5.3B River regimes

• river regime = the character of the typical fluctuations of flow of a river
• • The volume of water moving past a point in a river per given time is called the discharge – m³ /sec or cumecs
  • The level of discharge is influenced by:
  • Rate of precipitation
  • The speed at which water transfers to the river across the drainage basin
• Discharge is calculated as Q = A x V 

  • Q is discharged in cumecs
  • A is a cross-sectional area in m²
  • V is the velocity in m/s 
• Hydrographs = measurement of discharge
• Annual hydrographs show the pattern of seasonal variation that takes place through a drainage basin to river discharge over a year.

  -> measured in cumecs

  -> Different conditions in different locations produce different levels of discharge over the course of a year