1122 Lab 3(Surface Water) (1)
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Lab 3- Surface Water
GEOL 1122
Before answering the questions for each section, make sure you have watched the video(s). After
you have completed this worksheet, save it and upload it to the assignment folder for Lab 3 in iCollege. Please use your own words
to answer the questions, and include as much detail as possible
.
Lab Objectives
At the end of this lab, students should be able to:
Understand “where is water found and how much is there?” on a global scale
Name and explain major reservoirs and fluxes in the hydrologic cycle
Know the distinguishing features of wetlands and ponds/lakes
Understand how river velocity and sediment transportation capacity changes along a river
network and why this changes.
Understand the importance of urban stormwater infrastructure and how it relates to social
and environmental justice or the lack thereof Part 1: Introduction
To answer these questions, first watch the “Lab 3, Part 1: Introduction” video on iCollege. Please
answer the questions in your own words.
1)
Hypothesize a process by which water from the ocean moves to the land surface. Please give a detailed answer with your reasoning fully explained. (4 pts) On a really hot day water from the ocean evaporates in the air, goes through the process of condensation,goes into the atmosphere and eventually goes
through the precipitation process. The precipitation process for example can be rain. The rain falls and lands on a land surface.
2)
Pick three of the fluxes listed on the right side of this slide. For each of the three fluxes you pick, please search the internet to explain the process, in addition to naming the two reservoirs involved. In other words, your answer needs to include the starting and ending reservoirs for this process
. (4 pts) Infiltration ; starting reservoir atmosphere - ending reservoir ocean .
Evaporation ; Lakes starting reservoir ending reservoir atmosphere .
Precipitation ; starting reservoir is atmosphere and ending reservoir is ocean .
The given answers in the answer attached section in the attachment is confirmed to meet the required standards .
3)
Use the internet to find a lake or wetland in the state of Georgia. Please write a thoughtful, well-developed paragraph (of at least five sentences) describing this lake or wetland. Important things to include are: (1) How and when did this feature form? (2) What organisms use this feature as a habitat? (3) what social, historical, or economic functions does this feature serve? (6 pts)
Lake Lanier
is a reservoir located in Georgia's northern region. It was built in 1956 when the Chattahoochee River's Buford Dam was completed, and it is also fed by the Chestatee River. The lake, which was established in 1956, acts as a water storage and flood control reservoir. To flood the 38,000 acres slated to become Lake Lanier, the government had to evict nearly 250 households, over a dozen businesses, and more than 20 cemeteries. During the summer, the lake is home to green-backed herons, Canada geese, kingfishers, ospreys, and great blue herons. Squirrels, wild turkeys, rabbits, and white-tailed deer can all be found in the woodland that surrounds the lake. The lake serves a variety of tasks, including hydroelectricity, navigation, flood mitigation, wildlife conservation, and water supply; however, most locals rave about the fishing, boating, and parks that make up the 38,000 acres of the
Lake.
4)
Please answer whether or not you think you live within a watershed (please explain your reasoning
). (2 pts)
The town where I live is in Pacific, Missouri where the Meramec River flows. Since this river empties into the Mississippi River at Arnold, Missouri, the Meramec River watershed is also part of the Mississippi River watershed which itself is a part of the basin that drains into the Gulf of Mexico along with the Rio Grande.
5)
Please hypothesize whether or not it is possible for a piece of land to be part of more than
one watershed simultaneously (fully explain your reasoning). (4 pts)
It is not possible for a piece of land to be part of more than one watershed. This is because I think the land can only drain towards one reservoir. I believe some watersheds can combine as the water drains to one area, like a
stream, so more than one watershed can go towards a reservoir, but a piece of land can only be part of one watershed. Also ,Climate has a significant impact on watershed forest ecosystems, streamflow intensity and scheduling, water levels, and a variety of other important watersheds.
Part 2: Why Do Rivers Curve?
Watch the linked YouTube video “Why do Rivers Curve” in its entirety to answer these questions in your own words
.
6)
According to the video, how are mountain streams different from rivers and streams that run through plains? (4 pts) Mountain streams are different than those that run through plains because mountain streams fall down steep mountain sides and the area is a lot rockier . It would be harder for the mountain streams to move freely as they are rapidly falling down . Rivers in plains move less rapidly and have softer soil that they can easily carve out and move freely into whatever course
7)
Explain the process by which streams/rivers running through flat areas begin to curve. Please use as much detail as possible, and make sure to include the role that water velocity plays (i.e., make sure to describe how water velocity is different in different parts of the stream/river). (4 pts) The rivers in flat areas begin to curve when there is a disturbance on the side banks of the rivers. The river will then start taking away the dirt and sediments there and it will take more and more as time goes by. Overtime, the flow of the river will be diverted onto one side and curve as the other side of that bank water will flow slower. Because it is not moving as fast, the sediment on that side will slowly fill up with sediments and builds up until it becomes new land on that bank. The water will then flow down and its high velocity will hit the other side of the banks, where the other bank water
flow will be slower. The slower side will also have more soil deposition since the velocity is slower and overtime create new land again. The water on the other side of the bank will hit the banks repeated due to is fast velocity and overtime carve into the banks
8)
What is the relationship between the width of a stream/river and the distance between consecutive meanders? If the width of a stream is 3 meters, what is the expected length of
one S-shaped meander in this stream (explain how this was calculated)? (4 pts) The bigger the width of a river, the longer it will take to meander. The length of one S shape meander is 6 times the width of the channel. So if the width is 3 meters, the S shape meander will be 18 meters.
9)
Explain the formation of an oxbow lake in as much detail as possible. (4 pts) Oxbow lakes form as the river continues to meander and curve it will eventually meet itself. Once it meets itself, the river will then follow a straighter path downhill and will not have that "slingshot" velocity of it bumping and taking sediments away from the banks. The super curved
area will slowly close off from the river and form a lake since it is no longer connected to the river. The river will then continue on its course
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and continue to meander again until it gets super curved and meet each other again to form a new oxbow lake.
Part 3: Streamflow
Watch the linked YouTube video “Streamflow” in its entirety to answer these questions in your own words.
10) Please define the following terms: headwaters, tributary, main channel, and delta/mouth. (4 pts) Headwaters- High elevated source of a streams flow of water
Tributary- small streams of water that collect into a stream
main channel- the thickest part of the stream
delta/mouth- Where sand and water are deposited creating a wide triangle shaped exit for the water to flow.
11) Please explain how sediment grain size changes from the headwaters to the mouth of a river system. Make sure to include how water velocity is involved with this. (4 pts) As we move from the headwaters region to the river's mouth, the grain size generally decreases. This has to do with the river's velocity, which is a function of the gradient.
Rivers originate in mountainous areas with steeper slopes. In these areas, the water flows faster down the stream, and erosion is more prevalent. Because faster flowing water has more energy, it can transport larger grain sizes like boulders, gravel, and pebbles. As the river flows downstream, it reaches plains, where the velocity of the water decreases and it can no longer carry large grain sizes, only coarse sand and smaller. Rivers move very slowly and have almost no energy near the mouth of the river, in deltas and meandering rivers, and can only carry fine sand, silt, and clay sized particles. Deposition is more prominent in these regions, and
we see features like point bars forming.
12) Pause the video at the Hjulstrom Diagram presented at 3:54 and predict what will happen (at a flow velocity of 1 cm/second) for clay, silt, sand, and gravel (i.e., whether each of these will be transported, eroded, or deposited, or a combination). (4 pts) Clay particles are transported
Silt particles are transported and possible deposited some
Sand particles will be deposited and possible transported for some
Gravel particles will be deposited
13) List the reasons given in the video for why stream velocity generally increases with distance downstream (4 pts) Stream velocity typically increases with distance
downstream because of the increase in channel size and the decrease of the roughness in the channel. With less obstacles in the river, the water will have an easier time to flow and could be encouraged to flow fast since nothing is in its way
14) First, give the definition of a hydrograph. (Note that while this video shows a period of months on the x-axis, hydrographs can be generated for any time period.) The graph below shows a hydrograph for a single storm event at Snapfinger Creek near Decatur, Georgia. The x-axis represents minutes since the start of the storm event. The y-axis represents discharge in units of cubic feet per second (although not metric, this is a unit for streamflow commonly used by the US Geological Survey). Using the diagram, locate peak discharge on this hydrograph and estimate the approximate magnitude (amount) of this discharge, as well as the approximate minute since the start of the storm event that this peak discharge occurred. (4 pts) A hydrograph is a graph that measures the discharge versus time past a specific point in a river. The peak discharge of this graph is at around 230 CFS near the beginning of the
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USGS 02203950 (December 28, 2012)
Time (minutes)
Discharge (CFS)
Part 4: Atlanta’s Proctor Creek
Read the linked article on iCollege in its entirety to answer these questions in your own words.
18) Summarize the reasons given in this article for the flooding problems and pollution that have long been associated with Proctor Creek. In your answer, hypothesize about how hydrologic processes in this watershed (that is mostly covered by concrete) are different from those in a forested watershed (hint: think about some of the fluxes listed in the introduction video) (4 pts) The flooding and pollution problem is due to a developed area being where the headwaters are located. The downtown area is also located in a low-lying area that is below street level. The sewer systems are also outdated, so the pipes go directly into the creeks. So, when it rains, the pipes are overwhelmed and polluted the streams and then floods the streets. This is a lot different than forested water sheds because concrete watersheds are not able to drain water into the ground easily. As a result, concrete watershed will lead to more flooding. On the contrary, forest watersheds are known for regulating streamflow, can seep up storm water runoff, and add to the groundwater. The trees can also remove pollutants from the
water, unlike the tree-less urban setting that just creates pools of polluted water. 19) The US EPA defines the term "Environmental Justice" as follows: Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national
origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and
19) The US EPA defines the term “Environmental Justice” as follows: Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. EPA has this goal for all communities and persons across this Nation. It will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work. Using this definition, write a well-developed paragraph (at least five sentences) about how residents in the neighborhoods comprising the Proctor Creek watershed have historically and are currently experiencing environmental injustice (8 pts) The pollution created by spilling sewage that is untreated flowing into waterways is causing injustice in the Proctor Creek community.
Providing unsafe areas where people would have to evacuate due to sewage waste that have overflowed and flooded the community. Furthermore, the towns no longer have access to the creek as they formerly did (people played in the creek, fished, and learned to swim). Over the years, some work has been done to restore the creek, but it has not been completely fixed. The people who live near the creek have been pleading for more and more work to be done.
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