Description

Overview: 

This lab consists of data analysis focused on the hydrologic cycle and streamflow measuring. It has two parts for a total of 88 marks: 

Part A: A Review of the Hydrologic Cycle [44 Marks]

Part B: Streamflow Data Analysis [44 Marks]

Please have your lab report typed-up as a Word document and your answers and plots clearly labeled (don’t forget axes and plot titles!) and orderly. Thanks!

Your final lab 2 report is due June 28, 11:59 PM EST, uploaded to the LEARN website.

Remember – there is no accommodation for late work. Exceptions are only made for official documented circumstances.

PART A: A Review of the Hydrologic Cycle [50 Marks]

Objectives: To review components of the hydrologic cycle and causes for their spatial and temporal variability.

Background:

The hydrologic cycle describes the continuous movement of water between the atmosphere, land and water bodies (ocean, rivers, lakes, groundwater...). It is made up of various components which you have learned about in lecture and the course textbook. Cycling of water on Earth depends on the physical and chemical properties of the water and the medium through which it travels or interacts with. In addition to your course book, you can find more information about the hydrologic cycle here.

Assignment:

1. Take a picture or make a sketch of an area around your home, at your favorite park, or from a fun recent vacation, and insert the following components of the hydrologic cycle into it. Each component should be represented by an arrow showing the direction of water movement: (note, the image included here is just for reference as a way to make your sketch/image) [6 marks]

·         Precipitation

·         Infiltration

·         Transpiration

·         Water table

·         Surface runoff

·         Percolation

·         Zone of aeration

·         Throughfall

·         Interception

·         Evaporation

·         Zone of saturation    

·         Groundwater flow

2. Accompany your sketch with a definition of each component to the hydrological cycle listed in question 1 above – in your own words. [12 marks]

3. What is the key surface characteristic that determines whether rates of interception are high or low? Hint: in what case would interception be 0? [2 marks]

4. Is surface runoff more likely to occur on soils with a high permeability or a low permeability? Why? Please include a definition of permeability in the context of the hydrologic cycle. [4 marks]

5. Should the presence of vegetation increase or decrease the likelihood of infiltration? Explain. [4 marks]

6. Should rates of transpiration be greater in Laurel Creek Conservation Area in the summer or in the winter? Why? [2 marks]

7. Imagine the following scenarios for each of the following locations and state whether surface runoff and infiltration should be low, moderate or high, and briefly explain your choice. Go to the link to view the location in Google Maps – look at both the satellite imagery layer and the map layer by clicking on the square on the bottom left of the map window. You can also view terrain contours by clicking on the Menu button on the left-side toolbar  and then clicking the terrain tab  [3 marks each (15 marks in total)].

                                      Infiltration        Surface Runoff

a) Ring Rd (UWaterloo campus), after a summer rainstorm                         

b) Wooded, hilly areas in Southern Ontario, after a

     summer rainstorm  

c) Frozen, snow-covered, hilly areas in Grey

    County Ontario, after a winter rain           

d) Steep bedrock slopes, high in the Rocky

    Mountains of Alberta, after a summer rain            

e) Rolling hills of prairie grasslands, after a

    summer rainstorm