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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 ...
It is most often measured in meters per day but can also be measured in other units of distance over time if necessary. [1] The infiltration capacity decreases as the soil moisture content of soils surface layers increases. If the precipitation rate exceeds the infiltration rate, runoff will usually occur unless there is some physical barrier.
A runoff footprint is the total surface runoff that a site produces over the course of a year. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stormwater is "rainwater and melted snow that runs off streets, lawns, and other sites". [ 1 ]
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 ...
In this way depressions intended to trap runoff water—before it flows to vulnerable water resources—can connect underground over time. Cavitation of surfaces above into the tunnels, results in potholes or caves. Deeper ponding exerts pressure that forces water into the ground faster. Faster flow dislodges contaminants otherwise adsorbed on ...
The runoff curve number (also called a curve number or simply CN) is an empirical parameter used in hydrology for predicting direct runoff or infiltration from rainfall excess. [1] The curve number method was developed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service , which was formerly called the Soil Conservation Service or SCS — the ...
Runoff can also induce bioaccumulation and biomagnification of toxins in ocean life. Small amounts of heavy metals are carried by runoff into the oceans, which can accumulate within aquatic animals to cause metal poisoning. This heavy metal poisoning can also affect humans, since ingesting a poisoned animal increases the risk of heavy metal ...
Streamflow, or channel runoff, is the flow of water in streams and other channels, and is a major element of the water cycle. It is one runoff component, the movement of water from the land to waterbodies , the other component being surface runoff .