Runoff
) All particles small enough to be held
-water flowing down slope along Earth’s
surface.
Four Factors that Affect Runoff
a. Vegetation
-allow more water to enter the ground.
b.Rate of Precipitation
-water falls too quickly to soak into the
ground and becomes runoff.
c. Soil Composition
-Humus increases ability to retain
water
-high percentage of coarse particles
allows water to enter
-a high percentage of small particles
restricts the amount of water entering
the soil.
d. Slope
-The steeper the slope, the faster the
water flows.
Stream Systems
-supply of water develops, the water
begins to flow more permanently in a
channel and can become a stream.
-A large stream is called a river and all
its tributaries make up a river system.
A watershed is all of the land area
whose water drains into a stream
system.
A divide is a high land area that
separates one watershed from another.
Stream Load
-the materials that the water in a stream
carries
Three ways in which a stream carries its
load
a. ) Material is carried in solution after it
becomes dissolved in a stream’s water.
b.
up by the turbulence of a stream’s
moving water are carried in suspension
c.) Sediments that are too large or
heavy to be held up by turbulent water
are transported as a stream’s bed load
Potholes
-the abrasive action of a stream’s bed
load.
Stream Velocity
-The ability to transport material
Floodplains
-water spills over the sides of a stream’s
banks onto adjacent land.
Moving Water
-moving water carves a stream channel
-stream flows within the stream banks
Stream Valleys
-a stream actively erodes its path, it
forms a V-shaped valley.
A bend or curve in a stream channel is a
meander
Ex: Cape Fear River , Yadkin River
Water in a stream flows at different
velocities:
a. Center – maximum
b. Bottom and sides – more
slowly
c. Outside of a meander –
fastest rate of flow
d. Inside of a meander – more
slowly.
Oxbow lake
-A blocked-off meander
Despositon Sediment
-. Streams that lose velocity also lose
their ability to carry sediment
An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit ii. cypress trees
commonly found in mountains
Environmental Issues
A delta is a triangular deposit that forms
where a stream enters a large body of Three valuable functions of
water. wetlands include

Lake o the filtering of water

-a depression in land that holds water o providing a habitat for

migrating birds
- a pond is a small lake
o fish nurseries
-Reservior a manmade lake

Utah’s Great Salt Lake

Three Ways to Preserve Wetlands
-the remains of a sea
 Education
Moraine-dammed
 Conservation
-glacial melt is dammed by a moraine
 Regulation
Kettle lake
Hydrosphere
-Glacial melt in a depression created by
the glacier -the water on and in Earth’s crust

Lakes Undergo Change 97% WATER IN THE OCEAN

-. A lake will exist for a long time if it 3% LAND MASSES

gets more water than it loses
90% POLAR ICE OR GALCIERS
Eutrophication
Groundwater Storage
-excess nutrients cause the overgrowth
The percentage of pore space in a
of algae which die and decay and use
material is calle porosity
up oxygen.
The depth of the water table
Four things that can pollute lakes
varies…
o animal wastes
a. swampy areas – almost at
o phosphate detergents Earth’s surface

o industrial toxins b. arid regions – far beneath

Earth’s surface
o untreated sewage
c. hilltops – tens to hundreds
Wetland of meters beneath the
surface
-land that is soaked with water
Permeability
Three examples of wetlands
• the ability of a material to let
a. bogs water pass through it
b. marshes permeable
c. swamps -substances with large connected
pores like sand, sandstone, and
i. mangrove trees
gravel
 impermeable
-fine-grained substances like clay,
silt, and shale
aquifer is the underground storage
area for water consisting of
permeable rock layers.
aquiclude is an impermeable layer
above or below an aquifer.
Cave
-A natural underground opening with
a connection to Earth’s surface
• Carbonic acid (H2O + CO2 in
the soil)
• Limestone
Karst topography
-are limestone regions that have
sinkholes, sinks, and sinking
streams
Hard water is water that contains high
concentrations of calcium, magnesiun,
or iron.
Springs
-Ground water discharges at Earth’s
surface
-Water may flow out of a rock when an
aquifer and an aquiclude come in
contact
Hot Springs
The temperature of ground water is the
same as the average annual
temperature
- Have higher temperature than
human body.
geyser is an explosive spring that erupts
at regular intervals.
. A well is…
• a hole dug to reach a
reservoir of groundwater
10. A cone of depression is produced
by…
• the over pumping of wells
11. Drawdown is…
• the difference between the
original water table level and
that of a pumped well
12. Recharge is…
• when water from rain or
runoff is added to an aquifer
Threats to Our Water Supply
a. Overuse
b. Subsidence (sinking land over an
aquifer)
c. Pollution in groundwater (sewage,
industrial waste, landfills, agriculture)
d. Chemicals
e. Salt
f. Radon
Drawdown causes…
1. wells to go dry
2. streams to run low or go
dry
3. shallow aquifers on the coast
to get salty (This is called
salt water intrusion)
Desalination is removing salt from
seawater to make freshwater. It is not
practical due to high costs
1. Point sources
-have a single point of origin (often a
piped discharge)
2. Nonpoint sources
-come from widely spread areas and
cannot be identified and cleaned up
as easily.
Soil Resources
1) CLAY
- “layer silicates that are formed as
products of chemical weathering of
other silicate minerals at the earth's
surface. (sedimentary rock)
2) SILT
-rock worn into tiny pieces (coarser than
clay, but finer than sand). usually 1/20
millimeter or less in diameter.
3) SAND
- quartz or silica worn down over time.
grains with diameters between 0.06 mm
to 2 mm
4) ORGANICE MATTER (humus)
5) LOAM
- soil containing a mixture of clay, sand,
silt and humus. Good for growing most
crops.
CHARACTERITICS
Porosity - volume of water that “fits
between” the soil particles
Permeability - rate of flow of water
through soil
% retention - how much water is
“trapped” by soil
Porosity and Permeability are directly
related; when one is high, the other is
high as well. % water retention is
inversely related to both.
SOIL HORIZON
-O loose & partly decayed
-A mineral matter & mixed humus
-E light colored
-B accumulation of clay
-C unweathered parent material
IRRIGATION
- gravity flow
- drip irrigation
- center pivot
SALINIZATION
-salt build up in soil
WATER LOGGING
-percipitation and irrigation water
percolate downward.
Desertification
-too much cutting trees leads to
deforestation, erosion and etc.
Soil formation - Parent material is
slowly broken down by biological,
chemical and physical weathering.
Biological - Respiration of plant roots
and other organisms
produce CO2, which reacts
with soil water to produce carbonic
acid (H2CO3).
Chemical - Acids crack rocks 
water seeps in  breaks
down particles.
Physical - Weathering introduces
water that breaks down
particles.
Time scale - Formation of 2.5 cm of
topsoil takes 200 - 1000 yrs.
Soil Composition
45% Mineral particles
5% Organic matter (humus - from dead
organisms, worm castings, leaf litter)
25% Water (precipitation)
25% Air
Soil organisms - Millions in one
teaspoon of fertile agricultural soil
Ecological server
Soil Texture
Loam - ideal agricultural soil
40% sand (larger - structural
support, aeration, permeability)
 40% silt (smaller - holds nutrient
minerals and water)

20% clay (even smaller - holds

nutrient minerals and water)

Plants grown in sandy soils

More susceptible to mineral

deficiencies and drought

Plants grown in clay soils

More susceptible to waterlogging,

and oxygen depletion

pH - concentration of H+ ions

Scale - From 0 (very acidic) to 14 (very

basic, or alkaline)

pH of most healthy soils - 4 - 8

pH matters because it affects

solubility of nutrient minerals

Causes of changes - acid rain,

decomposition, leaf litter, mining (acid
sulfate soils)

Remediation

- Too high pH, add acidic leaf litter

- Too low pH, add lime

Organic - animal manure, bone meal,

compost (slow-acting, long-lasting)

Inorganic - Manufactured from

chemical compounds (fast-acting,
short-lasting)

(NPK) soil nutrients