In hydrology, the discharge of a river is the volume of water transported by it in a certain amount of time. The unit used internationally is m³/s (cubic meters per second). For example, the average discharge of the Rhine river is 2200 m³/s. In the United States cfs, cubic feet per second, is commonly used.

The discharge of a river can be estimated by taking the area of a cross-section of the river and multiplying it by the river's average velocity.

The greater the discharge of a river, the more sediment it may carry. In relative terms the ability to carry sediments depends on the settling velocity, the speed of the flow.

See alsoEdit

• Volumetric flow rate
• Adam Sammut
• Groundwater discharge

External linksEdit

• USDA NRCS National Engineering Handbook, Stage Discharge Relationships, Ch. 14
• USDA NRCS National Engineering Handbook
• Flow through orifice

Original content adapted from the Wikipedia article "Discharge (hydrology)" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discharge_%28hydrology%29