Ch. 11 Key Terms Flashcards
Surface Water
Fresh water on Earth’s land surface
River System
A flowing system of rivers and streams draining a river basin
Watershed
The area of land that is drained by a river
Groundwater
Water that is found beneath Earth’s surface in the spaces in sediment and rock formations
Aquifer
An underground formation that contains groundwater
Porosity
The percentage of the total volume of a rock that has spaces
Permeability
The ability of rock or soil to allow water to flow through it
Recharge Zone
An area of Earth’s surface from which water percolates down into an aquifer
Potable
Water that is safe to drink
Pathogens
Organisms that cause illness or disease
Dams
Built across rivers to control the river’s flow
Reservior
An artificial lake
Desalination
The process of removing salt from salt water
Water Pollution
The introduction of chemical, physical, or biological agents into water that degrade water quality and harm the organisms that depend on the water
Point-Source Pollution
Pollution discharged from a single source
Nonpoint-Source Pollution
Runoff pollution that comes from many different sources
Wastewater
Water that contains waste from homes or industry
Artificial Eutrophication
A process that increases the amount of nutrients in a body of water through human activities, such as waste disposal and land drainage
Thermal Pollution
A temperature increase in a body of water that is caused by human activity and that has a harmful effect on water quality and on ability of that body of water to support life
Biomagnification
The accumulation of pollutants at successive levels of the food chain
