A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P R S T U V W

Aggrade - to fill and raise the level of a stream bed by deposition of sediment.

Alluvium - sediment deposited by flowing rivers and consisting of sands and gravels.

Bankfull discharge 

• the discharge that occurs when the water just begins to leave the channel and spread onto the floodplain.
• the discharge at which channel maintenance is most effective, that is, the discharge at which moving sediment, forming or removing bars, forming or changing bends and meanders, and generally doing work that results in the average morphologic characteristics of channels. For a natural channel that is not adapting to hydrologic change in its watershed, it is the discharge that occurs when the water just fills the channel to the top of its banks and begins to overflow onto a floodplain.
• See also channel-forming and effective discharge.

Base Flow - the part of stream flow that is attributable to long-term discharge of groundwater to the stream. This part of stream flow is not attributable to short-term surface runoff, precipitation, or snow melt events.

Best Management Practice - structural, vegetative, or managerial practices used to protect and improve our surface waters and groundwaters. 

Channel-forming Discharge - a theoretical discharge which would result in a channel morphology close to the existing channel. See also effective and bankfull discharge.

Condensation - phase change of water vapor into liquid droplets.

Critical Depth - depth of water for which specific energy is a minimum.

Design Flow - projected flow through a watercourse which will recur with a stated frequency. The projected flow for a given frequency is calculated using statistical analysis of peak flow data or using hydrologic analysis techniques.

Detention - practices which store stormwater for some period of time before releasing it to a surface waterbody. See also retention.

Dimensionless Hydrograph - a general hydrograph developed from many unit hydrographs, used in the Soil Conservation Service method.

Direct Runoff Hydrograph - graph of direct runoff (rainfall minus losses) versus time.

Discharge - volume of water moving down a channel per unit time.  See also channel-forming, effective, and bankfull discharge. 

Drainage Divide - boundary that separates subbasin areas according to direction of runoff.

Effective Discharge - the calculated measure of channel forming discharge.  This calculation requires long-term water and sediment measurements, although modeling results are sometimes substituted. See also channel-forming and bankfull discharge.

Ephemeral Stream - a stream that flows only during or immediately after periods of precipitation. See also intermittent and perennial streams.

Evaporation - phase change of liquid water to water vapor.

Evapotranspiration - the combined process of evaporation and transpiration.

Field Capacity - the amount of water held in soil after gravitational water is drained.

Flood Hazard Zone - area that will flood with a given probability.

Flux - the volume of fluid crossing a unit cross-sectional surface area per unit time.

Groundwater - that part of the subsurface water that is in the saturated zone.

Hydrograph - graph of discharge versus time.

Hydrologic Analysis - an evaluation of the relationship between stream flow and the various components of the hydrologic cycle. The study can be as simple as determining the watershed size and average stream flow, or as complicated as developing a computer model to determine the relationship between peak flows and watershed characteristics, such as land use, soil type, slope, rainfall amounts, detention areas, and watershed size.

Hydrologic Cycle - When precipitation falls to the earth, it may:

• be intercepted by vegetation, never reaching the ground
• infiltrate into the ground, be taken up by vegetation and evapotranspirated back to the atmosphere
• enter the groundwater system and eventually flow back to a surface water body
• runoff over the ground surface, filling in depressions
• enter directly into a surface waterbody, such as a lake, stream, or ocean

When water evaporates from lakes, streams, and oceans and is re-introduced to the atmosphere, the hydrologic cycle starts over again.

Hydrology - the occurrence, distribution, and movement of water both on and under the earth's surface. It can be described as the study of the hydrologic cycle.

Hyetograph - graph of rainfall intensity versus time.

Infiltration Capacity - rate at which water can enter soil with excess water on the surface.

Interflow - flow of water through the upper soil layers to a ditch, stream, etc.

Intermittent Stream - a stream that flows only during certain times of the year. Seasonal flow in an intermittent stream usually lasts longer than 30 days per year. See also ephemeral and perennial streams.

Kinematic Wave Method - hydraulic river routing method that uses the continuity equation and the momentum equation for unsteady flow in open channels.

Lag Time - time from the center of mass of the rainfall to the peak of the hydrograph.

Losses - Rainfall that does not runoff, i.e. rainfall that infiltrates into the ground or is held in ponds or on leaves, etc.

Low Flow - minimum flow through a watercourse which will recur with a stated frequency. The minimum flow for a given frequency may be based on measured data, calculated using statistical analysis of low flow data, or calculated using hydrologic analysis techniques. Projected low flows are used to evaluate the impact of discharges on water quality. They are, for example, used in the calculation of industrial discharge permit requirements.

Morphology, River - the study of the form and structure of a river, stream, or channel.

Muskingum Method - hydrologic river routing method that uses the continuity equation and a linear storage relationship.

Nonpoint Source - pollutants carried in runoff characterized by multiple discharge points. Point sources emanate from a single point, generally a pipe.

Overland Flow - see Runoff.

Peak Flow - maximum flow through a watercourse which will recur with a stated frequency. The maximum flow for a given frequency may be based on measured data, calculated using statistical analysis of peak flow data, or calculated using hydrologic analysis techniques. Projected peak flows are used in the design of culverts, bridges, and dam spillways.

Perched Ground Water - unconfined groundwater separated from an underlying body of ground water by an unsaturated zone.

Perennial Stream - a stream that flows continuously during both wet and dry times. See also ephemeral and intermittent streams.

Precipitation - water that falls to earth in the form of rain, snow, hail, or sleet.

Rating Curve - relationship between depth and amount of flow in a channel.

Recession Curve - portion of the hydrograph where runoff is from base flow.

Retention - practices which capture stormwater and release it slowly though infiltration into the ground. See also detention.

Riparian - pertaining to the bank of a river, pond, or small lake.

Runoff - flow of water across the land surface as surface runoff or interflow. The volume is equal to the total rainfall minus losses.

Runoff Coefficient - ratio of runoff to precipitation.

Runoff Curve Number - parameter used in the Soil Conservation Service method that accounts for soil type and land use.

Saturated Zone - (1) those parts of the earth's crust in which all voids are filled with water under pressure greater than atmospheric; (2) that part of the earth's crust beneath the regional water table in which all voids, large and small, are filled with water under pressure greater than atmospheric; (3) that part of the earth's crust beneath the regional water table in which all voids, large and small, are ideally filled with water under pressure greater than atmospheric.

Scarp - the sloped bank of a stream channel.

Sediment - soil fragmental material that originates from weathering of rocks and is transported or deposited by air, water, or ice.

Simulation Model - Model describing the reaction of a watershed to a storm using numerous equations.

Soil - unconsolidated earthy materials which are capable of supporting plants. The lower limit is normally the lower limit of biological activity, which generally coincides with the common rooting of native perennial plants. 

Soil Moisture Storage - Volume of water held in the soil.

Stochastic - model that contains a random component.

Storage Delay Constant - parameter that accounts for lagging of the peak flow through a channel segment.

Storage-Discharge Relation - values that relate storage in the system to outflow from the system.

Stream Corridor - generally consists of the stream channel, floodplain, and transitional upland fringe.

Subbasins - hydrologic divisions of a watershed that are relatively homogenous.

Synthetic Design Storm - rainfall hyetograph obtained through statistical means.

Synthetic Unit Hydrograph - unit hydrograph for ungaged basins based on theoretical or empirical methods

Thalweg - the "channel within the channel" that carries water during low-flow conditions.

Theissen Method - method for areally weighting rainfall through graphical means.

Time of Concentration - the time it takes for runoff to travel from the hydraulically most distant point in the watershed to the design point.

Transpiration - conversion of liquid water to water vapor through plant tissue.

Unit Hydrograph - graph of runoff vs. time produced by a unit rainfall over a given duration.

Unsaturated Zone - the zone between the land surface and the water table which may include the capillary fringe. Water in this zone is generally under less than atmospheric pressure and some of the voids may contain air or other gases at atmospheric pressure. Beneath flooded areas or in perched water bodies the water pressure locally may be greater than atmospheric.

Vadose Zone - see Unsaturated Zone.

Watershed - area of land that drains to a single outlet and is separated from other watersheds by a divide.

Watershed Delineation - determination of watershed boundaries. These boundaries are determined by reviewing USGS quadrangle maps. Surface runoff from precipitation falling anywhere within these boundaries will flow to the waterbody.

Water Surface Profile - plot of the depth of water in a channel along the length of the channel.

Water Table - the surface of a groundwater body at which the water pressure equals atmospheric pressure. Earth material below the groundwater table is saturated with water.