Group items tagged

"Hydraulic radius = cross sectional area / wetted perimeter. Hydraulic radius is a measure of the efficiency of the the river channel. The higher the hydraulic radius, the more efficient the river channel is. The more efficient the river is, the more energy the water will have to move downstream (so as hydraulic radius increases, velocity increases) carry load (so as hydraulic radius increases, the river's competence and capacity increases) increase the rate of erosion (in the upper course, as hydraulic radius increases, there is a higher rate of vertical erosion, so gradient increases; further downstream where the river is closer to base level, as hydraulic radius increases, there is a higher rate of lateral erosion)."

An excellent website that looks at the key issues surrounding building Dams upstream on the Mekong. Good for international and local conflicts

 How science is replacing pigs: Flood forecasting in the Philippines

500 MILLION TONS of sand and silt released from Glen Canyon Dam  .... and yes, this is from the Daily Mail. Sorry! 

"For many developing countries hungry for energy sources, hydropower is an attractive option. But dams also can place heavy burdens on surrounding populations and eco-systems. While China touts its Three Gorges dam - the world's largest - as environmentally friendly, the United States has begun tearing down a number of its own structures for safety, economic, and environmental reasons. To broaden your knowledge of dams around the world, explore below the economic, environmental, social, and political aspects of five big dam projects in Turkey, Brazil, Laos, Lesotho, and China. "

Fresh water accounts for only 2.5% of Earth's water, yet it is vital for human civilization. What are our sources of fresh water? In the first of a two part series on fresh water, Christiana Z. Peppard breaks the numbers down and discusses who is using it and to what ends.

[Submitted by: Paul Christmas] "The following site has a detailed section on freshwater and many other topics. It will be useful for the options section of the IB and in future will develop sections for the core. A key highlight are some of the detailed case studies. However the site is under development and so some section are are not complete. Some food and health case studies are required and the extreme environments sections is still being written. The site will be useful for both students and teachers of IB geography but has not been written exclusively for the IB."

he Snowy Mountains Scheme has affected the ecology of Snowy Mountain rivers and streams. The Snowy Water Inquiry identified the need to increase flows to the Snowy River below Jindabyne and the Snowy montane rivers.