Ch 27.3 Flashcards
Infiltration
The process by which water enters Earth and becomes groundwater below the surface.
Water Table
The upper boundary of the saturated zone.
Aquifer
A rock unit that can transfer water through its pore space.
Porosity
The percentage of the materials total volume that is pore space.
Absolute Dating
The process of assigning an exact numerical age to an organism, an object, or an event.
Relative Dating
The process of placing objects or events in their proper order in time.
Uniformitarianism
The laws of nature operate today as they have in the past.
Principal of Superposition
Undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rock layers, the youngest rocks will be at the top and the oldest rocks will be at the bottom.
Unconformity
Gaps in the rock record during which either erosion occurred or deposition was absent.
Fossils
The remains or traces of organisms found in the geologic rock record.
What percentage of water on Earth is salt water????????
97%
What percentage of water on Earth is freshwater????????
3%
Where is the majority of freshwater found??????????
Freshwater is found in Glaciers (2%)
Where is the smallest percentage of freshwater found???????????????
Lakes
Rivers
Stored in Ground Water
What is precipitation???????
When water vapor in the air cools and condenses to form liquid water or ice crystals. Forms of precipitation are rain, snow, sleet, and hail.
What is runoff???????
Water running off the Land Surface.
What is infiltration???????
The process by which water enters Earth and becomes groundwater below the surface.
What is transpiration???????
When plants release water vapor into the atmosphere through their leaves.
What is evaporation???????
When water enters the atmosphere as water vapor.
What is condensation???????
When water vapor collides with other water vapor molecules to form water droplets. Eventually the water droplets are heavy enough to fall as precipitation.
What is the water cycle?????????
The water cycle is when water comes to land goes into the atmosphere and comes back to land.
What is an unsaturated zone for groundwater storage???????
A porous area where water easily passes through.
What is a saturated zone for groundwater storage????????
Beneath the unsaturated zone, where water completely fills the pore space.
What is a Water Table??????????
The upper boundary of the saturated zone.
What does it mean if sediment is permeable??????????
The more permeable the material is the easier water can infiltrate through the ground.
What is an Aquifer????????
A rock unit that can transfer water through its pore spaces.
What is the name of the Great Plains Aquifer?????
Ogallala Aquifer
How many states does the Great Plains Aquifer run through????????
8 states
What are the names of the states that the Great Plains Aquifer run through????????
South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.
What is an aquitard??????
Its a layer of sediment that does not allow water to flow through.
How are water springs formed????????????
Springs form where the water table naturally meets Earth´s surface.
What is an artesian well???????????
Wells drilled into pressurized aquifers.
What is a cone of depression???????????????
The direction that water flows is directed down toward the well.
