APES Unit 8A Vocabulary

aquifers

aquifers

permeable, underground layers of rock, sand, and gravel saturated with water

dam

device constructed to block a river; built up water can be used for irrigation, drinking water, and hydro power.

desalination

The process of obtaining fresh water from salt water by removing the salt.

distillation

A process that separates the substances in a solution based on their boiling points; one of the 2 main ways to do desalination.

drainage basin

the area from which a single stream or river and its tributaries drains all of the water. aka watershed.

drought

A long period of dry weather

estuary

area where fresh water from streams and rivers merges with salty ocean water; productive ecosystem

eutrophic

type of lake with good amount of flora and fauna

floodplain

an area along a river that forms from sediments deposited when the river overflows its banks

groundwater

Water found in the spaces between soil particles and cracks in rocks underground.

oligotrophic

a condition of a lake or other body of water characterized by low nutrients, low productivity.

recharge

new water that enters the aquifer from the surface

reliable surface runoff

the amount of surface runoff that we can generally count on as a source of freshwater from year to year

reservoir

a large natural or artificial lake used as a source of water storage.

reverse osmosis

A desalinization process that involves forcing salt-water through a membrane permeable to water but not to salt; one of the 2 main ways desalination is done.

saltwater instrusion

The movement of seawater into a freshwater aquifer near the coast; caused by overpumping freshwater from the aquifer.

sediment

Particles of rock and sand.

sinkhole

A depression produced in a region where soluble rock has been removed by groundwater

subsidence

sinking of land due to removal of subsurface material, including water, oil, or gas

surface runoff

Water flowing off the land into bodies of surface water.

surface water

Water above the surface of the land, including lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, and runoff.

water table

The upper limit (top) of groundwater held in an aquifer

watershed

An ecosystem where all water runoff drains into a single body of water

zone of saturation

an area where all the pores in a rock are completely filled with water.

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)

Amount of oxygen required by aquatic bacteria to decompose given load of organic waste; a measure of water pollution. A high BOD means bad water.

cultural eutrophication

Overnourishment of aquatic ecosystems with plant nutrients (mostly nitrates and phosphates) because of human activities such as agriculture, urbanization, and discharges from industrial plants and sewage treatment plants.

Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

Amount of oxygen in the water. A high DO is good.

flocculation

particles that stick together in the water treatment process; a way of clearing the water of very fine particles.

inorganic plant nutrients

Examples include water-soluble nitrates and phosphate

leachate

polluted liquid produced by water passing through buried wastes in a landfill

nonpoint sources

broad, and diffuse areas, rather than points, from which pollutants enter bodies of surface water or air.

ogallala

World's largest aquifer; under parts of Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas (the Midwest). Holds enough water to cover the U.S. with 1.5 feet of water. Being depleted for agricultural and urban use.

oxygen-demanding wastes

organic matter that enters a body of water and feeds microbes that are decomposers; usually sewage or manure.

point sources

single identifiable source that discharges pollutants into the environment. Examples include the smokestack of a power plant or an industrial plant, drainpipe of a meatpacking plant, chimney of a house, or exhaust pipe of an automobile.

primary sewage treatment

mechanical sewage treatment in which large solids are filtered out by screens and suspended solids settle out as sludge in a sedimentation tank

secondary sewage treatment

a biological process in which aerobic bacteria remove as much as 90% of dissolved and biodegradable, oxygen-demanding organic wastes

septic tank

large tank where solid matter or sewage is disintegrated by bacteria

sewage sludge

solid material that remains after primary treatment and secondary treatment

tertiary sewage treatment

Advanced Sewage Treatment: series of specialized chemical and physical processes used to remove specific pollutants left in the water after primary and secondary treatment

thermal pollution

the addition of warm water into a body of water

water pollution

the addition of any substance that has a negative effect on water or the living things that depend on the water

cone of depression

lowering of the water table around a pumping well

drainfield

An area where the effluent from a septic tank is distributed into the ground

salinization

Accumulation of salts in soil that can eventually make the soil unable to support plant growth.