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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 ...
Surface runoff often occurs because impervious areas (such as roofs and pavement) do not allow water to soak into the ground. Furthermore, runoff can occur either through natural or human-made processes. [1] Surface runoff is a major component of the water cycle. It is the primary agent of soil erosion by water.
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, 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 ...
In hydrology, residence times can be estimated in two ways. [citation needed] The more common method relies on the principle of conservation of mass (water balance) and assumes the amount of water in a given reservoir is roughly constant. With this method, residence times are estimated by dividing the volume of the reservoir by the rate by ...
Surface-water hydrology is the sub-field of hydrology concerned with above-earth water (surface water), in contrast to groundwater hydrology that deals with water below the surface of the Earth. Its applications include rainfall and runoff , the routes that surface water takes (for example through rivers or reservoirs ), and the occurrence of ...
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 .
Rain falling over a drainage basin in Scotland.Understanding the cycling of water into, through, and out of catchments is a key element of hydrology. Hydrology (from Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr) 'water' and -λογία () 'study of') is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and ...