Unit 8 vocab

Jambo's unit 8

aquifers

porous saturated layers like sand/gravel that can hold a significant amount of water and transmit it freely. Underground reservoirs of water that can be tapped for wells and springs.

Barrier island

long, narrow offshore sandbars/sediment parallel to the mainland that provide protection against ocean waves and storms.

Coriolis effect

the interaction between an object traveling on Earth and the rotation of the Earth. Objects appear to be moving in straight lines, but are actually moving in curves in space.The way Earth's rotation makes winds in the Northern Hemisphere curve to the right and winds in the Southern Hemisphere curve to the left.

cultural eutrophication

over nourishment of aquatic ecosystems with plant nutrients because of human activities and industrial plants/sewage treatment(think of dams and sediments building up outside of it)

dam

a structure build across a river to control the rivers flow or to create a reservoir

delta

refers to an area built up by deposited sediments where the river meets a body of water, forming a triangular or fan-shaped landform.

Desalination

Removal of salt from water by boiling and recondensing

Doldrums

the belt of calm winds and low pressure near the equator where sailing ships can get stuck due to the lack of wind

Drip irrigation systems

irrigation method that saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters.

Eutrophication

physical,biological, and chemical changes that happen after a lake or slow moving stream receives inputs of plant nutrients from natural erosion and runoff

Floodplain

a flat valley floor next to a stream channel, any low area that has the potential for flooding

Freshwater

water such as a lake water, river water, pond water and well water that most organisms can drink or use for life functions. Most tied up in glaciers, icecaps and underground aquifers.

Groundwater

water that sinks into the soil and is stored in aquifers

Headwaters

start off as small wetlands but then turn into a river or stream. It’s the starting point of the stream/river and is the smallest part of it

Nonpoint sources

when you generally know who polluted but you don’t know who exactly

point sources

when you know exactly who polluted

Physical treatment

In a sewage treatment plant, the initial filtration that is done to remove debris such as stones, sticks, rags, toys, and other objects that were flushed down the toilet.

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

Prior appropriation

water rights: surface water - based on first come first serve approach; the first user of a stream establishes a legal right for continued use of the amount originally withdrawn

red tide

an event that occurs on the coastline when algae—a plant-like organism—grows out of control. the name comes from the fact that overgrown algae can cause the water to change color.

reservoir

artificial lake created by a dam

secondary sewage treatment

second step in most waste treament in waste treatment systems in which aerobic bacteria remove as much as 90% of dissolved and biodegradable, oxygen demanding organic wastes

septic tank

small underground sewerage treatment system. Wastewater enters and solids sink to the bottom and bacteria decompose before being emptied into a field

sludge

gooey mixture of toxic chemicals,infectious agents, and settled sediments removed from wastewater at a sewage treatment plant

surface runoff

water flowing off the land into bodies of surface water

surface water

Glaciers, snow, rivers, Streams, lakes and ponds, wetlands, and oceans replenished by runoff

Thermocline

A layer in an ocean or lake where there is a rapid change in temperature with depth.

upwelling

refers to the process of cold, nutrient-rich water rising to the surface in the ocean. It can occur far from shore but usually takes place along certain steep coastal areas where the warm surface layer of ocean water is pushed away from shore and replaced by cold, nutrient rich bottom water.(slide 27 APES)

virtual water

water that is not directly consumed but is used to produce food and other products

water footprint

a rough measure of water that we use directly and indirectly to keep a person or group alive and to support lifestyles

Water pollution

any physical or chemical change in surface water or groundwater that can harm living organisms or make water unfit for certain uses

watershed (drainage basin)

area drained by a river

Water-scarce

The lack of freshwater resources. a country suffers when per capita water availability falls below 1,000 cubic meters (35,000 cubic feet) per year.

Water-stressed

when water demand is higher than the amount available during a certain period of time. when the
volume of reliable runoff per person drops below
about 1,700 cubic meters (60,000 cubic feet) per year

water table

upper surface of the zone of saturation in which all available pores in the soil and rock in the earth’s crust are filled with water

zone of saturation

Zone where all available pores in soil and rock in the earth’s crust are filled by water