Problem 3
If you collect a jar of water from a stream, what part of its load will settle to the bottom of the jar? What portion will remain in the water indefinitely? What part of the stream's load would probably not be represented in your sample?
Problem 4
Streamflow is affected by several variables, including discharge, gradient, and channel roughness, size, and shape. Develop a scenario in which a mass wasting event influences a stream's flow. Explain what led up to, or triggered, the event and describe how the mass wasting process influenced the stream's flow.
Problem 7
Describe and explain what happens to a stream's ability to erode during periods of drought and during periods of heavy rainfall. Suggest other factors besides a change in precipitation that could change a stream's ability to erode.
Problem 9
Several times during the past 2.5 million years, huge ice sheets (continental- size glaciers) formed and spread across large parts of Northern Hemisphere landmasses and then gradually melted away. a. How do you think the formation of ice sheets affected sea level? b. How would rivers flowing into the ocean have been affected as the ice sheets expanded? c. What kind of adjustments would these rivers make as the glacial ice melted?
Problem 11
Describe three ways that a stream can lengthen its course. How might a stream get shorter?
Problem 12
One day you and a friend are discussing the aftermath of a major (100-year) flood that occurred on a nearby river in your area just a few months earlier. At the close of your conversation your friend remarks, "At least we won't have to worry about another one of those in our lifetime." How would you respond?
Problem 13
This satellite image from September \(2,2011,\) shows the lower portions of two rivers that flow into Long Island Sound a few days after heavy rains fell in the region. The muddy-looking Connecticut River clearly has a significant suspended load. To the east, the Thames River appears to be carrying very little sediment. Suggest a reason that might explain the contrasting sediment loads of the Connecticut and Thames Rivers.
