Watersheds_Hydrology_and_W..docx

Stream Hydrology, watersheds and budgets 29 September 2011 Hydrological Cycle Evapotranspirtation: water given off by plants Lateral movement across surface to body of water W = water content r = retention time (amount of time the average water molecule resides in a body of water before moving to a new one) Watershed (drainage basin/catchment) Area of land that intercepts and drains precipitation and collects water for a particular stream, lake or other body of water Funnels water to divines bodies of water Fluxes = movement of some unit per unit time Watersheds are mosaics of land use Includes the standing bodies and flowing water into the lakes and ponds Residence times Hydraulic Water Residence times: length of time required to completely flush a water body May also be expressed in mass units (for water or any solute) Groundwater vast majority of fresh water on earth Know the general components of a water budget last slide on page 6 Which of the components of the water budget is easy: rain fall hard: evapotranspiration West basin of Long Lake, Wi Added a dyke to the lake splitting it half and now researchers are able to manipulate one side and not the other. Add some type of tracer (Bromide) to lake and measure the decline over time and you will be able to measure the replacement time of the lake Mirror lake Dimictic Lake (two turnovers a year (fall and spring usually) Part of the Hubbard Brook LTER program No groundwater input because granite tight water sheds