APEX APES 2.1.2 Study Guide with Key Terms and Concepts in Earth's Water Systems

bed load

The large particles of rock that move along the bottom of a stream by rolling, sliding, or bouncing.

bioluminescence

The production of light by living organisms.

conductivity

How easily an electrical current moves through a substance.

cryosphere

The sphere of Earth that consists of frozen freshwater and saltwater.

currents

Large bodies of air or water flowing in a certain direction.

floodplain

The flat area on either side of a mature river or old river that is covered by water when the river flows out of its banks.

freshwater

Water that contains less than 1% salts.

gravity

An attractive force exerted by all matter.

groundwater

Water that falls as precipitation, soaks into the ground, and is stored there.

headwaters

The source of a stream. Headwaters consist of drainage areas in which melting snow and rainfall collect and/or the point where groundwater flows onto the ground's surface.

hydrogen bond

A type of strong polar attraction between an atom that strongly attracts electrons and a hydrogen atom that already has a covalent bond with another electronegative atom.

lake

A large body of standing water that is surrounded by land.

meander

Curves in the channel of a river.

ocean's conveyor belt

The continuous global circulation of ocean water that consists of sections of warm surface waters and cold deep waters.

old river

The part of a river that has a very low stream gradient, flows very slowly through a wide, U-shaped channel with many meanders, and has few tributaries.

oxbow lake

A narrow, curving lake formed when a meander gets cut off from an old river. Oxbow lakes get their name from the U-shaped yoke that was once used to hitch an ox to a plow.

permafrost

A permanently frozen layer of soil in areas with cold climates.

plankton

A community of tiny organisms that floats near the surface of a body of water.

polar

Refers to a molecule in which electrons are unevenly distributed so that one side of the molecule has a positive charge and the other has a negative charge (chemistry).

pond

A body of standing freshwater that is smaller than a lake.

pressure

The continuous force exerted by matter that is in contact with an object.

reservoir

Storage spaces for water, hydrocarbons, or gas.

runoff

The water from rainfall that flows in a sheet over the surface of the land.

seep

Areas where groundwater flows slowly out of the ground.

sounding

A process used to measure the depth of water, using a weight attached to a rope or wire marked off in units of depth.

spring

Openings in the ground through which groundwater flows.

standing water

Water that does not flow.

stream

A body of freshwater that flows in a definite channel across Earth's surface.

stream gradient

The slope of a stream, or the ratio of its vertical drop in elevation to its horizontal length.

surface water

Water that stands or flows on Earth's surface.

water vapor

Water in its gaseous form.

wetland

An area of land that is saturated with water for at least part of the year.

What are the three ways scientists think water formed on Earth?

1. A comet crashed into Earth and left behind puddles of methane, CO2, and dihydrogen oxide (H2O).

2. Earth begins to cool down and form a thin crust, then water begins rising from volcanic vents into the sky, forming clouds.

3. Rain poured from the clouds and a lot of it remained on the Earth.

What are the four unique properties of water?

1. It is a polar substance with its molecules having a positive and negative side.

2. The polarity causes the water to stick together, making the surface strong enough for insects on walk on it.

3. Water expands during freezing because of the shift between hydrogen bonds. They form between positive and negative poles of adjacent water molecules instead of the ones besides them.

4. The ice floats on water because its less dense. This is because of the hydrogen bond formation. This formation causes the molecules to spread out more than liquid water.

What are the nine freshwater locations? Largest to Smallest.

1. Glaciers and ice caps

2. Ground water

3. Ground ice and permafrost

4. Lakes

5. Soil

6. Atmosphere

7. Swamps and marshes

8. Rivers

9. Living things

What are the four Ocean Water Characteristics?

salinity, density, temperature, water pressure.

salinity

The concentration of dissolved salts in water.

Density

It is how much mass an object has. It decreases with temperature and increases in ocean water/salinity.

Temperature

How cold or warm something is. Temperature decreases with depth.

Water pressure

The continuous force exerted by matter (water) that is in contact with an object. Pressure increases with depth.

How are currents formed in the water?

Earth's currents are all affected by water temperature, winds, and the Earth's rotations. The currents develop because the warmer water by the equator stays by the top of the water, moving with the wind towards the poles, creating warm water currents. The cold water from the poles sink and slowly move toward the equator, creating cold water currents. When the colder water reaches the equator, it warms up because of the high insolation and then the process is repeated.

What are the five zones of the Ocean?

1. epipelagic

2. mesopelagic

3. bathypelagic

4. abyssopelagic

5. hadalpelagic.

epipelagic zone

The top zone of the open ocean; also known as the sunlit or euphotic zone.

mesopelagic zone

The middle zone of the open ocean; also known as the twilight zone because of the amount of light it receives.

bathypelagic zone

The deep zone of the open ocean; also known as the midnight zone because there is no light.

abyssopelagic zone

The bottom zone of the open ocean that extends to the seafloor.

hadalpelagic zone

Named for the god of the underworld, this zone is found in deep-sea trenches and canyons even deeper and more forbidding than the ocean floor.

Freshwater Streams

Four types of freshwater streams from largest to smallest: rivers, tributaries, creeks, brooks.

river

A larger natural stream of freshwater that flows into another stream, a lake, or the ocean.

tributary

A smaller stream of freshwater that flows into a larger stream.

creek

A small natural stream of freshwater. A creek often flows into a river.

brook

A very small natural stream of freshwater.

Why do rivers flow downhill?

Rivers flow downhill because of gravity.

What affects the rivers speed?

The water's flow speed is determined by its stream gradient

What is the source of the river?

headwaters

What are the three stages of a rivers life?

1. Young river

2. Mature river

3. Old river

young river

The part of a river near its headwaters. A young river has a steep stream gradient and no tributaries and flows swiftly through a relatively straight and narrow V-shaped channel.

Mature river

Part of the river farther from its source, wider and deeper, carrying more water with slower flow and suspended load.

Old river

Part of the river closest to its mouth, with low stream gradient, slow flow, and suspended load of sand and mud.

Bed load

Movement of large boulders and weathered rock in rivers, carving deep valleys for young rivers.

Suspended load

Movement of smaller rocks, sediment, mud, and sand in rivers, deposited on floodplains.

What is the difference between a bed load and a suspended load?

Bed loads are the movement of large boulders and pieces of weathered rock while a suspended load is the movement of smaller rocks, sediment, mud, and particles of sand. Bed loads can cause young rivers to carve out deep narrow valleys while suspended loads get deposited on floodplains.

What are the similarities of ponds and lakes?

They both are standing bodies of freshwater.

What are the differences of ponds and lakes?

Ponds are smaller and shallower than lakes.

Oxbow lake formation

Formed through erosion, faster water flow near river banks erodes land, creating a curved lake that straightens over time.

Lake zones

Littoral zone by shore, Limnetic zone top of water, Profundal zone beneath Limnetic, Benthic zone lake bottom. Not all lakes have these four zones.

littoral zone

The shoreline of a body of water, which is covered by shallow water and may periodically be exposed to air due to wave action and tides.

limnetic zone

The area of a body of water that is away from the shoreline and well-lit by sunlight. It lies above the profundal zone.

profundal zone

The deep area of a body of water that receives little or no light. It lies below the limnetic zone.

benthic zone

The bottom of a body of water, including the mud and other materials that settles out of the water.

Wetland characteristics

Marshes have little water flow, Swamps have slow flow, Bogs have still water, each with specific vegetation.

marsh

A wetland that contains mostly grasses, along with other soft-stemmed flowering plants and low-growing shrubs.

swamp

A wetland that contains trees.

bog

A wetland that contains many layers of sphagnum mosses and other small plants.

Importance of wetlands

Absorb flood forces, recycle nutrients, purify water, provide habitat for animals.

Groundwater features

Zone of aeration between surface and water table, water table boundary, zone of saturation below water table.