chapter 11 Flashcards
surface water
water that collects on the surface of the ground.
river system
the patterns formed by the streams, rivers, and lakes in a particular drainage basin
watershed
an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas.
groundwater
water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock.
aquifer
a body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater.
porosity
as the ratio of the volume of pores to the volume of bulk rock and is usually expressed as a percentage.
permeability
the state or quality of a material or membrane that causes it to allow liquids or gases to pass through it.
recharge zone
refer to those areas where water infiltrates through the permeable rock and sediment but the saturated zone is at a depth where surface ecosystems (e.g. palustrine, lacustrine and riverine wetlands, riverine water bodies and terrestrial vegetation) are unable to access the groundwater.
potable
safe to drink; drinkable
pathogen
usually defined as a microorganism that causes, or can cause, disease. We have defined a pathogen as a microbe that can cause damage in a host
dam
barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its level, forming a reservoir used to generate electricity or as a water supply.
reservoir
a large natural or artificial lake used as a source of water supply.
desalination
the process of removing salt from seawater.
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.
point-source 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
non point -source pollution
are characterized by dispersed, not easily identifiable discharge points, e.g., runoff of pollutants into a waterway, like agricultural runoff,
wastewater
water that has been used in the home, in a business, or as part of an industrial process.
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.
thermal pollution
is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature.
biomagnification
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.
