Chapter 12 Flashcards
Fresh Water, Oceans, and Coasts
1
Q
Fresh water
A
water that is relatively pure/free from salts (2.5% of Earth’s water)
2
Q
Surface water
A
located atop Earth’s surface (like rivers/lakes)
3
Q
Groundwater
A
water beneath the surface (in pores in soil/rock); water that does not evaporate, flows into waterways, or gets taken up by organisms
4
Q
Aquifers
A
porous, spongelike formations of rock/sand
5
Q
Water table
A
upper border of an aquifer
6
Q
Recharge zone
A
area where water can infiltrate through the surface and reach the aquifer
7
Q
Confined aquifers
A
aquifers trapped between impermeable clay
8
Q
Unconfined aquifers
A
aquifers not trapped between impermeable clay
9
Q
Runoff
A
water that falls from the sky/melts from snow/glaciers and flows over a land surface; converges in low-lying areas, forming streams, which merge into rivers and eventually reach a lake/ocean
10
Q
Drainage basin/watershed
A
area of land drained by a river system and its tributaries
11
Q
Floodplain
A
areas near a river’s course that are flooded periodically
12
Q
Riparian forests
A
forests near riversides, in floodplains (which have especially fertile soil), which are especially rich in species
13
Q
Littoral zone
A
shallow area along the edges of lakes and ponds where aquatic plants can grow (abundant in invertebrates)
14
Q
Benthic zone
A
extends along the bottom of lakes and ponds
15
Q
Limnetic zone
A
upper layer of lake/pond water that is shallow enough to receive sunlight and allow photosynthesis by phytoplankton
16
Q
Profundal zone
A
area of lakes/ponds between benthic and limnetic zones that lacks photosynthesis and dissolved oxygen
17
Q
Oligotrophic lakes/ponds
A
low in nutrients, high in oxygen
18
Q
Eutrophic lake/pond
A
oligotrophic ponds/lakes transition to high-nutrient, low-oxygen conditions and nutrients are added
19
Q
Wetlands
A
systems where soil is saturated with water, often containing standing shallow water
20
Q
Freshwater marshes
A
wetlands where cattails and bulrushes grow above the water’s surface
21
Q
Swamps
A
wetlands in forested areas that contain standing water
22
Q
Bogs
A
ponds covered with thick floating mats of vegetation
23
Q
Vernal ponds
A
seasonal wetlands that form from snowmelt in early spring and dry up in summer
24
Q
How much of Earth do the five oceans cover?
A
71%
25
Currents
riverlike flows of water driven by differences in density, heating, cooling, gravity, and wind
26
Upwelling
pulls cold, deep, nutrient-rich water to the surface
27
Downwellings
converging surface currents transport warm surface water to deeper waters, providing an influx of dissolved oxygen and burying carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
28
Continental shelves
shelves that sit below shallow waters bordering continents which drop off and angle steeply downward toward the ocean basin
29
Shelf-slope break
where continental shelves drop off
30
Continental slope
where continental shelves angle steeply downward toward the deep ocean basin
31
Thermohaline circulation
worldwide current system in which warmer, low-salinity water moves along the surface and colder, saltier, denser water moves horizontally below the surface; moves warm water in the Gulf Stream to the Atlantic Ocean near Europe, where heat is released and cooler water sinks
32
North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW)
region of downwelling near Western Europe
33
El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
systematic shift in atmospheric pressure, sea surface temperature, and ocean circulation in the tropical Pacific Ocean
34
El Niño conditions
triggered when air pressure decreases in the eastern Pacific and increases in the western Pacific, weakening equatorial winds, allowing warm water to flow eastward, and suppressing upwelling along the Pacific American coasts - can create storm activity in arid regions and drier conditions in Indonesia
35
La Niña events
cold water rises to the surface and extends westward, strengthening westward-blowing winds
36
Intertidal ecosystems
spread between uppermost reach of high tide and lowest limit of low tide
37
Tides
periodic rising and falling of the ocean's height at a location due to the gravitational pull of the sun and moon
38
Estuaries
bodies of water where rivers flow into the ocean, mixing salt and freshwater; saltwater fluctuates due to tide and river flow changes; sheltered from heavy waves
39
Salt marshes
where tides wash over gently sloped sandy/silty substrates - provide biodiversity, filter pollutants, stabilize shorelines
40
Tidal creeks
currents that carry water from rising/falling tides in/out of salt marshes
41
Mangroves
salt-tolerant trees with roots that grow upward to gather oxygen and roots that grow down to support the tree
42
Kelp
large brown algae that grow toward the surface from the floor of continental shelves
43
Coral reef
mass of calcium carbonate composed of shells of corals, found along extensions of a shoreline, in a barrier island, or an atoll
44
Corals
tiny animals that make up coral reefs
45
Barrier island
coral reefs paralleling a shoreline
46
Atoll
island surrounded by a coral reef ring
47
Zooxanthellae
symbiotic relationships between coral and algae, which produce food through photosynthesis
48
Coral bleaching
when zooxanthellae lose color and die, depriving coral of nutrition, which happens when coral are stressed by increased water temperature and pollution
49
Photic zone
top layer of open ocean, where microscopic phytoplankton constitute the base of the food chain
50
Pelagic habitats
found between the ocean surface and floor
51
Benthic habitats
on the ocean floor
52
How is our freshwater use distributed?
70% agriculture, 20% industry, 10% residential
53
Consumptive use
irrigation removes water from aquifers and surface waters, but the water is not returned
54
Nonconsumptive use
does not remove or temporarily removes water from a source, like hydroelectric dams
55
Water mining
withdrawal of water faster than it can be replenished
56
Sinkholes
land surface subsides, causing buildings to lean/large areas of land to collapse, as aquifers lose water and cannot support overlying strata anymore
57
Flooding
snowmelt or heavy water swells the volume of a river so it spills out
58
Levees
built along the banks of main channels to protect against floods
59
Aqueducts/canals
artificial rivers that channel water from rivers/lakes to homes/farms
60
Dam
obstruction in a river/stream to block the flow
61
Reservoirs
artificial lakes created by dams to store water for human use (prevent floods, provide drinking water, facilitate irrigation, generate electricity)
62
Desalination/desalinization
removal of salt from sea water/other water
63
Distillation
desalination through heating and evaporating ocean water
64
Reverse osmosis
desalinating by filtering through membranes with tiny pores that trap salt
65
Rainwater harvesting
process of collecting rainwater with a rain barrel
66
Graywater
used water from showers/sinks, which can be used for watering in some places
67
Xeriscaping
landscaping using plants adapted to arid conditions
68
Water pollution
changes to chemical/physical/biological properties of water due to human activity
69
Point sources
discrete locations that release water pollution
70
Non-point sources
multiple inputs over large areas pollute a water source (farms, city streets, residential neighborhoods)
71
Nutrient pollution
from fertilizers/other sources, causes eutrophication and hypoxia in surface waters
72
Harmful algae blooms
population explosions of toxin-producing algae due to excessive nutrient concentrations
73
Red tide
harmful algae blooms that produce a red pigment that discolors the water
74
Wastewater
water affected by human activities (toilets, sinks, dishwashers, washing machines)
75
Sediments
eroded soils carried to rivers by runoff, transported long distances
76
Exxon Valdez
1989 oil spill disaster along the Alaskan coast
77
Deepwater Horizon
offshore oil platform exploded in 2010, spilling oil that washed ashore throughout the Gulf of Mexico region
78
Gyres
parts of the ocean where currents converge, where discarded fishing nets/lines, plastic bags/bottles, and trash accumulate
79
Great Pacific Garbage Patch
area in the southern Pacific where plastic outnumbers plankton 6:1
80
What happens to water from reservoirs/aquifers before it reaches the tap?
treated with chemicals to remove particles, filtered by sand/gravel/charcoal, disinfected with chlorine, tested for 90 contaminants based on EPA standards
81
Septic systems
separate solids and oils from water in rural eras, which then runs downhill through gravel-filled trenches where it can be decomposed
82
Primary treatment
physical removal of contaminants in settling tanks/clarifiers in urban treatment facilities
83
Secondary treatment
stir and aerate wastewater so bacteria can naturally decompose the wastes in it, in urban areas
84
Effluent
treated to kill bacteria and returned to rivers/lakes/the ocean
85
Biosolids
removed from water in treatment facilities and used as fertilizer
86
Purse seining
deploys large nets, suspended by buoys, around surface schools of fish
87
Driftnetting
use of long nets that span large expanses of water - targets species that traverse open water in schools
88
Longline fishing
setting out extremely long lines with hundreds/thousands of baited hooks spaced between their lengths
89
Trawling
dragging weighted cone-shaped nets through the pelagic zone
90
Bottom-trawling
drags weighted cone-shaped nets through the benthic zone; can destroy entire benthic ecosystems
91
Bycatch
accidental capture of animals during industrial fishing (up to 17% of commercially harvested fish are caught unintentionally)
92
Marine protected areas/MPAs
restrict some human activities but allow fishing/other extractive activities (about 3% of ocean waters)
93
Marine reserves
areas of ocean where fishing is prohibited
94
Ocean acidification
ocean becomes more acidic from absorbing carbon-dioxide, making it difficult for shell-forming organisms to use carbonate ions to make shells, which also begin to erode faster than they are made after the concentration hits a certain level
95
Zone of aeration
aquifer's upper layer, which contains pore spaces partly filled with water
96
Zone of saturation
aquifer's lower layer, completely filled with water
97
Tributary
smaller river flows into a larger one
98
River system
river and all its tributaries
