snow in clouds, and falls again to the surface as
precipitation. The water falling on land collects in rivers and lakes, soil, and porous layers of
rock, and much of it flows back into the oceans, where it will once more evaporate. Water
cycling in and out of the atmosphere is an important part of Earth's weather patterns..

So we’re gonna go back to the start off question:

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT STREAMS? AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT
FLOODS?

Do you have any ideas? So when we’re gonna talk about streams, I know you know the phrase
such as any flowing body of water along Earth’s surface. And, yes that is correct!
Streams have a major role in geology. Eroding, carrying, and depositing sediment, streams shape
the earth's surface. By eroding sediment from uplifted areas and creating landforms made of
deposited sediment in lower areas, streams shape the earth’s surface more than glaciers do, more
than waves on a beach do, and far more than wind does.

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WHAT IS STREAM?

Stream is a body of water that flows on Earth’s surface. And, are constantly in motion. So,
according to the Geologist, they recognize many categories of streams depending on their size,
depth, speed, and location. Creeks, brooks, tributaries, bayous, and rivers might all be lumped
together as streams. Most valleys on earth are the product of streams, streams erode dirt and
rocks, transport the sediment and redeposit it in new locations, shaping the earth’s surface into a
system of stream valleys. Gravity pulls streams downhill. High hills provide greater gravitational
energy for the stream.Where the slopes are steepest and the hills the highest, the streams will be
the most energetic and the rate of erosion will be fastest.

PARTS OF A STREAM

A stream originates at its source. A source could be a spring or a high mountain where snow
accumulates in winter and melts in summer.. The source is known as the headwaters or the head
of the stream. A stream can have multiple sources, and a confluence occurs when two streams
meet. The smaller stream feeds the larger stream. A stream may create a pool where water slows
and becomes deeper. The point at which a stream comes into a large body of water, like an ocean
or a lake is called the mouth.

A divide is a topographically high area that separates a landscape into different water basins.
Rain that falls on the north side of a ridge flows into the northern drainage basin and rain that
falls on the south side flows into the southern drainage basin. On a much grander scale, entire
continents have divides, known as continental divides.

STREAM ORDER

It is common for one stream to flow into another. The smaller of the two streams is a tributary of
the larger stream. A stream with no tributaries is a first order stream. A stream with only
first-order tributaries is a second order stream. A stream that has any second-order tributaries and
none higher is a third-order stream, and so on. The Mississippi River is a tenth order stream, one
of the highest order streams on earth. As more and more tributaries join together a larger stream
network is formed and the master stream, the highest order stream in the system, has a discharge
that is the sum of all the tributary discharges. When flooding occurs, higher order streams take
longer to build up to flood stage than lower order streams and longer for the flood to subside.

SEDIMENT LOAD

The water flowing in streams erodes, transports, and deposits sediment. Most rocks and minerals
are much denser than water. Sufficient energy in the stream is required to dislodge rocks from the
earth and move them. The faster a stream flows, the more energy it has and the larger pieces of
sediment it can transport. The competence of a stream refers to the maximum size of the pieces
of sediment it can move. Faster-moving water has greater competence and can move larger
pieces of sediment.
The capacity of a stream is the total amount of sediment it can move. Capacity depends on how
fast the stream is moving and its total discharge. As a stream slows down, its competence and
capacity are reduced. The stream starts to deposit sediment, beginning with the largest pieces.
Several factors cause a stream to slow down, including the stream channel widening, the stream
overflowing its banks and spreading into a floodplain, the stream gradient (downhill slope)
diminishing, and the stream emptying into a larger, slower moving body of water.
Streams transport clastic sediment in two ways depending on the size of the particles. The
coarser sediment is called bed load and consists of particles too large to be suspended in the
moving current of water for an extended length of time. The bedload particles, the largest
particles of sediment transported by a stream, spend most of their time on the bottom of the
stream channel, rolling, sliding, or bouncing downstream in fits and starts. The finer sediment is
called suspended load and consists of particles small enough to be suspended in the moving
current of water. Suspended load moves at about the same rate as the flowing water. In a muddy
river, the mud is suspended load.

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EROSION AND DEPOSITION BY RIVERS AND STREAMS

Erosion from Runoff----As streams move over the ground, they transport weathered materials.
Streams continually erode material away from their banks, especially along the outside curves of
meanders.

Some of these materials are carried in solution. Many minerals are ionic compounds that dissolve
easily in water, so water moves these elements to the sea as part of the dissolved load that the
stream carries.

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Stream and River Erosion --- As a stream moves water from high elevations, like mountains,
towards low elevations, like the ocean, which is at sea level, the work of the stream changes. At
high elevations, streams are just beginning streams that have small channels and steep gradients.
This means that the stream will have a high velocity and will do lots of work eroding its stream
bed. The higher the elevation, the farther the stream is from where it eventually meets the sea.
Base level is the term for where a stream meets sea level or standing water, like a lake or the
ocean. Streams will work to downcut their stream beds until they reach base level.

As a stream moves out of high mountainous areas into lower

areas closer to sea level, the stream is closer to its base level
and does more work eroding the edges of its banks than
downcutting into its stream bed. At some point in most
streams, there are curves or bends in the stream channel called
meanders.

The stream erodes material along its outer banks and deposits
material along the inside curves of a meander as it flows to the
ocean. This causes these meanders to migrate laterally over time. The erosion of the outside edge
of the stream’s banks begins the work of carving a floodplain, which is a flat level area
surrounding the stream channel.

Stream and River Deposition---Once a stream nears the ocean, it is very close to its base level
and now deposits more materials than it erodes. As you just learned, one place where a river
deposits material is along the inside edges of meanders. If you ever decide to pan for gold or
look for artifacts from an older town or civilization, you will sift through these deposits. Gold is
one of the densest elements on Earth. Streams are lazy and never want to carry more materials
than absolutely necessary. It will drop off the heaviest and largest particles first, that is why you
might find gold in a stream deposit.

There are three types of beds that make up a delta. Delta occurs when a river meets either
standing water or nearly flat lying ground, it will deposit its load. From its headwaters in the
mountains, along a journey of many kilometers, rivers carry the eroded materials that form their
stream load. Suddenly the river slows down tremendously in velocity, and drops the tremendous
load of sediments it has been carrying.

Deltas are important landforms to civilization. They provide fertile soils, flat land, and water for
agriculture, as well as river channels for transportation.

Not all large rivers form deltas as they meet the ocean. Whether a delta forms depends on the
action of waves and tides. If the water is quiet water such as a gulf or shallow sea, a delta may
form. If the sediments are carried away, then no delta will form.

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If a river or stream suddenly reaches nearly flat ground, like a broad flat valley or plain, an
alluvial fan develops at the base of the slope. An alluvial fan is a curved top, fan shaped deposit
of coarse sediments that drop off as the stream suddenly loses velocity. Mostly built during flash
floods, and are easy to recognize in arid areas but they form in wetter climates as well.
The fan spreads out in a curve in the direction of the flat land as many stream channels move
across the curved surface of the alluvial fan, forming and reforming many channels as sediments
are deposited. Alluvial fans generally form in more arid regions.

This satellite photo of

an alluvial fan in Iran
shows the typical fan
shape of these deposits.
The stream forming the
alluvial fan runs from
the mountains in the
southwest (lower left)
corner of the
photograph toward the
flatter land to the
northeast (upper right).
The green rectangles
are farm fields which
utilize the distributed
water.

WHAT IS FLOOD?

Floods are a natural part of the water cycle, but they can be terrifying forces of destruction. Put
most simply, a flood is an overflow of water in one place. Floods can occur for a variety of
reasons, and their effects can be minimized in several different ways. Perhaps unsurprisingly,
floods tend to affect low-lying areas most severely.

FLOODPLAINS

Streams build floodplains through a combination of erosion and deposition at lower gradient
stretches of stream valleys. Although a floodplain has a general downhill slope consistent with
the overall stream gradient, a floodplain is relatively flat.

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FLOODING AND FLOOD FREQUENCY

Streams naturally flood. During floods, streams erode, move, and deposit sediments at a faster
rate. The water level in a stream exceeds the depth of the stream channel, causing flooding.
Different streams have different flood behaviors. Some rivers tend to have an annual flood
associated with a rainy season or snowmelt season in the higher part of the drainage area. Some
streams only flood sporadically, often with years between floods.

Low-order streams can flood quickly during or after heavy rain. Flash floods are quick floods.
Intuitive flash floods are rare. A flash flood can cause damage kilometers away from the source
of the rain if the water flows far enough along a dry streambed. People may be walking along a
stream in the canyon in the sunshine and not realize that a rainstorm is occuring at the stream's
source. A flash flood in the canyon may startle them. Major streams are monitored, and water
from heavy rainfall or fast melting snow takes longer to pass through the higher order stream
system.

When a dam breaks along a reservoir, flooding can be catastrophic. High water levels have also
caused small dams to break, wreaking havoc downstream. People try to protect areas that might
flood with dams, and dams are usually very effective.

After many floods, a stream builds natural levees along its banks.
Source from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/earthscience/chapter/water-erosion/

Changes to the land in the drainage area of a stream, such as the addition of buildings and roads,
can change how a stream floods. Buildings and pavement that cover the ground prevent
infiltration and cause increased surface runoff. Increased stream runoff means a smaller amount
of rain will cause the stream to reach flood stage than before the alterations to the land. The
stream will flood more frequently. For the same amount and rate of rainfall that caused flooding
prior to building, the stream will reach flood stage quicker and the flood will be deeper.
Source from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-types-of-streams-and-rivers/

The diagram above shows the flood response of a stream to a given amount of rainfall before and
after the stream drainage area was urbanized by removal of forest and addition of buildings and
roads. After urbanization, the stream reaches its peak flood level quicker and rises to a higher
level than before urbanization. Unless countermeasures are engineered and installed, an
urbanized area will flood more frequently and severely than the same area when it was forested.

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Not all the consequences of flooding are negative.

Floods are also responsible for moving large amounts of sediments about within streams. These
sediments provide habitats for animals, and the periodic movement of sediment is crucial to the
lives of several types of organisms. Plants and fish along the Colorado River, for example,
depend on seasonal flooding to rearrange sand bars.

Source from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/earthscience/chapter/floods/

And, that’s all for today’s report. If you wanna know more about these topics, the reporters will
just send you the references and the pdf that we have gathered. Again, have a great day ahead. I
am looking forward to the next reporter, I am Maxene with Elle bidding you a good bye. God
bless and Ciao!
References:

Borgia.2020. National Geographic. Streams. Retrieved from

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/stream/#:~:text=A%20stream%20is%20a%20
body,rivers%20 usually%20 describe%20larger%20streams.&text=These%20 smaller%20
Kammerer. 1987. United States Geological Survey. River, Streams, and Creeks. Retrived from
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/rivers-streams-and-creeks?qt-sc
ience_center_objects=3#qt-science_center_objects
Winter. 1998. United States Geological Survey. Groundwater and Surface Water. Retrieved from
https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1139/pdf/circ1139.pdf
Caissie. 2012. ResearchGate. Water Bodies. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258422827_Water_Bodies
Senarathne. 2008. Department of Institutional Development National Institute of Education.
Learning to live with Floods; Natural Hazards and Disaster. Retrieved from
https://www.preventionweb.net/files/25232_25101floodsenglish1.pdf
Lumen Learning. N.d. Reading: Types of Stream And Rivers. Retrieved from
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/geo/chapter/reading-types-of-streams-and-rivers/
Lumen Learning. N.d. Streams and Rivers. Retrieved from
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/earthscience/chapter/water-erosion/
Lumen Learning. N.d. Floods. Retrieved from
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/earthscience/chapter/floods/