Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Surface runoff can cause erosion of the Earth's surface; eroded material may be deposited a considerable distance away. There are four main types of soil erosion by water: splash erosion, sheet erosion, rill erosion and gully erosion. Splash erosion is the result of mechanical collision of raindrops with the soil surface: soil particles which ...
Much agricultural pollution is exacerbated by surface runoff, leading to a number of down stream impacts, including nutrient pollution that causes eutrophication. In addition to causing water erosion and pollution, surface runoff in urban areas is a primary cause of urban flooding , which can result in property damage, damp and mold in ...
Runoff can also induce bioaccumulation and biomagnification of toxins in ocean life. Small amounts of heavy metals are carried by runoff into the oceans, which can accumulate within aquatic animals to cause metal poisoning. This heavy metal poisoning can also affect humans, since ingesting a poisoned animal increases the risk of heavy metal ...
The runoff from the land flows into streams and rivers and discharges into the ocean, which completes the global cycle. [26] The water cycle is a key part of Earth's energy cycle through the evaporative cooling at the surface which provides latent heat to the atmosphere, as atmospheric systems play a primary role in moving heat upward.
Water produced by snowmelt is an important part of the annual water cycle in many parts of the world, in some cases contributing high fractions of the annual runoff in a watershed. Predicting snowmelt runoff from a drainage basin may be a part of designing water control projects. Rapid snowmelt can cause flooding.
Certain ways of managing farm fields can help the soil hold onto nutrients instead of letting them wash away. But the number of farmers who use them is a small share of the total.
A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers. [46] Urban runoff—stormwater discharged to surface waters from rooftops, roads, and parking lots—and reservoirs can also be a source of thermal pollution. [47]
Hurricanes can cause more runoff and stir up deep water, both rich in nutrients that scientists say can fuel algae blooms. "Winds and currents transport the blooms," Eric Milbrandt, director of ...