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earth and environmental > hydrology and geology > Flashcards

hydrology and geology Flashcards

1
Q

what is soil?

A

weathered rocks and organic material

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2
Q

what is humus?

A

dark and spongey decomposed organic material

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3
Q

what are layers of soil called

A

horizons

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4
Q

what is the a horizon?

A

the top layer of soil, also called top soil, most humus, rich in organic material

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5
Q

what is the b horizon?

A

the middle layer of soil, also called subsoil, less humus than a horizon

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6
Q

what is the c horizon?

A

under b horizon, above parent rock, mostly rocky sediment

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7
Q

what is sol conservation?

A

an effort to prevent and keep soil fertile

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8
Q

how does covering (or planting in) soil prevent erosion?

A

the roots of plants dont allow the soil to be blown away by wind or washed away by water

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9
Q

what does it mean to terrace land?

A

to plant in rows down a hill to prevent erosion

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10
Q

what is a levee?

A

an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed wall which regulates water levels

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11
Q

what is a water table?

A

highest point filled with water (within the saturation zone)

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12
Q

what is a divide?

A

high land area that separates one watershed from another

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13
Q

what are some features of a river or stream?

A

stream channels, channel beds, channel banks, tributaries, meander, oxbow lake, delta

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14
Q

what is a stream channel?

A

path that a stream follows

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15
Q

what is a channel bed?

A

below the water

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16
Q

what is a channel bank?

A

sides of the stream

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17
Q

what are tributaries?

A

feeder streams that lead into the main river

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18
Q

what is a meander?

A

curves in the stream channel

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19
Q

what is an oxbow lake?

A

created by meanders that are cut off from stream channel (may become lake or fill in with vegetation)

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20
Q

what is condensation?

A

gas to liquid (has to cool)

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21
Q

what is precipitation?

A

water (in any form) falling from clouds

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22
Q

what is evaporation?

A

liquid to gas

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23
Q

what is groundwater?

A

water located below earth’s surface

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24
Q

what is water vapor?

A

water in gas form

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25
Q

what is an aquifer?

A

underground layer of rock that groundwater flows through

26
Q

what is the water cycle?

A

describes the continuous flow or cycle of water

27
Q

what is runoff?

A

surface water that drains into bodys of water

28
Q

what is transpiration?

A

plant leaves giving off water vapor

29
Q

what is a spring?

A

a natural discharge of water from earth’s surface

30
Q

what is a hot spring?

A

a place where hot water flows through the ground?

31
Q

what is a geyser?

A

explosive hot spring that erupts at regular intervals

32
Q

what is a well?

A

hole dug or drilled deep into the ground to reach a reservoir of groundwater

33
Q

what is an artesian well?

A

a place in the ground where water flows up through the surface because of pressure

34
Q

what is the zone of saturation?

A

the zone where water fills it completely

35
Q

what is the zone of aeration?

A

the zone that contains mostly air

36
Q

what is a water table?

A

highest point within the zone of saturation filled with water

37
Q

what is an estuary?

A

where saltwater meets freshwater

38
Q

what are the four types of estuaries?

A

drowned river valleys, bar-built, tectonic, fjords

39
Q

what are drowned river estuaries?

A

where rising sea levels flood existing river valleys

40
Q

what are bar-built estuaries?

A

characterized by barrier islands that form parallel to the shore, cutting off the estuary from the ocean

41
Q

what are tectonic estuaries?

A

formed by the movement of earth’s tectonic plates

42
Q

what are fjords?

A

steep-walled river valleys created by advancing glaciers, later becoming flooded with seawater with the retreating glaciers

43
Q

what is porosity?

A

percentage of pore space in a material

44
Q

what is porosity?

A

percentage of pore space in a material?

45
Q

what is permeability?

A

ability of a material to let water pass through it

46
Q

what is subsidence?

A

when all water is removed from the saturation zone and the sol above collapses

47
Q

what is point source pollution?

A

pollution that has a traceable source

48
Q

what is non-point source pollution?

A

pollution that doesn’t have a single traceable source

49
Q

what is sediment pollution?

A

pollution from sediment

50
Q

what is nutrient pollution?

A

when high concentrations of nutrients (nitrogen/phosphorus) promote explosive algae growth. when this algae dies, the decomposition uses a lot of oxygen which kills fish and other aquatic organisms

51
Q

what is bacterial pollution?

A

pollution by bacteria

52
Q

what are some effects of acid rain?

A

death of fish and aquatic organisms, damage to ecosystems and food chains, death of plants and trees, nutrients removal from soil, corrodes building structures, makes people sick

53
Q

what is erosion?

A

rock or soil moves to a new place

54
Q

what is deposition?

A

rock or soil that is dropped to a new place

55
Q

what is weathering?

A

rock or soil that is broken down

56
Q

what is chemical weathering?

A

changes of the chemical makeup of rocks

57
Q

what is mechanical weathering?

A

physical changes to rocks

58
Q

what is abrasion?

A

mechanical weathering caused by contact of moving sediments

59
Q

what is oxidation?

A

rusting is an example of chemical weathering

60
Q

what is ice wedging?

A

when ice seeps into cracks in rock, freezes and expands which makes the cracks bigger. this is an example of physical weathering

earth and environmental (9 decks)

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