Hydrological Processes in Watershed Regions - Report Example

Hydrological Processes in Watershed Regions Question There are a number of factors that affect the climateor weather of a watershed. Gradient in atmospheric pressure Different geographical areas have different atmospheric pressures. Atmospheric pressure is determined by the depth of the atmosphere. In places where the landmass is elevated, the atmospheric pressures are usually lower than in areas where the land mass, or water mass is lower. This gradient in atmospheric pressures can usually lead to other meteorological processes such as precipitation. Watershed regions seem to share one common feature, which actually make them what they are. This is the fact that watersheds are highlands which means that they are raised in terms of their altitude (Whiteman 219). Watersheds are usually of a higher altitude in comparison to those areas surrounding them. Because of this, they have different atmospheric pressures. This difference in the atmospheric pressures therefore mean that the regions will have different processes such as the movement of air, the wind etc. Not only are watersheds higher than the surrounding areas, they also have air that is cooler than the air in the surrounding environments. When these cold airs are met by the air from the warmer surrounding areas, they are likely to cause various levels of rainfall, and sometimes the falling of snow. The kind of watershed also affects not only the amount of rain but the area of rainfall which is going to have rain. For instance, some watershed regions have leeward and windward sides which mean that only one side of the watershed will receive any amount of rainfall. This affects the way the region will handle water and also affected other factors such as the flooding. The direction of winds and storms The direction of winds in any watershed region is a very important meteorological factor. The direction of wind will determine a number of factors which will affect the weather and eventually the climate of a watershed as follows; Rainfall frequency This will be affected mostly in cases where the direction of wind keeps changing. To understand this, it is necessary to recognise that it is not all types of wind which brings with then rain clouds. In this case, the watershed region can only receive the rain during the time when the winds with water clouds with them blow in the direction which will lead to the region getting rain. When the winds for rainfall are frequently blowing across the watershed region, the region will have a frequent rainfall which will in turn affect the weather as well as the climate of the region. Rainfall amount The rainfall amount will also be affected by the direction of wind. If the winds coming towards the region sweeps across a huge water body, this will mean that the region will enjoy rainfall clouds brought the region thus increasing the rain. However, this will also have to be affected by a number of other meteorological factors such as the temperatures in the region. How far the Watershed region is from the region is also important in terms of the amount of rainfall which will reach the region. Question 2 Watershed’s hydrologic characteristics are affected by the location of the watershed. These include the following; Troposphere Due to the fact that the fact that the watershed is always in a highland, precipitation is usually possible as most watersheds act as a colliding front for both warm and cool airs. Hydrosphere As already explained, this would have to depend on other factors such as the availability of water bodies and the solar energy. If there are no any water bodies in the near areas which would help in proving precipitate winds, the watershed will not have enough rains. Energy of the sun At the same time, if there is a water body but no enough solar energy to evaporate the water from the water bodies, this will also lead to dry winds which will not lead to the watershed having enough rain water. Question 3 For any region, there are a number of control factors that affect the weather as well as the long term climate of a region. These factors include the following; Altitude of the region Altitude refers to the elevation of a region from the sea level. Altitude affects many factors which as precipitation and temperatures and this affects the weather. In a watershed region, high altitudes may refer to the fact that the region will have to have different weather. Hydrosphere This refers to the availability of large natural bodies of water. This affects the rainfall of the region because rain is made from predicated water from these regions. If there is a nearby large water body within the region of a watershed, this will in turn mean that most of the water will be carried into the watershed region through winds and rain will fall. Elevation This refers to the gradient of a region. The steeper the gradient the more easily water flows from the watershed and thus improving the hydrological processes of the region through drainage. Elevation also affects the vegetation of a region as some plants can only grow in areas with only certain levels of elevation. Vegetation in turn also affects the climate of the region. Topography of the land This refers to the ruggedness or lack thereof of a land mass. It refers to the terrain of the area and this affects weather and climate due to the fact that it affects vegetation, drainage, and the amount of rainfall. Winds Winds are the capstone of the hydrological processes. The intensity, direction and nature of winds in terms of whether they are wet or dry affect the amount and type of the rainfall a region is likely to get. Areas with both warn and cold air striking each other at the right area has the most amount of rainfall. Question 4 Atmospheric system refers to the elements which make up the hydrological processes (Russell, 97). These elements include water vapour which is gotten from the solar energy breaking water molecules from large water bodies, dry air and impurities in the atmosphere. Atmospheric processes however refer to the cycles which the elements of the atmospheric system go through in order to create the weather and climate of a region. These are the processes which continually maintain the conditions of the lower hemisphere of the earth. Question 5 Features of frontal cyclonic storms Cold fronts Cold fronts usually have the steepest gradients usually of 1:100 which is a vertical nature. Cold fronts generally move a lot faster and are therefore very dangerous. A cold front can move much farther without having to lose its intensity and can therefore cause a lot of damage. Warm fronts Their slope is usually less steep and usually has a gradient of 1:200. They move a lot slower and are less violent. Warm fronts also lose their intensity much faster and are therefore less harmful. Stationary fronts Stationary fronts are the least harmful of frontal storms. They are formed when polar air masses are neutralized when they meet with tropic air masses at parallel levels. Question 6 Types of non-frontal cyclonic storms i. Hurricanes (tropical storms) ii. Thunderstorms iii. Tornado Example of past hurricane is Hurricane Katrina which occurred in August 2005 during the George Bush administration. This hurricane was one of the most expensive hurricanes and was rated as the costliest hurricane especially due to the fact that it happened in a metropolis region. Hurricane Katrina was a category 3 tropical storm with wind speeds of 110-130 meter per hour. Works Cited Russell, Thompson. Atmospheric Processes and Systems. London, UK: Routledge, 1998. Print. Whiteman, David. Mountain Meteorology : Fundamentals and Applications: Fundamentals and Applications. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print. Read More