Throughflow vs. Throughfall — What's the Difference?

In hydrology, throughflow, a subtype of interflow (percolation), is the lateral unsaturated flow of water in the soil zone, typically through a highly permeable geologic unit overlying a less permeable one. Water thus returns to the surface, as return flow, before or on entering a stream or groundwater.

In Hydrology, throughfall is the process which describes how wet leaves shed excess water onto the ground surface. These drops have greater erosive power because they are heavier than rain drops.

(hydrology) The movement of water horizontally beneath the land surface, usually when the soil is completely saturated.

(hydrology) The shedding of excess water from leaves to the ground.

(hydrology) The movement of an identifiably separate body of water through a larger body (such as a current of fresh water through salt water).