Chapter 27.3 and 27.4 Flashcards
The process by which water enters Earth and becomes groundwater below the surface
Infiltration
The upper boundary of the saturated zone is called
Water table
A rock unit that can transfer water through its pore space is called
Aquifer
The percentage of the material’s total volume that is a pore space
Porosity
The process of assigning an exact numerical age to an organism, an object, or an event
Absolute dating
The process of placing objects or events in their proper order in time
Relative dating
States that the laws nature operate today as they have in the past
Uniformitarianism
In an undisturbed sequence of a sedimentary rock layers, the youngest rocks will be at the top and the oldest rocks will be at the bottom
Principle of Superposition
Gaps in the rock record was absent
Unconformity
The remains or traces of organisms found in the geologic rock record are called
Fossil
What % of water on Earth is salt water?
97%
What % of water on Earth is freshwater?
3%
Where is the majority of freshwater found?
It is mostly found in glaciers
Where is the smaller % of freshwater found?
Lakes, rivers, and stored as ground water
What is precipitation?
When water vapor in the air cools and condenses
Ex, 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 molecules to form water droplets
What is the water cycle?
Water on the land that enters the atmosphere and then returns 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?
That when water is able to easily pass through sediment
What is an aquifer?
A rock unit that can transfer water through its pore space
What is the name of the great plains Aquifer?
Ogallala Aquifer
How many states does the Great Plains Aquifer run through?
8
What are the names of the states that the Great Plains Aquifer runs through?
South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas
What is an aquitard?
Keep water confined
How are water springs formed?
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 the water flows towards the well
