Problem 3
Why are flood control dams not effective at controlling flash floods?
Problem 5
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 6
How does the dominant sediment transportation process differ across the three zones of a river system? Explain.
Problem 7
One day you and a friend are discussing the aftermath of a major (100-year) flood that occurred on a 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 10
Building a dam is one method of regulating the flow of a river to control flooding. Dams and their reservoirs may also provide recreational opportunities and water for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. This image, from near Page, Arizona, shows Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River upstream from the Grand Canyon and a portion of Lake Powell, the reservoir it created. a. How did the behavior of the river likely change upstream from Iake Powell? b. How might the behavior of the Colorado River downstream from the dam have been affected? c. Given enough time, how might the reservoir change? d. Speculate on the possible environmental impacts of building a dam such as this one.
