Aquatic Environments, Water Cycle, and Water Properties

Flashcards about the aquatic environment, the water cycle, and physical properties of water.

Water Cycle (Hydrologic Cycle)

The continuous movement of water between the earth and atmosphere, driven by solar radiation.

Evaporation

The process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor.

Interception

The capture of precipitation by living vegetation, dead organic matter, or man-made surfaces before it reaches the soil.

Infiltration

The process by which water on the ground surface enters the soil.

Surface Runoff

Water flowing over the land surface.

Transpiration

The process by which water exits from soil through plants.

Evapotranspiration

The combination of evaporation and transpiration, representing the total water loss to the atmosphere.

Reservoir

A place where water is stored in the water cycle (e.g., oceans, ice, groundwater, lakes, atmosphere).

Flux

The rate of movement of water between reservoirs in the water cycle (e.g., precipitation, evaporation, river flow).

Turnover Time

The average time a water molecule spends in a particular reservoir, calculated as reservoir size divided by the rate of output (flux out).

Cohesion

The property of water molecules to stick to each other, resulting in surface tension.

Adhesion

The property of water molecules to stick to other substances.

Specific Heat

The amount of heat (calories) required to raise the temperature of a substance.

Latent Heat

The energy released or absorbed during a phase change (e.g., melting, freezing, evaporation, condensation).

Viscosity

The force necessary to separate molecules in a fluid to allow an object to pass through. Water has a viscosity 100x that of air.

Buoyancy

The upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of an immersed object.

Attenuation

The reduction in the quantity and quality of light as it passes through water, due to reflection, absorption, and scattering.

Epilimnion

The warm, lower-density surface waters of a lake.

Thermocline

The zone of rapid temperature change in a lake.

Hypolimnion

The cold, higher-density deep waters of a lake.

Solute

A substance that is dissolved in a solvent.

Solvent

A substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution.

Solution

A homogeneous mixture of a solute dissolved in a solvent.

Acidic

Having a pH less than 7, indicating a higher concentration of hydrogen ions (H+).

Alkaline

Having a pH greater than 7, indicating a lower concentration of hydrogen ions (H+).

Ocean Acidification

The ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans, caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.