Ch 11 key terms

Question 1

surface water

Answer 1

Surface water is any body of water above ground, including streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, reservoirs, and creeks.

Question 2

river system

Answer 2

A river system consists of a system or group of rivers so united that the water carried by the minor component streams finally unites in one body of flowing water, usually designated as the “trunk” or “master” river.

Question 3

watershed

Answer 3

an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas.

Question 4

groundwater

Answer 4

Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth’s surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water.

Question 5

aquifer

Answer 5

An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures or unconsolidated materials. Groundwater can be extracted using a water well.

Question 6

porosity

Answer 6

Porosity is defined as the ratio of the volume of pores to the volume of bulk rock and is usually expressed as a percentage.

Question 7

permeability

Answer 7

Permeability in fluid mechanics and the Earth sciences is a measure of the ability of a porous material to allow fluids to pass through it. The permeability of a medium is related to the porosity, but also to the shapes of the pores in the medium and their level of connectedness.

Question 8

recharge zone

Answer 8

The recharge zone is a 1,250 square mile area where highly faulted and fractured Edwards limestones outcrop at the land surface, allowing large quantities of water to flow into the Aquifer.

Question 9

potable

Answer 9

safe to drink; drinkable.

Question 10

pathogen

Answer 10

a bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that can cause disease.

Question 11

dam

Answer 11

a barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its level, forming a reservoir used to generate electricity or as a water supply.

Question 12

reservoir

Answer 12

a place where something is kept in store: such as. a : an artificial lake where water is collected and kept in quantity for use.

Question 13

desalination

Answer 13

the process of removing salt from seawater.

Question 14

water pollution

Answer 14

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities. Water bodies include for example lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants are introduced into the natural environment.

Question 15

point source pollution

Answer 15

A point source of pollution is a single identifiable source of air, water, thermal, noise or light pollution. A point source has negligible extent, distinguishing it from other pollution source geometries.

Question 16

nonpoint source pollution

Answer 16

Nonpoint source pollution is pollution resulting from many diffuse sources, in direct contrast to point source pollution which results from a single source.

Question 17

wastewater

Answer 17

water that has been used in the home, in a business, or as part of an industrial process.

Question 18

artificial eutrophication

Answer 18

Cultural or artificial eutrophication occurs when human activity introduces increased amounts of these nutrients, which speed up plant growth and eventually choke the lake of all of its animal life.

Question 19

thermal pollution

Answer 19

Thermal pollution, sometimes called “thermal enrichment,” is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers.

Question 20

biomagnification

Answer 20

the concentration of toxins in an organism as a result of its ingesting other plants or animals in which the toxins are more widely disbursed.