The ability of streams to carry a load is determined by 2 factors: Competence and Capacity . Competence of a stream measures the largest PARTICLES it can transport. A stream’s competence increases with it velocity. The competence of a stream increases 4 times-when the velocity doubles.
What factors increase stream load?
Stream load is directly proportional to stream velocity and stream gradient and relates the amount of material transported past a point during a specified time interval. The greater the velocity, the greater the sum of the mass that can be transported by a stream (stream load).
What factors determine what kind of load a stream can carry?
The size of particles that can be carried within a load is determined by the stream’s velocity . Faster streams can carry larger particles. Streams that carry larger particles have greater competence. Streams with a steep gradient (slope) have a faster velocity and greater competence.
What determines the maximum sediment load of a stream?
Capacity and competence.
The maximum load of sediment that a stream can transport is called its capacity . Capacity is directly proportional to the discharge: the greater the amount of water flowing in the stream, the greater the amount of sediment it can carry.
What two factors govern the carrying capacity of a stream?
Carrying capacity, or the maximum number of individuals that an environment can sustain over time without destroying or degrading the environment, is determined by a few key factors: food availability, water, and space .
What is the load of a stream?
Stream load is a geologic term referring to the solid matter carried by a stream (Strahler and Strahler, 2006). Erosion and bed shear stress continually remove mineral material from the bed and banks of the stream channel, adding this material to the regular flow of water.
What are the components of stream load?
- the bed load – materials bounced along the stream bottom.
- the suspended load – material carried in suspension in the stream water.
- the dissolved load – material carried as dissolved solids in the stream water.
What are the three types of sediment load?
When particles are eroded and transported by wind, water, or ice, they become part of the transport medium’s sediment load. There are three categories of load that may be transported by an erosional agent: dissolved load, suspended load, and bedload .
Where is the stream most likely flowing the fastest?
In fact, the velocity just below the surface is typically a little higher than right at the surface because of friction between the water and the air. On a curved section of a stream, flow is fastest on the outside and slowest on the inside.
What is the difference between stream competence and capacity?
The competence of a stream refers to the maximum size of the pieces of sediment it can move . Faster-moving water has greater competence and can move larger pieces of sediment. The capacity of a stream is the total amount of sediment it can move. Capacity depends on how fast the stream is moving and its total discharge.
What is the dissolved load of a stream?
Dissolved load is the portion of a stream’s total sediment load that is carried in solution , especially ions from chemical weathering. It is a major contributor to the total amount of material removed from a river’s drainage basin, along with suspended load and bed load.
What is the largest particle size that a stream can transport?
CM – the maximum particle size a stream can transport. Streams with faster velocity have higher competence.
How do streams become graded?
The factors that make a river larger and the factors that make it smaller balance out . This is when it becomes a graded stream. ... Well, the faster, thinner and steeper parts of the stream erode a lot of material. But the slower, wider, and shallower parts of the stream deposit more material than they erode.
How do you calculate carrying capacity?
- Formula. K = r * N * (1-N) / CP.
- Rate of Population Increase (%)
- Population Size.
- Change in Population Size.
What is an example of a carrying capacity?
Carrying Capacity Examples
Another example is the tree population in a forest . Let’s say a forest can have a carrying capacity of about a hundred trees. This means that the trees can grow without fiercely competing for sunlight, nutrients, and space.
Why is carrying capacity difficult?
Carrying capacity is the maximum number of a species an environment can support indefinitely. Every species has a carrying capacity, even humans. However, it is very difficult for ecologists to calculate human carrying capacity. ... We do not reproduce, consume resources, and interact with our living environment uniformly.
