Hydrology and Meteorology

meteoric water

precipitation created by atmospheric processes

surface water

water that collects on the surface of the ground.

ground water

underground water that is held in the soil and in pervious rocks.

connate water

Water trapped in the pores of a sedimentary rock at the time of deposition; fossil water.

juvenile water

Water that is derived directly from magma and is thought to have come to the Earth's surface for the first time.

Hydrometeorology

study of the processes of precipitation and evaporation of water from the earth's surface

cryology

the study of snow and ice.

hydrography

the science of the measurement and description and mapping of the surface waters of the earth with special reference to navigation

potamology

study of surface streams (rivers)

Limnology

study of lakes,ponds, reservoirs

Study of inland waters

Oceanography

the study of the ocean and seas

geohydrology

dealing with the origin, nature, and occurence of subsurface water.

Infiltration

Flow of water from the land surface into the subsurface.

Percolation

The process by which water moves downward in the soil, toward the water table

saturated or phreatic zone

all rock openings are filled with water.

vadose zone or zone of aeration

unsaturated and filled partly with air and water; above the saturated zone

perched water table

occur when an impervious stratum w/in the zone of aeration interrupts percolation & causes groundwater to accumulate in a limited area above that stratum.

soil permeability

rate at which water and air move from upper to lower soil layers

Aquifer

saturated permeable material to yield significant quantities of water to wells & springs.

Aquitard

a confining layer or unit retarding groundwater but does not prevent the flow; a leaky confining bed

Storage > transmission

Aquiclude

porous & capable of storing water, does not transmit it at rates sufficient to furnish an appreciable supply.

Aquifuge

No interconnected openings, cannot store or transmit water

confined aquifer (artesian aquifer)

an aquifer surrounded by a layer of impermeable rock or clay that impedes water flow; under pressure

unconfined aquifer

an aquifer whose upper water surface is at atmospheric pressure, and thus is able to rise and fall.

Drawdown

A vertical distance of lowering of the groundwater level caused by pumping.

cone of depression

an area lacking groundwater due to rapid withdrawal by a well

Well

Deep hole drilled or dug into the ground to reach a reservoir of groundwater

recharge

the addition of new water to the saturated zone

recharge areas

water enters the groundwater system at

discharge areas

water leaves the ground water system at

Springs

A natural source of water formed when water from an aquifer percolates up to the ground surface.

Springs

Water from ______ are remarkably clear or sometimes tea-colored

thermal spring

Heated groundwater that naturally flows to the land surface.

Geysers

hot springs that shoot jets of steam and heated water into the air near boilin

Stream

a channel through which water is continually flowing downhill that is created from excess water from rain, snowmelt or near-surface groundwater

gaining stream (effluent stream)

a stream that receives water from the zone of saturation

losing stream (influent stream)

Stream that loses water to the zone of saturation.

Base flow

Effluent streams act as discharge zones for groundwater during dry seasons

caves and caverns

subterranean open areas formed as slightly acidic groundwater dissolves limestone along joints and bedding planes

stalactites

A deposit that hangs like an icicle from the roof of a cave; ceiling

stalagmites

a mound or tapering column rising from the floor of a cave, formed of calcium salts deposited by dripping water and often uniting with a stalactite.; ground

Sinkholes

closed depressions found on land surfaces underlain by limestone.

Karst Topography

An area with many sinkholes and a cave system beneath the land surface and usually lacking a surface stream.

petrified wood

Porous buried wood fill in or replaced by inorganic silica

Concentration

Cementing mater precipitates locally in a rock

Geodes

Partly hollow, globe-shaped bodies found in some limestones and locally in other rocks.

Bay

part of a large body of water that extends into a shoreline, generally smaller than a gulf; smaller than gulf

Tributary

A stream or river that flows into a larger river

waterfall

a cascade of water falling from a height, formed when a river or stream flows over a precipice or steep incline.

Sound

Large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper that bight, wider that fjord; narrow sea between two bodies of land

Strait

A narrow passage of water connecting two large bodies of water

Gulf

a deep inlet of the sea almost surrounded by land, with a narrow mouth.

Epilimnion

the upper layer of water in a stratified lake

Metalimnion (thermocline)

middle layer of lake, where the rate of change in temp. w/ depth is greatest.

Hypolimnion

the lowest layer of water in a stratified lake, typically denser and cooler than the water above and relatively stagnant.

Drainage basin

Open system that has inputs, outputs, stores, and transfers

Confluence

Where two rivers meet

Channel

Physical confines of a river; two banks, one bed

Atmospheric optics

rainbows, sunsets and halos; a spectacular display of colors and visuals in the sky.

Reflection

tendency of light to bounce off a surface; the angle at w/c light initially strikes a surface is equal to the angle at w/c light bounces off the same surface.

Rayleigh scattering (selective scattering)

occurs when certain particles are more effective at scattering a particular short wavelenght of light

Mie Scattering

responsible for the white appearance of clouds

Refraction

The bending of a wave as it passes at an angle from one medium to another

Diffraction

slight bending of light as it passes around the edge of an object.

constructive interference

The interference that occurs when two waves combine to make a wave with a larger amplitude

destructive interference

the interaction among two or more waves in which displacements combine to produce a wave with a smaller displacement or no vertical displacement

Crepuscular Rays

Rays of sunlight that appear to radiate from a single point in the sky. These are columns of sunlit air separated by darker cloud-shadowed regions.

Halo

ring of light surrounding the sun or moon

sundogs (parhelion; mock suns)

Bright colored spots on either side of the sun

Corona

crown or light around the sun or moon

Cloud iridescence

Diffraction of sunlight in clouds produce a multitude of colors

Rainbow

an arc of colored light in the sky caused by refraction of the sun's rays by rain drops

Primary Rainbow

The rainbow of visible spectral colours that results from a single internal reflection in rain drops (40-45 degrees)

Secondary rainbow

sun light comes in at a lower angle so it reflects twice off the back of the raindrop (52-54 degrees)

weather

The condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place.

Isobar

A line on a weather map that joins places that have the same air pressure

pressure gradient

the amount of pressure change occurring over a given distance

Coriolis Force

The apparent force, resulting from the rotation of the Earth, that deflects air or water movement.

Geostrophic

A theoretical horizontal wind blowing in a straight path, parallel to the isobars or contours, at a constant speed. The geostrophic wind results when the Coriolis force exactly balances the horizontal pressure gradient force.

Gradient winds

winds that blow at a constant speed parallel to curved isobars that are non-geostrophic winds

boundary layer

Depth of the atmosphere where friction plays a role in keeping the wind from being geostrophic

Offshore flow aloft

the movement of any weather feature moving away from land and to the sea; precursor to the sea breeze at the surface

onshore flow

Wind movement from water to land; precursor to the land breeze at the surface

sea breeze

result of uneven surfave heating

land breeze

temp. differences bet. a body of water and neighboring land produce a cool wind that blows offshore

stationary front

A boundary between air masses that don't move possibly causing rain for several days

front

A boundary between two air masses of different density.

cold front

the transition zone where a cold air mass is replacing a warmer air mass. move from NW to SE.

warm front

a transition zone between a mass of warm air and the colder air it is replacing. move from SW to NE.

occluded front

A cold front overtakes a warm front in a low pressure storm system.

Dry Line

A boundary between that separates dry air mass and moist air masses

Condensation

The change of state from a gas to a liquid.

convection current

a current caused by the rising of heated fluid and sinking of cooled fluid

Convective Instability of the Second Kind (CISK)

Condensation during hurricanes where air cools as it rises and condensation release latent heat

Relative Humidity (RH)

the amount of water vapor present in air expressed as a percentage of the amount needed for saturation at the same temperature.

Actual vapor pressure

the pressure exerted by the water vapor molecules in a given volume of air

saturation vapor pressure

Maximum amount of water air will hold (warm air hold more water than cold air)

convergent currents

places where currents running in different directions come together; horizontal net inflow of air

high level clouds

form above 20,000 ft; primarily composed of ice crystals

cirrus clouds

composed of ice crystals that originate from the freezing of super cooled water droplets.