Water Resources, Hydrogeology, and Florida Karst Systems

Comprehensive vocabulary terms and concepts covering global hydrology, surface freshwater distribution, groundwater mechanics, and Florida's hydrogeology and karst features.

Aral Sea Volume Loss

The substantial shrinkage of the Aral Sea, which was not primarily caused by river water diversion for growing cities in Asia.

Lake Baikal and the Great Lakes

Major global freshwater bodies that collectively contain about $40\%$ of the Earth's fresh surface water.

Nile River

The African river traditionally recognized as the longest river in the world.

Confined Aquifer

A permeable water-bearing geologic formation bounded by impermeable layers; it is typically not highly susceptible to direct surface contamination and commonly coexists with unconfined aquifers on the same landscape.

Unconfined Aquifer

An aquifer whose upper boundary is the water table, leaving it directly open to and recharged from the ground surface.

Amazon Watershed

The largest drainage basin and river watershed on Earth.

Global Groundwater Withdrawals

Worldwide extractions of freshwater, of which far less than $80\%$ are drawn from groundwater sources.

Sandstone Aquifer

An example of a consolidated rock aquifer rather than an unconsolidated sedimentary aquifer.

Ocean Salts

Dissolved mineral salts in seawater that originate from water moving across land surfaces or through rivers and groundwater.

St. Johns River

The longest river situated entirely within the borders of Florida.

Florida Population Growth ($1950$–$1970$)

A notable period of post-war expansion during which Florida's population doubled.

Precipitation (Chemical)

The chemical process in which two ions of equal but opposite charges bond together in solution to form an insoluble solid.

Floridan Aquifer Limestone Formation

A biological sedimentation process where marine invertebrates such as corals incorporated calcium and carbonate into their shells to produce carbonate rock.

Floridan Aquifer Upper Confining Unit

A geologic confining layer whose deposition and formation were significantly influenced by historical fluctuations in sea level.

Cover-Collapse Sinkhole

The most frequently reported sinkhole type, which develops where a thick layer of cohesive clayey material overlies dissolving limestone bedrock.

Floridan Aquifer Groundwater Flow

The hydraulic movement of subterranean water through the Floridan aquifer driven by differences in elevation.

Peninsular Florida High Elevations

Topographic high points located primarily near the central interior portion of peninsular Florida.

Naturally Acidic Rainfall

Precipitation that naturally possesses a weakly acidic pH prior to reaching the ground.

Florida Karst Landscape

A terrain marked by dissolution landforms such as sinkholes and springs, underlain by soluble carbonate bedrock rather than granite.

Sinkhole Lakes

Depression lakes that account for the majority of lake formation across Florida and whose water levels fluctuate with the volume and hydrostatic pressure of the underlying aquifer.

Florida Lake Characteristics

The physical traits typical of lakes across Florida, which tend to be warm, shallow, and small rather than deep.

Productive Floridan Aquifer Units

The highly permeable, water-bearing rock layers of the Floridan aquifer deposited between approximately $66$ and $23\text{ million years ago}$.

Florida Domestic Water Supply

The single largest category of groundwater extraction in Florida, accounting for more than one half of all groundwater withdrawals in the state.

Floridan Aquifer Recharge Zones

Inland elevated areas of Florida where recharge predominantly occurs, rather than near coastal margins.