Catchments - Discharge

10 important questions on Catchments - Discharge

What does S0 stand for

Slope of channel bottom

What doest Rh (m) stand for?

Hydraulic radius. It is calculated: A/P

Which factors influence the amount of water a river or stream can carry?

1) the size and cross-section of the channel
2) the roughness
3) the slope of the water table
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What is the formula for discharge?

Q = v̄ x A

When is the discharge high?

When the cross-sectional area is large and the flow velocity is high Q=v x A

met Q = discharge in m^3 s^-1
v=mean flow velocity in ms^-1
A=cross-sectional area in m^2 (widthx mean depth)
(discharge is volume of water passing the cross-sectional area of a river in a certain time period)

What is the Chézy coefficient?

A measure for the conductivity, the smoothness.

When is it possible to calculate the average velocity with the empirical Chezy equation?

With stationary/steady flow (water flow in an open channel does not change in time) or with uniform flow (water flow doesn't change in space)

Chezy equation: v=C x root(S0 x Rh)
Rh=A/P

S0=slope
v=flow velocity
Rh=hydraulic radius
A=cross-sectional area
P=wetted perimeter

What is the discharge capacity?

The amount of water a channel can transport

What happens with stream restoration and what is the result of that

Straightened channels are re-meandered which results in a longer channel in which the water level decline does not increase. This results in a lower slope S0 and therefore a decrease in the flow velocity.

What is the result of an abundance of vegetation on the river banks?

A low conductivity C, which auses a low flow velocity, which may increase algae growth and negatively impact the water ecology

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