Geoloy

1) The hydrologic cycle is a summary of the circulation of earth’s water supply and its movements. There are 5 processes in the hydrologic cycle: Precipitation, evaporation, infiltration, runoff and transpiration. Once precipitation has fallen on land, there are 4 different processes that take place with water. First, water can evaporate back into the atmosphere due to heat from the sun, drying up the water. Also, infiltration can occur where good amount of water is infiltrated to the earth, and comes out to the surface. Another process after precipitation is runoff, which occurs when water flows into the ocean where evaporation mostly takes place. The last form of the hydrologic process is transpiration, which is the exchange of water between atmosphere and life.

2) In stream and river systems with orderly, increasing discharges in the downstream direction, the channel width and depth and average velocity increase gradually to accommodate the increased discharge moving through the channel. Rivers that flow from wet areas into dry areas and gradually lose discharge downstream will show decreases in the channel width and depth and average velocity in a downstream direction. Over time, the channel shape, dimensions, and gradient adjust to accommodate the discharge normally passing through the channel.

3) There are two types of glacial flow: Plastic flow and basal slip. Plastic flow occurs within the ice when it is under pressure; it behaves as a plastic material. Basal slip is the entire ice mass slipping along the ground, which are thought as the process to have moved most glaciers. Balance or lack of balance, between accumulation at the upper end of the glacier, and loss at the lower end is referred to as the glacial budget. If accumulation (area where glacier forms) exceeds loss (ablation), the glacial front advances. If the ablation increases and/or accumulation decrease, the ice front will retreat. Velocities vary...