Precipitation runoff

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-021877",
  "term": "Precipitation runoff",
  "field": "Environment",
  "term_source": "Precipitation Runoff",
  "definition": "1. Water, including rain and snow, which is not absorbed into the ground. Instead, it flows across the land and eventually runs into streams and rivers. Runoff can pick up pollutants from the air and land, carrying them into the stream.\n\n2. That part of the precipitation, snow melt, or irrigation water that appears in uncontrolled surface streams, rivers, drains or sewers. Runoff may be classified according to speed of appearance after rainfall or melting snow as direct runoff or base runoff, and according to source as surface runoff, storm interflow, or ground-water runoff.\n\n3. The total discharge described in (2), above, during a specified period of time.\n\n4. Also defined as the depth to which a drainage area would be covered if all of the runoff for a given period of time were uniformly distributed over it.\n\n5. The total discharge of water. As used herein it is the surface water yield per unit area of the hillslope. Runoff is commonly expressed as an equivalent depth of water, mm or inches, per unit area represented by the entire hillslope profile.",
  "subject": "Natural environments",
  "references": [
    "OWOW Glossary",
    "USGS Water Science Glossary of Terms",
    "USDA ARS Engineered Information Systems for Natural Resources Glossary"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/precipitation-runoff/"
}