“Ch. 11 Key Terms.” Flashcards
Surface Water
fresh water on Earth’s land surface
River System
A flowing network of water made up of streams and rivers.
Watershed
Area of land drained by a river
Groundwater
Water found beneath Earth’s surface in the gaps in sediment and rock formations
Aquifer
Underground formation that contains groundwater.
Porosity
The percentage of the total volume of a rock that has pores/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
safe to drink
Pathogens
organisms that cause illness or disease
Dams
built across rivers to control the rivers flow
Reservoir
An artificial lake made when a river is dammed
Desalination
process of removing salt from salt water
Water Pollution
introduction of chemical, physical, or biological agents into water that degrade water quality and harm the organisms that depend on water
Point-source Pollution
pollution discharged from a single source
Nonpoint-source Pollution
Also known as runoff pollution, comes from may different sources that are often difficult to identify.
Wastewater
water that contains waste from homes or industry
Artificial eutrophication
When non-organic matter enters the water from waste and fertilizer
Thermal Pollution
When the temp of a body of water increases
Biomagnification
when organisms eat each other they pass on their pesticides, which build up to hurt the top of the food chain
