Aqua Sci Unit 9

Question 1

A confined aquifer is ____.

Answer 1

an aquifer in which an impervious surface keeps water from infiltrating, forcing the water to enter at a point farther away

Question 2

In an unconfined aquifer ____.

Answer 2

• have more surface area to recharge
• have more exposure to pollution
• water enters faster

Question 3

What is true in relation to lake stratification?

Answer 3

• The rapid change in water temperature forms a barrier between the warm surface water and the cold water below, (thermocline), keeping them from mixing together.
• The deep water does not experience the sun’s warming rays and remains cold.
• During the summer months, the surface waters heat up from the longer daylight hours and the tilt of the earth.

Question 4

What are subterranean streams?

Answer 4

streams whose path spend all or part of their time under the surface of the earth

Question 5

How can you tell if a river is young or old?

Answer 5

by how wide it is and by how big the bends are

Question 6

Lakes that are formed from ____________ are called graben lakes.

Answer 6

tectonic plates

Question 7

What is a riparian zone?

Answer 7

the vegetated area immediately surrounding a lake or river

Question 8

What does the term recharge mean?

Answer 8

process of water accumulating in an aquifer through precipitation and infiltration

Question 9

What does the term aquifer mean?

Answer 9

an underground rock formation that is able to hold groundwater

Question 10

Starting closest to the shore, the plants typical of all ___ are emergent plants, reeds and sedges, shrubs, and trees.

Answer 10

riparian zones

Question 11

Another word for watershed is ____.

Answer 11

drainage basins

Question 12

What is a watershed?

Answer 12

a region of land where all the water is drained into the same water body

Question 13

_____ is a measure of how well water can move through the pores, or holes, in a substance.

Answer 13

Permeability

Question 14

Carnivorous plants eat insects and other animals that can be found in ____.

Answer 14

bogs

Question 15

What are bogs? Where do they occur most often?

Answer 15

• A type of freshwater wetland and occurs where water does not drain very well.
• In them, decomposition rates are very slow mainly because they are cold and the organic matter within them is very acidic.
• They occur in the boreal forest or taiga and tundra regions.

Question 16

What is evapotranspiration?

Answer 16

a plant process that releases water into the atmosphere

Question 17

Which of the following freshwater wetlands are characterized by having open waters and large trees and shrubs, rather than grasses?

Answer 17

swamps

Question 18

How does irrigation affect watersheds?

Answer 18

If it is diverted from streams for irrigation it lowers the levels of the streams. Too much lowering can cause fish and other organisms to die.

Question 19

Most lake organisms are found in the __________ layer.

Answer 19

the epilimnion

Question 20

The shape and contours of watersheds are determined by ____.

Answer 20

topography

Question 21

What is a tributary?

Answer 21

a stream that flows into a larger stream or other water body

Question 22

What is a reservoir?

Answer 22

a natural or artificial place that stores water

Question 23

The middle layer in stratification is _____.

Answer 23

• the thermocline
• the layer in which a rapid temperature and oxygen level drop occurs
• keeping the other layers from mixing

Question 24

What is a creek?

Answer 24

a stream that contains a small volume of water flowing through it

Question 25

What is(are) an advantage(s) of an unconfined aquifer?

Answer 25

• more surface area to recharge

- water enters faster

Question 26

Why is groundwater so important?

Answer 26

Most of the world’s drinking water comes from groundwater located in aquifers.

Question 27

The _____ of forests can cause erosion, which may result in soil sediments entering the waterways.

Answer 27

logging

Question 28

What does the term saturated zone mean?

Answer 28

the area of an aquifer in which water completely fills the spaces in between the rocks

Question 29

Water bodies in which water flows or moves, such as streams or rivers are ____.

Answer 29

lotic

Question 30

Why is too much concrete a bad thing?

Answer 30

It increases runoff.

Question 31

What is porosity?

Answer 31

Porosity is a measure of how many holes are in a substance.

Question 32

How do fertilizers affect watersheds?

Answer 32

They get washed into runoff when it rains and enter streams, lakes, and oceans and causes algae blooms to grow because of the excess nutrients.

Question 33

What is a river?

Answer 33

refers to a stream that contains a large volume of water flowing through it

Question 34

The craters of volcanoes can form __________ lakes.

Answer 34

exploding

Question 35

What is an oligotrophic lake?

Answer 35

Oligotrophic lakes that lack the nutrients needed for plant growth, but are full of oxygen.

Question 36

Top down and bottom up are ___________ processes.

Answer 36

manmade and natural

Question 37

Some studies have shown that up to ______% of all wildlife is dependent upon riparian zones to some degree.

Answer 37

80

Question 38

What is an eutrophic lake?

Answer 38

• Eutrophic lakes are usually surrounded by fertile lands and are filled with many organisms.
• Eutrophic lakes that tend to be high in nutrients and low in oxygen.
• Eutrophic lakes also tend to contain high levels of algae and plants, which in turn create low levels of oxygen.

Question 39

What are marshes?

Answer 39

freshwater wetlands where the water is less than one meter deep

Question 40

Which is NOT true about fens?

Answer 40

They contain acidic water.

Question 41

The layer closest to the bottom in stratification is _____.

Answer 41

• the hypolimnion

- the cold, deep water layer of a lake that is low in oxygen and does not experience any mixing or upwelling

Question 42

What is turnover?

Answer 42

the seasonal mixing of top oxygen-rich lake layers and bottom nutrient-rich lake layers

Question 43

The layer closest to the surface in stratification is _____.

Answer 43

• the epilimnion

- the upper layer of a lake that receives sunlight, contains moderate-to-high oxygen levels, and experiences upwelling

Question 44

Large riverbends eventually cut off by sedimentation are known as ________ lakes.

Answer 44

oxbow

Question 45

What does the term salt intrusion mean?

Answer 45

when the freshwater lens is broken and saltwater intrudes into the freshwater supply

Question 46

What is a biomagnification?

Answer 46

the process of toxins and other materials accumulating inside organisms as they are transferred through a food chain

Question 47

How does water sewage systems work?

Answer 47

• Water is pumped back into the lake, river, or underground aquifer, where it will once again be piped to homes and businesses.
• Water is taken from lakes, rivers, or underground aquifers, and run through an extensive series of pipes to people’s homes and businesses.
• Sewage and waste water from homes and businesses are then carried to a sewage treatment plant, where the water is filtered.
• Chlorine is added to kill the rest of the bacteria and other microorganisms.

Question 48

Lakes contain less than ______% of the earth’s surface water,
however, they hold ______% of the earth’s fresh liquid

Answer 48

0.01

98

Question 49

What is a watershed moment?

Answer 49

generally refers to a critical point in history; these points in history have a broad effect, flowing down from that moment in time to the present and future society as a whole

Question 50

What does the term unsaturated zone mean?

Answer 50

the area of an aquifer that contains both air and water between the spaces of the rocks