Ch. 11 Key Terms. Flashcards
Surface water
Surface water is fresh water on Earth’s land surface. Sur-face water is found in lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands.Throughout history, people have built cities, towns, and farms near reliable sources of surface water.
river system
As streams and rivers move across the land, they form a flowing network of water called a river system
watershed.
The area of land that is drained by a river is known as a watershed.
groundwater
Water that is found beneath Earth’s surface in the spaces in sediment and rock formations is called groundwater
aquifer.
An underground formation that contains groundwater is called an aquifer.
Porosity
Porosity is the percentage of the total volume of a rock that has spaces (pores).
permeability.
The ability of rock or soil to allow water to flow through it is called permeability.
recharge zone.
An area of Earth’s surface from which water percolates down into an aquifer is called a recharge zone.
potable
Most water must be treated to make it potable, or safe to drink.
pathogens
Water treatment also removes pathogens, which are organisms that cause illness or disease. Bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and parasitic worms are common pathogens
Dams
Dams are built across rivers to control the river’s flow
Reservoirs
reservoir, is formed behind the dam. Reservoirs can be used for flood control, drinking water, irrigation, recreation ,and industry.
Desalination
Desalination is the process of removing salt from saltwater.
Water pollution
Water pollution is 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
point-source pollution, which is pollution discharged from a single source.
Nonpoint-source pollution
Nonpoint-source pollution , also known as runoff pollution, comes from many different sources that are often difficult to identify.
Wastewater
Wastewater is water that contains waste from homes or industry
artificial eutrophication.
Eutrophication is accelerated when inorganic plant nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, enter the water from sewage and fertilizer runoff. This is referred to as artificial eutrophication.
Thermal pollution
Thermal pollution can occur when power plants and other industries use water in their cooling systems and then discharge the warm water into a lake or river.
biomagnification.
Each organism stores the pesticide in its tissues and the concentration of the pesticide that is passed on to the next organism in the food chain increases. This buildup is called biomagnification.
