GEOGRAPHY MYP/GCSE/DP
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Factors affecting river regimes

Specification

Factors affecting river regimes: precipitation including storm hydrographs, temperature, vegetation, land-use, water abstraction, dams.

What is a "river regime"?

The regime of a river is the way in which the discharge of the river changes over time or in the course of the year.

How would the regime of a river be affected by each of the following:
  1. A sudden intense period of rainfall
  2. Snow melting on mountains at the end of summer
  3. A long period of drought

Sketch a set of axes like the ones shown below on a mini-whiteboard and work in pairs to draw and try to explain how you think the river regime would look for each of the rivers listed:
  • A river on Java, Indonesia
  • A river in northern Nigeria, on the edge of the Sahel. Rain falls only between June and August
  • A river in NW Europe where precipitation falls year round. During the winter months precipitation falls as snow which does not melt until March.
Picture

Storm hydrographs (also known as Flood Hydrographs)

Picture
A storm hydrograph is a special kind of graph which shows how the discharge of a stream or river changes after a period of rainfall.

You need to :
  • Know how to draw and interpret storm hydrographs 
  • Be able to use the key terms associated with storm hydrographs (discharge, rising limb, recession limb, peak flow, peak rainfall, lag-time)
  • Understand how factors like vegetation, land use, water abstraction and dams can affect the hydrograph of a river.

a) Key features of a hydrograph

Use the slides to fully annotate your own copy of the storm hydrograph. Make sure you have explained each of the following:
  • base flow
  • peak flow
  • peak discharge
  • peak rainfall
  • rising limb
  • recession limb
Picture

b) Drawing a hydrograph

Use the data you have been given to practise drawing your own storm hydrograph. Check that you have included/done all of the following:
  • Graph has a clear title
  • All axes are clearly labelled
  • Each of the following are labelled:
    • Peak flow (label includes the time and the discharge)
    • Peak rainfall (label includes time and amount of rainfall)
    • Lag time (this is shown diagramatically and has been calculated)
    • Rising limb
    • Recession limb

c) Hydrographs in action

Watch the video clip below carefully. Can you write a commentary which explains and links what you see to the storm hydrograph?!

Now work in 2s or 3s and discuss what effect each of the following would have on the lag time and the peak discharge:
  • planting trees in a drainage basin
  • people in a city deciding to pave over their gardens to provide extra parking
  • planting grass on bare soil in the catchment area
  • A city growing within the drainage basin of a river
For each, try to sketch the storm hydrograph before and after and make sure you can justify what you think.
  • Home
    • Contact
  • MYP
    • Development >
      • An unequal world?
      • Billionaires investigation
      • Africa: the danger of a single story
      • Patterns of development
      • Trade and development
      • Fair Trade
      • Sustainable Development Goals
    • Tectonic Hazards >
      • What is risk?
      • Alfred Wegener and Continental Drift
      • Plate tectonics
      • Distribution of tectonic hazards
      • Measuring earthquakes
      • Why do people die in earthquakes?
      • School earthquake plan
      • Earthquake assessment
      • Volcanoes - what are they? Why are they important?
      • Volcano "Science Fair"
      • Causes of tsunami
    • Population >
      • Why study population?
      • Population distribution
      • Population growth
      • Population pyramids
      • Demographic transition model
      • Migration
      • Migration examples - case studies
      • Refugees in Indonesia
      • Population revision activities
    • Weather and Climate >
      • Weather vs Climate and why is it important?
      • Climate graphs
      • Why does it rain?
      • What affects temperature and why is Jakarta so hot and wet?
      • What causes wind and how do we measure it?
      • Microclimates
  • IGCSE
    • Course information
    • Physical: Hazardous environments >
      • Distribution of tectonic hazards
      • Causes of tsunami
      • Measuring earthquakes
      • Earthquake case study 1: Haiti
      • Earthquake case study 2: Christchurch
      • Why do earthquakes do more damage in LICs than in HICs?
      • How are volcanic eruptions measured?
      • Tropical storms - distribution
      • Causes of tropical cyclones
      • Tropical cyclones - case study
      • Why live in hazardous areas?
    • River Environments >
      • Hydrological cycle
      • River basins
      • Factors affecting river regimes
      • Fluvial processes: erosion
      • Fluvial processes: weathering and mass movement
      • Fluvial processes: transportation and depositon
      • River features and their formation
      • How rivers change from source to mouth
      • Uses of water
      • Water pollution
      • Water supply
  • IBDP
    • Changing population >
      • Global patterns of economic development
      • Physical and human factors affecting global population distribution
      • Case study 1: China
      • Case study 2: Niger
      • Demographic transition
      • Megacity growth
      • Forced migration and internal displacement
      • Ageing populations
      • Pro-natalist and anti-natalist policies
      • Gender equality policies
      • Trafficking policies
      • The Demographic Dividend
    • Global climate vulnerability and resilience >
      • Atmospheric system
      • The energy balance
      • Changes in the energy balance
      • The enhanced greenhouse effect
      • Climate Change and the Hydrosphere, Atmosphere and Biosphere
      • Impacts of climate change on people and places
      • Disparities in exposure to climate change risk and vulnerability
      • Government-led adaptation and mitigation strategies
      • Civil society and corporate strategies
    • Global resource consumption and security >
      • Progress towards poverty reduction
      • Measuring trends in global consumption
      • Global patterns and trends in the availability and consumption of water
      • Global patterns and trends in the availability and consumption of land/food
      • Global patterns and trends in the availability and consumption of energy
      • Water food and energy nexus
      • Recycling and waste
      • Malthus vs Boserup
      • Resource Stewardship strategies
      • Sustainable Development Goals
    • Freshwater - drainage basins >
      • The drainage basin as a system
      • How rivers change from source to mouth
      • River discharge
      • River processes
      • River landforms
      • Factors affecting flood risk
      • Attempts at flood prediction
      • Flood mitigation
      • Flood mitigation case studies
      • Water scarcity
      • Agricultural activities and water quality
      • Pressures on lakes and aquifers
      • Internationally shared water and conflict
      • Water management: participation of local communities
      • Dams as multi-purpose schemes
      • Water management: Integrated Drainage Basin Management (IDBM)
      • Managing wetlands
    • Leisure, Sport and Tourism >
      • Growth and purpose of leisure time
      • Categories of tourism and sport
      • Economic development and participation
      • Factors affecting personal participation
      • Factors affecting growth of tourism hotspots
      • Spheres of influencee
      • Factors affecting a national sports league
      • Festivals
      • Niche national tourism strategies
      • Role of TNCs
      • Tourism as a national development strategy
      • International sporting events
      • Consequences of unsustainable growth
      • Sustainable tourism
      • Future international tourism
      • Political and cultural influences on sport
    • Extended Essay in Geography >
      • Supervisor meetings
    • Skills/concepts >
      • Infographics
      • 4 Ps
      • Mock examination revision and preparation
  • Geography and ToK
  • Theory of Knowledge
    • Knowledge and Technology
    • Knowledge and Language
    • Knowledge and Politics
    • Knowledge and Religion
    • Knowledge and Indigenous Societies