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Geology & Earth Sciences vocabulary · Water Cycle & Hydrology

Runoff

Meaning in geology & earth sciences, with examples

/ˈrʌnɔːf/nounCommon term

In geology & earth sciences, runoff means: Water from rain or melting snow that flows over the ground surface into streams and rivers instead of soaking into the soil.

In Turkish: yüzey akışı, yüzeysel akış

How it is used

Used in hydrology, agriculture and environmental reports: surface runoff, stormwater runoff, agricultural runoff. Runoff increases on paved, bare or saturated ground and can carry soil, fertiliser and pollutants. The noun is one word; the verb is 'run off'.

Example sentences

  1. Concrete surfaces in cities increase runoff and the risk of flash floods.

  2. Runoff from the farms carries nitrates into the lake.

Common collocations

  • surface runoff
  • agricultural runoff
  • stormwater runoff
  • runoff coefficient
  • precipitationWater that falls from clouds to the ground as rain, snow, sleet or hail. It is usually measured in millimetres per day, month or year.
  • drainage basinThe whole area of land from which rainwater and snowmelt flow into one river and its tributaries, separated from neighbouring basins by higher ground.
  • water cycleThe continuous movement of water between the oceans, the atmosphere and the land through evaporation, condensation, precipitation and runoff.
  • erosionThe removal of soil and rock fragments from one place and their transport to another by water, wind, ice or gravity.

More terms: Water Cycle & Hydrology

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