The Hydrological Cycle

Characteristics of the Water Cycle

Water on Earth

• Only 2.5% of the water on Earth is freshwater

• 68.7% of freshwater is stored in glaciers and ice sheets and 30% is groundwater
• The remaining 1.3% of freshwater is in rivers, soil moisture, lakes and the
atmosphere
• All water is part of the hydrological cycle

Sources of Water

Hydrological Cycle

• The hydrological cycle is a closed system

• Water is constantly recycled through the system
• Within the hydrological cycle, there are stores and transfers
The hydrological cycle

Stores of the Water Cycle

• Stores are those places where water is held for a period of time. These
include:
•
o Water in the atmosphere in the form of water vapour or water droplets
in clouds
o Surface stores such as puddles, lakes, rivers and reservoirs
o Interception is how precipitation is prevented from reaching the
ground, usually by being caught on leaves or branches
o Aquifers are permeable rocks such as limestone and sandstone which
can hold water
 o Ice and snow
o Seas and oceans

Transfers of Water Within the Cycle

• Transfers are the ways in which water is moved around the hydrological cycle.
They include:
o Evaporation - The change of water from a liquid to gas(water vapor )
due to the heat from the sun.
o Condensation – When water cools and changes from water vapour
into a liquid(water droplets) forming clouds
o Transpiration – When plants release water vapour from their leaves
o Evapotranspiration - The combined transfer of water vapour from the
earth’s surface and plants
o Precipitation – The transfer of water from the atmosphere earth’s
surface in the form of hail,sleet,snow or rain.
o Overland flow - Water flowing across the earth ‘s surface
o Infiltration – When the water moves down from the surface into the
soil.
o Percolation – The transfer of water down into the rocks and acqifers.
o Through flow – The movement of water through the soil between the
ground water store(water table) and the surface.
o Groundwater flow – the flow of water through the rock.

The Drainage Basin

Drainage basin

• A major part of the hydrological system, drainage basins drain all the water
which lands on the Earth's surface
• A drainage basin is an open system
• Every drainage basin is unique and is different in shape and size, with
different rock types, relief and land use.

Drainage basin features

• All drainage basins have some features in common:

o Watershed – The boundary between drainage basins
o Source – The point furthest from the mouth where the river starts.
o Confluence – The place where two stream or rivers meet
o Tributary - A stream or river flowing into a stream or river.
o Mouth – Where the rivers enters the ocean or sometimes a lake.
 A drainage basin

Channel network

• Every drainage basin is covered by a network of tributaries which connect to

the main river channel. The number of tributaries in a drainage basin is
referred to as the drainage density:
o Drainage basins with lots of tributaries have a high drainage density
o Drainage basins with few tributaries have a low drainage density
• The drainage density is the result of the soil and rock under the surface
• Where the rock or soil is impermeable this leads to high drainage density
because the water cannot infiltrate
o This means it flows over the surface in tributaries
• Where the rock or soil is permeable water can infiltrate leading to low
drainage density
 • Worked example
• Study Fig 1, which shows information about flows through the drainage basin,

(i) What is meant by transpiration?

[1]

• Answer:
o The changing of water to water vapour by plants/evaporation of water
by plants/trees/vegetation [1]

(ii) Identify the processes which take place at X ,Y and Z in Fig 1.

[3]

• Answer:
o X = Overland flow/surface run off [1]
o Y = Through flow [1]
o Z = Ground(water) flow [1]

River Processes
• Erosion is the wearing down of surfaces
• There are four erosion processes which change the shape of the river
channel:

o Hydraulic action - The force of water removes material from the bed
and banks of the river.
 o Abrasion – When the materials carried by a river scrape away the
banks and the bed.
o Attrition - When the materials carried by the river hit each other and
the pieces become rounder and smaller.
o Corrosion (solution) - When rocks are dissolved by slightly acid
water.

Types of Erosion

• Erosion can be mainly vertical or lateral:

o Vertical erosion is dominant in the upper course of rivers. It increases
the depth of the river and valley, as the river erodes downwards
o Lateral erosion is dominant in the middle and lower course of rivers. It
increases the width of the river and valley as it erodes sideways

• There are four processes of transportation:

o Traction - Occurs when larger rocks and materials are rolled along the
river bed.
o Saltation - When smaller material which can be lifted by water
bounces along the river bed.
o Suspension - Lighter materials carried within the river flow
o Solution - When materials are dissolved in the river water

Deposition
• When a river does not have enough energy to carry materials it drops them.
This is deposition
• The causes of reduced energy include:
o Reduced discharge due to a lack of precipitation
or abstraction upstream
o Decreased gradient
o Slower flow on the inside of a river bend or where the river is shallower
o When the river enters a sea/ocean or lake
• The heaviest material is deposited first, this is known as the bedload
• The lighter materials, gravel, sand and silt are known as alluvium and they
are carried further downstream
• The dissolved materials are carried out to sea

• As a result of erosion, transportation and deposition the character of a river

changes as it moves down stream
• These changes are summarised in the Bradshaw model

The Bradshaw Model

Worked example

Study Fig 1, which is a photography of a river in an upland area.

Explain how the river in Fig 1 is likely to carry out erosion.

[5]

• Answer:
o Hydraulic action [1] Power of water wears away bed and banks
releasing air compressed in
cracks [1]
Abrasion [1] Material carried by river grinds bed and banks/sandpaper
action [1]
Corrosion / solution [1] Rocks dissolved by chemical reactions [1]
Attrition [1] Load reduced in size as particles hit each other when
being carried by
water [1]
Vertical erosion [1]
• Remember you will receive 1 mark for the type of erosion and the second
mark for explaining how the erosion process works.

River characteristics
 • All rivers have a long and cross profiles
• Each river's long and cross profiles are unique but they do have some
characteristics in common
• These profiles show changes in river characteristics from the source to the
mouth

Long profile

• The long profile of a river shows the changes in the river gradient from the
source to the mouth
• Most long profiles have a concave shape with similar characteristics:
o The source is usually in an upland area
o The upper course of the river includes areas which are steep with
uneven surfaces
o In the middle course the gradient decreases
o In the lower section the gradient decreases further until it becomes
almost flat

Long Profile
Cross profiles

• The cross profiles of a river are cross-sections from one bank to another
• Cross profiles of the upper, middle and lower courses show the changes in
the river channel
• Upper course characteristics include:
o Shallow
o Steep valley sides
o Narrow
o Low velocity
o Large bedload
o Rough channel bed
o High levels of friction
o Vertical erosion

• Middle course characteristics:

o Deeper than upper course channel
o Gentle valley sides
o Wider than upper course channel
o Greater velocity than upper course channel
o Material in river decreases in size
o Smoother channel bed
o Lower levels of friction than upper course channel
o Lateral erosion
• Lower course characteristics:
o Deeper than middle course channel
o Flat floodplains
o Wider than middle course channel
o Greater velocity than the middle course channel (apart from as the river
enters the mouth)
o Material carried mainly sediment and alluvium
o Smooth channel bed
o Lowest friction
o Deposition is dominant
 River Landforms
River landscape characteristics

• The changes in river channel characteristics, lead to changes in the river

landscape
• The upland and lowland areas of rivers have distinctive landforms
• Upland:
o Waterfalls
o Gorges
o V-shaped valleys
o Interlocking spurs

Waterfalls and gorges

• Waterfalls form where there is a drop in the river bed from one level to
another
• This drop is often due to changes in the hardness of the rock, where hard rock
overlies soft rock
• Hydraulic action and abrasion are the main erosional processes:
•
o The soft rock erodes quicker, undercutting the hard rock and creating
a plunge pool
o This leads to the development of an overhang of hard rock which
eventually over time, collapses
o The overhang falls into the plunge pool increasing abrasion and
making the plunge pool deeper
o The process then begins again and the waterfall retreats upstream
leaving a steep sided gorge
 Waterfall Formation

V-shaped valleys

• Vertical erosion is dominant in the upper course of the river

• This cuts down into the river bed and deepens the river channel
• Weathering and mass movement leads to material from the valley sides
collapsing into the river forming a steep v-shaped valley
 Formation of a V-Shaped Valley

Interlocking spurs

• In the upper course of the river the channel starts to meander

• Erosion happens on the outside of the bend
• In the upland areas this forms interlocking spurs
 Interlocking Spurs

Lowland features:

•
o Meanders
o Ox-bow lakes
o Floodplains
o Levees

Meanders

• In lowland areas lateral erosion is dominant

• Meanders increase in size
• The fastest water flow (thalweg) is on the outside of the river bends, leading
to erosion:
o The erosion undercuts the riverbank forming a river cliff
o The riverbank collapses and the edge of the meander moves further
out
• The slowest flow is on the inside of the river bends, leading to deposition:
o The deposits form a slip-off slope
• Deposition on one side and erosion on the other leads to the
meander migrating across the valley
 Cross-section of a Meander

Oxbow lakes

• With distance downstream the size of the meanders increase

• The erosion on outside bends can eventually lead to the formation of a
meander neck
• At a time of the flood, the river may cut through the neck of the meander
forming a straighter course for the water
• The flow of water at entry and exit from the meander will be slower, leading
to deposition
• The meander becomes cut off from the main river channel, forming an oxbow
lake
Floodplains and levees

• Floodplains are flat expanses of land either side of the river

• The migration of meanders leads to the formation of the floodplain
• High discharge may cause the river to overflow the banks
• More of the water is in contact with the land surface as the water spreads
across the floodplain
• Increased friction reduces velocity and material is deposited across the
floodplain gradually increasing the floodplain height
• The heaviest material is deposited first nearest to the river channel forming
natural embankments called levees
Levee and Floodplain Formation
River Hazards & Opportunities
Causes of River Hazards
• The main river hazards are flooding and erosion
• Rivers flood when the water in them reaches bankfull discharge and then
overspills across the floodplain
• Flooding occurs as the result of two main causes;
o If there is a period of heavy, torrential rain leading to high levels of
overland flow because the water cannot infiltrate
o A prolonged period of steady rain which means that the ground
becomes saturated leading to high levels of overland flow because the
water cannot infiltrate
• There are other natural causes of river flooding which include;
o Landslides
o Snow and ice melt
o Storm surges pushing water up the river channel
• Although the root cause of flooding is precipitation the risk of flooding can be
increased by human activities such as;
o Urbanisation
o Deforestation
o Building of bridges and dams
o Human induced climate change
o Agriculture
• Flooding often goes hand in hand with erosion of the banks due to increased
discharge and velocity

Hazards of flooding and erosion

• Flood waters may increase the spread of water related diseases;

o The water may act as a breeding ground for the animals that spread
disease for example, the mosquito
o The water may be contaminated by bacteria which can spread
diseases such as cholera
• Deaths and injuries as floodplains are often densely populated due to the
fertile soils
• Bridges and transport routes may be damaged or destroyed by the flood
waters
• Erosion of the river banks leads to the loss of farmland, housing and transport
routes
• Destruction of crops
• Increased insurance costs
• Lower house prices

Opportunities

• As well as the hazards there are many opportunities provided by rivers:

o The silt deposited during flooding is often rich in minerals and nutrients,
making it ideal for growing crops
 o Rivers are a source of food
o The floodplains are flat land which makes the construction and building
of transport networks easier
o Water can be used to irrigate farmland
o Leisure and tourism
o Generating electricity
o Transporting goods and people

• Study Fig 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, which are photographs of three different
rivers

FIG1 .1

FIG 1.2
 Fig 1.3

Using evidence from Figs 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 only, describe three different
benefits of living near a river.

[3]

• Answer:
o Agriculture/grazing/farmland/fertile soils/growing
crops/cultivation/keeping animals [1]
o Fishing/fish market/fish farming [1]
o Transportation/moving cargo/imports/exports [1]
o Tourism [1]
o Industry [1]
o Flat land for building [1]

River Management
Managing the Impacts of River Flooding
Flood prediction

• Prediction of flooding means that steps can be taken to manage flooding

• Flood hydrographs are used to predict the reaction of a river discharge to a
rainfall event
• A flood hydrograph shows the changes in river discharge after a storm event
• The graph shows a short period of time, usually 24 hours
• The flood hydrograph has a number of features:
o Base flow – Normal level of water discharge
o Peak rainfall – Highest rainfall level during the storm
o Rising limb - This shows the increase in river discharge
 o Peak discharge - Highest level in river discharge
o Lag time - The time difference between the peak rainfall and peak
discharge
o Recessional limb - The river discharge returning to normal base
flow

Flood Hydrograph in an Urban Area

• The key factor in assessing the flood risk is time taken for the precipitation to
reach the river from where it falls - the lag time
• Rivers with a short lag time and steep rising limb have a much greater risk of
flooding
o The water reaches the river rapidly and the river may not have the
capacity to cope with the influx of water
• Rivers with a long lag time and gentle rising limb have a lower flood risk
o The water reaches the river more slowly causing a gradual increase in
discharge
• The lag time depends on some human and physical factors
• These lead to increased overland flow which shortens the lag time

Human and Physical Factors which Increase the Risk of Flooding

 Human Factors Impact

Lack of trees reduces interception and infiltration, increasing overland

Deforestation
flow
Impermeable concrete and tarmac increase overland flow
Urbanisation
Water flows into the drains reaching the river rapidly
Agriculture Bare soil and ploughing increase overland flow
Climate Change Rising global temperatures may increase storm frequency and intensity

Physical Factors Impact

Relief Steep slopes reduce infiltration and increase overland flow

Rock Type Impermeable rocks reduce percolation and increase overland flow

Frozen, saturated or compacted soil reduces infiltration and increases

overland flow
Soil
Some soil types such as clay reduce infiltration and increase overland
flow
Heavy or prolonged rainfall means that the rate at which water reaches
the surface exceeds the infiltration rate leading to increased overland
flow
Weather
After a period of snow rising temperatures can cause rapid melting
which increases overland flow
Flooding in Northern Europe tend to occur in the autumn and winter
when rainfall is more frequent

Seasonal In areas affected by monsoon much of the annual rainfall occurs in a

Variations few weeks saturating the ground and increasing overland flow

Higher temperatures in spring leads to snow melt in mountainous areas

increasing overland flow
Where drainage density is high there are many tributaries taking water
Drainage Density
to the main channel causing a rapid increase in discharge
Where there is little natural vegetation there is reduced interception
Vegetation
leading to increased overland flow
Worked example

Study Fig 1, which is a hydrograph of a river after a storm.

How long after the start of the rain storm is the peak flow?

..................................................... hours

[1]

• Answer:
o Between 26-28 hours

Flood management

• The key cause of flooding is the amount and duration of precipitation this
cannot be altered
• There are a number of methods of managing floods and reducing the severity
and/or impact
• The two main categories of flood management are hard and soft
engineering:
o Hard engineering involves building structures or changing the river
channel
o Soft engineering works with natural processes of the river and
surrounding environment
• Soft engineering is increasingly popular
• Soft engineering is an example of mitigation where schemes aim to minimise
damage rather than trying to prevent the flooding

Examples of Hard and Soft Engineering

 Hard Engineering Soft Engineering

River restoration, this supports the river by

Dams and reservoirs enable the amount of restoring it back to its original regime - putting
discharge downstream to be controlled meanders back in, stabilising banks and connecting
to flood plains
Wetland conservation these areas provide
Embankments or levées increase the capacity of
somewhere for excess water to go and slow the
the river
flow of the flood water
Straightened channels mean that the river flows Catchment management plans assess the risk of
more quickly pass vulnerable areas, reducing the flooding in an area and outline how this will be
risk of flooding managed
Flood plain zoning means that only certain land
Flood relief channels allow some water to flow
uses are allowed on the flood plain, reducing the
out of the main channel reducing the discharge
risk
Spillways or overflow channels these take excess Afforestation involves the planting of vegetation
water away from the main channel and trees to increase interception and infiltration

• Other methods that can be used to decrease the risk of flooding are:
o Leaving the stubble on the fields after the crop is harvested helps to stabilise
the soil and increase infiltration
o Contour ploughing which involves ploughing fields across the slope rather
than up and down. This gives the water more time to infiltrate and stops the
ploughed furrows becoming channels for water
o Improved forecasting and flood warnings
o Dredging the rivers to increase capacity, however this often leads to the need
for concrete reinforcement of the banks

Case Study: Ganges/Brahmaputra

• The Ganges is 2,510km long
• It flows through India and Bangladesh where it becomes the River Padma and joins
with the Brahmaputra River
• The drainage basin covers 1.2 million km2
• The population living within the area drained by the Ganges is over 650 million
people
• The Brahmaputra River is 3,969 km long
• It flows through Tibet, India and Bangladesh where it joins with the River Padma
• The drainage basin covers 651,334km2
• Both rivers;

o Source is in the Himalayan Mountains

o Waters enter the sea in the Bay of Bengal
 The Ganges and Brahmaputra Basin

Opportunities

• Water supply
o There are many cities including New Delhi and Kolkata along the
Ganges/Brahmaputra drainage basins which take their water supplies
from the river
• Agriculture and fishing
o The regular flooding in the drainage basin leaves deposits of alluvium
which are rich in nutrients and ideal for growing crops such as rice and
jute
o The rivers provide water for irrigation and for the flooding of rice fields
o Fish from the river provide food and jobs for local people
• Culture
o The Ganges is sacred to Hindus and is worshipped as the goddess
Ganga
• Tourism
o Three sites which are holy to Hindus lie on the banks of the Ganges
(Haridwar, Allahabad and Varansi) this leads millions of pilgrims to visit
each year
o Rafting and river cruises are also increasingly popular
• Flat land
o The flat floodplains mean that construction is easy, and the floodplains
have one of the highest density populations in the world
• Energy
o There are a number of dams along both rivers including the Tehri Dam
on the Ganges, which is the biggest hydroelectric power plant in India

Hazards
 • The Ganges/Brahmaputra drainage basin regularly experiences floods
including most recently in May 2022
o In 1998 75% of Bangladesh was flooded over 30 million people were
made homeless
o Over 1000 people died
o 700,000 hectares of crops were destroyed
• 'Normal' floods are vital to provide fertile soil and irrigation, but increasingly
flooding is becoming more unpredictable and extensive
• The causes of flooding are both human and natural - see the table below

Human Natural

Deforestation particularly in the upland Low-lying land- the land in the Ganges delta
areas leads to less interception and in Bangladesh is at or just above sea level
infiltration increasing overland flow meaning that it floods more easily
Human induced climate change has led to
increased melting of Himalayan snow and ice Climate - Bangladesh has a monsoon
which increases discharge. It may also have climate which means that there are heavy
affected climate patterns leading to increased and prolonged rains for a number of months
frequency and severity of tropical cyclones
Urbanisation as the population increases
and there is more rural-urban migration this Tropical cyclones - these bring heavy
leads to increased overland flow due to rainfall
impermeable surfaces
Agriculture increases overland flow and soil Melting snow and ice from the Himalayas in
erosion which reduces the capacity of the spring leads to a rapid increase in river
rivers discharge

Management

• Bangladesh is an LEDC
o The country lacks the money for large schemes to reduce the impact of
flooding
• Flood Action Plan (FAP)was funded by the World Bank and a number of
MEDCs, measures that were proposed include:
o Monitoring of flood levels
o Construction of levées/embankments
o Building 5000 flood shelters
o Creating flood water storage systems
o A more effective flood warning system
o Building of dams to store water
o Reducing deforestation
• The FAP was not considered a success because;
o Many parts of the project were never completed including the dams
and floodwater storage areas due to inadequate funding and corruption
o There was later a recognition that some flooding was necessary to
maintain agriculture in many areas
 o 8 million people were forced to move to accommodate the FAP
constructions
o Changing the channel upstream meant that areas downstream suffered
more
o The government cannot afford the maintenance costs
• New management suggestions include;
o Better flood forecasting and warning systems
o More well stocked flood shelters
• These are less damaging to the environment and cheaper to maintain than
hard engineering such as embankments, dams and floodwater storage areas