fresh water 8 (full)

What is the average amount of blood in the human body?

65%

How many days does a water molecule stay in the air?

10 days after evaporation

How much water is on earth; fresh and salt?

97% is salt, 3% is fresh

What is potable water?

drinkable water- contains dissolved salts

What is hard water?

contains lots of dissolved calcium and magnesium- causes scaly deposits in pipes

What is soft water?

contains more sodium, less calcium and magnesium

What is point source contamination?

Direct discharge into water which can be traced into a discrete point

non-point source contamination?

Sources of contamination that cannot easily be pinpointed

What is acid precipitation?

pollutants that get into water system when toxic substances are released into the air

pH scale acidic

0-6

on a pH scale the higher the number?

more basic

What is the optimum pH for river water?

7.4

What are physical characteristics of water quality?

color, suspended solids, turbidity, temperature

What happens to solubility of gases as temperature decreases?

The solubility of gases increases

Turbidity

A measure of how clear water is

Chemical characteristics of water quality?

pH, nutrients, mineral, metals, pollutants, dissolved oxygen

Biological characteristics of water quality?

Types and quantities of bacteria, algae, parasites, invertebrates, plants and other animals in water

What is a watershed/drainage basin?

Area that drains runoff into a body of water

What are continental divides?

type of drainage divide that separates drainage basins that empty into different bodies of water surrounding a continent

Where is the great continental divide?

Along Alberta/BC border

What is the origin?

The starting point of a river

Where is the origin of the bow river?

The bow glacier- east of continental divide

What happens because of high flow rate?

Increased sediment load and dissolved oxygen, greater change in elevation

What are Calgary's two reservoirs?

Glenmore amd Bearspaw

What is a meandering stream?

Curves develop because a stream's velocity is highest on the outside of curves, causing erosion there

What are riparian areas?

land areas close enough to water to be affected by it

What is a floodplain?

a flat surface next to a river or stream

What happens when there is slow flow rate?

More meandering, Decreased sediment load, less change in elevation

Why does slow flow rate = more meandering?

Slow = less energy to move in a straight line

What are glaciers?

Solid ice formations that forms when snow remains in the same area, year round (move slowly)

How long did the Ice Age last?

110 000 to 12000

What are continental glaciers?

Huge pieces of ice spread across continents, called icecaps

What are valley glaciers?

Formed by erosion of materials from high mountains

What are u shaped valleys?

Formed as glaciers carry rocks through pre-existing valleys carving out a u-shape in mountain ranges

What is glacial erosion?

-Glaciers that erode underlying rock due to abrasion and plucking

What is abrasion?

When rocks bang against each other and break, creating smooth surfaces

What is plucking?

The process by which a glacier picks up rocks as it flows over the land

What are glacial striations?

scratches cut into bedrock by glacial abrasion

What is cirque?

A bowl shaped basin eroded from valley glaciers

What is a Tarn?

A high altitude lake formed from meltwater trapped in a cirque

What are moraines?

Ridges of linear rock deposits

What is a horn?

Several cirques from glaciers from different directions leaving a sharp sided horn

What is an arete?

When glaciers move down opposite sides of a mountain, a share edge ridge is made

What is a glacier erratic?

A large boulder dropped by a glacier

What is glacial till?

When glaciers melt they drop off material they've been pushing

What is a kettle lake?

A shallow body of water formed when a block of ice falls and gets pushed under the glacier

What is an esker?

a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel

Whats is a drumlin?

An asymmetrical hill made of sediments thats points in the direction the ice moved

Climate vs. Weather

Climate is long term, weather is short term

What is specific heat capacity?

The amount of heat energy needed to change the temperature of a substance per unit mass

What are currents?

A stream of water that moves within a larger body of water

What can currents be caused by?

Wind, temp. differences in water, salinity, earths rotation, surface currents

What is salinity?

Amount of dissolved salt in water

How do currents influence climate?

by distributing heat around the planet, affecting weather patterns and temperatures in different regions

What 2 things do ocean currents affect?

Air temperature and amount of precipitation in the area

What are chinooks?

Abnormally warm winds that sweep across prairies

How does geography affect precipitation?

Geography influences precipitation by altering wind patterns, causing some areas to receive more rainfall while others remain dry due to mountains

Does warm air hold more or less moisture then cold air?

More moisture than cold air, leading to increased humidity levels.

What is deposition?

The laying down or depositing of sediments

How do waves work?

Movement of energy through water, usually causes by wind

What is the cause of waves?

Wind, the size of the wave depends on wind speed, duration, and distance

How many hight tides and low tides are there each day?

2

What causes tides?

The gravitational pull of the moon and earths rotation

What are spring tides?

- Occur at new or full moons

- largest diff. between high and low tides

- high gravitational pull

What are neap tides?

- occur at quarter moons

- small diff. between high and low tides

- gravitational pull in opposite directions

What is alkaline?

Substance withr pH greater than 7 (basic) neutralizes acids

What are algal blooms?

Rapid increase of algae in water

What are algal bloom causes and impacts?

Caused by excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus from sewage/runoff- can block sunlight, oxygen, and toxic

What are the 3 main LAKE zones?

Littoral-Limnetic-Profundal

What are the 4 OCEAN zones?

littoral - limnetic - eupotic - profundal

Why is there more oxygen during day than night?

Photosynthesis (requires sun) produces more oxygen in the day

What is respiration?

When organism break down food (glucose) to release energy, using oxygen and producing carbon dioxide and water

What is clear cutting?

Logging practice where all trees in an area are cut down all at once

Why can clear-cutting have an affect on aquatic environments?

Because erosion occurs, decreasing soil cover and increasing turbidity

Most fresh water is treated with chlorine to make it safe for drinking because it may contain?

Living organisms

What are nitrates and phosphates?

Nutrients found in fertilitzer- small amount helps plant grow, while large amounts lead to algal bloom

What are long term changes?

Gradual changes like climate change, melting glaciers, drought/desertification

What are dams and their affects?

Built to create reservoirs- they reduce biodiversity, alter habitats, etc.

What are oxygen concentrations?

The amount of dissolved oxygen in water which organism need to survive

What are short term changes?

Quick changes like floods, hurricanes, or wildfires

Why is fresh water treated with chlorine?

to kill microorganisms and make it potable

Why is each species important in aquatic food chain?

each species has a role in energy transfer and ecosystem balance?

What % is ground, frozen, and fresh water?

Frozen - 77%

Ground - 22%

Surface - 1%

What is bromothymol blue and what does it test for?

its a pH indicator- yellow = acidic, blue = basic, greens = neutral

What are soap flakes used to test for in water?

Water hardness- if soap doesn't lather easily = water has high calcium or magnesium

What is distillation?

water purification- boils water into vapor then condenses back to liquid leaving dirts behind

What is reverse osmosis?

filtration method- water is forced through a thin paper to remove dissolved salts and dirts

What is physical/mechanical weathering?

Breaking down of rocks into smaller pieces

What is biological weathering?

Weathering caused by living organism- roots growing into cracks

What is chemical weathering?

Breakdown of rocks by chemical reactions, often involving water and gases

What are 3 fresh water regions?

Ponds, Rivers, Wetlands

What is the intertidal zone?

Shoreline area of ocean (animals here need to withstand pounding waves)

What is the benthic zone?

Ocean floor

Domestic water use?

Used in homes- drinking, cooking, cleaning

Commercial water use?

Companies use- factories, agriculture, irrigation (uses more water then domestic!!!)

What do aquatic species adapt to?

Temperature, salinity, light, depth, oxygen levels

How do we monitor water quality?

Chemical (pH, metals)

Biological (aquatic species)

Physical (temp, turbidity)

What is upwelling?

occurs along coastlines, when nutrient-rich water rises to surface

What causes water quality to change?

Pollution, erosion, runoff, invasive species