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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 ...
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 ...
The runoff footprint is the stormwater equivalent to the carbon/energy footprint. When homeowners or business owners complete an energy audit or carbon footprint, they understand how they are consuming energy and learn how this consumption can be reduced through energy efficiency measures.
If the precipitation rate exceeds the infiltration rate, runoff will usually occur unless there is some physical barrier. Infiltrometers, parameters and rainfall simulators are all devices that can be used to measure infiltration rates. [2] Infiltration is caused by multiple factors including; gravity, capillary forces, adsorption, and osmosis.
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 ...
Wet, saturated soils will not be able to absorb as much rainwater, leading to higher levels of surface runoff and thus higher erosivity for a given volume of rainfall. [45] [46] Soil compaction also affects the permeability of the soil to water, and hence the amount of water that flows away as runoff. More compacted soils will have a larger ...
The runoff from the land flows into streams and rivers and discharges into the ocean, which completes the global cycle. [26] The water cycle is a key part of Earth's energy cycle through the evaporative cooling at the surface which provides latent heat to the atmosphere, as atmospheric systems play a primary role in moving heat upward.
Toggle Factors affecting groundwater recharge subsection. 3.1 Climate change. ... The larger the relative contributing runoff area is, the more focused infiltration is.