Question

The formation of this type of drainage pattern is dependent on the variable discharge and high sediment load of the river (as we discussed last week). The volume of water flowing down a glacier river changes from morning to night, and from season to season, and this change effects the amount of sediment the river can carry. Why does the discharge of the river change so dramatically over such short time scales?

Answer 1

River Discharge:

The discharge of river is the volume of water which flows through it in a given time which is measured in cubic meters per second.

Glacier river is a frozen river which is a bigger thing when we describe worlds water supply where these forms into large sheet of ice that flows down hill. Here this ice formation and water changes morning to evening as well as by seasons. As in if the snow fall in some areas will increases above the melting temperature these glaciers are formed that occur during summer. In this case these glaciers this formed will run down hill with that huge ice formation. This is what the volume of the river increases where the discharge will be high.

There are five types of water flows

1.) Base flow which is the normal day discharge of a river.

2.) The raising limb is the rapid increase in discharge during rainrain.

3.) Peak flow is that when river reaches the maximum capacity it can hold.

4.) The recission limb is that when the discharge starts decreasing and rain level falls.

5.) Basin lag time is that shows the peak rain fall to the peak flow.

These water discharges will be different for different seasonal climates like summer, winter, rainy,etc.