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15 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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surface water |
the top layer of a body of water. |
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watershed |
an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas. |
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river system |
a river and all its branches.
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groundwater |
water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock.
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aquifer |
a body of permeable rock that can contain or transmit groundwater. |
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porosity |
Geology, Engineering. the ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the volume of the pores or interstices of a substance, as a rock or rock stratum, to the total volume of the mass. |
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permeability |
the capability of a porous rock or sediment to permit the flow of fluids through its pore spaces. |
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recharge zone |
recharge zones are environmentally sensitive areas because any pollution in a recharge zone can also enter the aquifer |
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water pollution |
The addition of harmful chemicals to natural water. Sources of water pollution in the United States include industrial waste, run-off from fields treated with chemical fertilizers, and run-off from areas that have been mined. |
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point-source pollution |
Point source pollution, on the most basic level, is water pollution that comes from a single, discrete place, typically a pipe. |
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nonpoint-source pollution |
Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution, unlike pollution from industrial and sewage treatment plants, comes from many diffuse sources. NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. |
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wastewater |
waste water, is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. Waste water can originate from a combination of domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural activities, surface runoff or storm water, and from sewer inflow or infiltration. |
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artificial eutrophication |
The natural process of eutrophication is accelerated when inorganic plant nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, enter the water from sewage and fertilizer runoff. Eutrophication caused by humans is calledartificial eutrophication. |
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thermal pollution |
Thermal pollution is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature. A common cause ofthermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers. |
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bio-magnification |
Biomagnification, also known as bioamplification or biological magnification, occurs when the concentration of a substance, such as DDT or mercury, in an organism exceeds the background concentration of the substance in its diet |
