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Runoff is the flow of water across the earth, and is a major component in the hydrological cycle. Runoff that flows over land before reaching a watercourse is referred to as surface runoff or overland flow. Once in a watercourse, runoff is referred to as streamflow, channel runoff, or river runoff. Urban runoff is surface runoff created by ...
A runoff models or rainfall-runoff model describes how rainfall is converted into runoff in a drainage basin (catchment area or watershed). More precisely, it produces a surface runoff hydrograph in response to a rainfall event, represented by and input as a hyetograph. Rainfall-runoff models need to be calibrated before they can be used.
In hydrology, run-on refers to surface runoff from an external area that flows on to an area of interest. A portion of run-on can infiltrate once it reaches the area of interest. Run-on is common in arid and semi-arid areas with patchy vegetation cover and short but intense thunderstorms. In these environments, surface runoff is usually ...
Surface runoff is defined as precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, or hail [5]) that reaches a surface stream without ever passing below the soil surface. [6] It is distinct from direct runoff, which is runoff that reaches surface streams immediately after rainfall or melting snowfall and excludes runoff generated by the melting of snowpack or ...
Subsurface water may return to the surface in groundwater flow, such as from a spring, seep, or a water well, or subsurface return to streams, rivers, and oceans.Water returns to the land surface at a lower elevation than where infiltration occurred, under the force of gravity or gravity induced pressures.
The reason unimpaired runoff is important is because long-term hydrologic records are often used to develop relationships between precipitation, runoff, and water supply. By removing changes in the timing between precipitation and runoff due to human influences, the long-term relationships will be more useful.
In hydrology, snowmelt is surface runoff produced from melting snow. It can also be used to describe the period or season during which such runoff is produced. Water produced by snowmelt is an important part of the annual water cycle in many parts
Catchment hydrology is the study of hydrology in drainage basins. Catchments are areas of land where runoff collects to a specific zone. This movement is caused by water moving from areas of high energy to low energy due to the influence of gravity .