Under what conditions might a stream's volume increase? Under what conditions might a stream's volume decrease? How would the size of the...

Under what conditions might a stream's volume increase? Under what conditions might a stream's volume decrease?

The dischargeof a stream refers to the volume of water that passes any given point within a given amount of time. Thus, the discharge and the volume of a stream are affected by the amount of water within the stream at any given time. Factors such as melting seasons and floods would increase a stream’s volume. Droughts, which are periods of...

Under what conditions might a stream's volume increase? Under what conditions might a stream's volume decrease?

The discharge of a stream refers to the volume of water that passes any given point within a given amount of time. Thus, the discharge and the volume of a stream are affected by the amount of water within the stream at any given time. Factors such as melting seasons and floods would increase a stream’s volume. Droughts, which are periods of little precipitation, would decrease volumes within a stream. Hot temperatures can increase the rate of evaporation which in turn decreases the volume of water in a stream.

How would the size of the sediment particles in the stream’s load differ in the two situations?

As the volume of a stream increases, so does the size of the sediment particles carried by the stream.

The load of a stream refers to the matter that is carried by a stream. There are three types of loads which differ in the size of the particles that are carried by the stream. The three load types are dissolved loads, suspended loads, and bed loads. Dissolved loads involve the smallest particle sizes, such as dissolved ions. Suspended loads involve midsized particles, such as silts. Bed loads involve large particles, such as gravels.

The velocity of the stream directly affects its load. It would be expected that streams with low volumes of water would have a lower velocity and could carry dissolved loads. As the volume of water increases within a stream, it would be expected that the velocity would increase. In this case, suspended and bed loads could be carried. However, large, slow moving streams may have lower velocities and have a smaller load.