Hydrosphere and Water

Question 1

River Basin

Answer 1

Any area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet (river, bay, or other bodies of water).

Question 2

Aquifer

Answer 2

A body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit surface water (groundwater).

Question 3

Watershed

Answer 3

An area of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers or basins. Water drains into a stream system, also called a drainage basin.

Question 4

Percentages of:

• Earth’s water being salt
• Earth’s water being fresh water

Answer 4

• 97% of Earth’s water is in oceans; salt water

- 3% of Earth’s water is freshwater

Question 5

Surface Runoff

Answer 5

Flow of water that occurs when excess storm-water, meltwater, or other sources flows over the Earth’s surface

Question 6

Factors leading to increased runoff:

Answer 6

• Little or no vegetation (topsoil is easily eroded so water funs off easier).
• Heavy rain (falls too quickly to soak into the ground)
• Soil with lots of clay (impermeable)
• Steep slope
• High groundwater levels

Question 7

Stream Systems:

Answer 7

• A stream is runoff water that begins to flow more permanently in a channel
• A large stream is called a river.
• The smaller streams that feed into rivers are called tributaries.

Question 8

Groundwater

Answer 8

All the water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock.

• Unsaturated zone
• Saturated zone
• Surface water
• Water table
  (https: //images.app.goo.gl/fpz2DsjCWm4qoQvt9)

Question 9

Divide:

Answer 9

A high land area which separates one watershed from another.

Question 10

Continental Divide:

Answer 10

• A drainage divide on a continent
• Drainage basins on one side of the divide feed into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea.

Question 11

Headwaters:

Answer 11

• Beginning of a stream
• Found in mountains
• Water is cold, oxygenated, clear
• V shaped channels
• Steep sides

Question 12

Streamflow

Answer 12

The ability of a stream to erode and transport materials depends largely on its velocity.

Question 13

NC’s Continental Divide:

Answer 13

• Eastern Continental Divide is in the Blue Ridge Mountains
• Rivers west flow into Gulf of Mexico
• East flow into the Atlantic.

Question 14

Stream Channel

Answer 14

The course the water in a stream follows (shape, size, roughness)

Question 15

Floodplain

Answer 15

A broad, flat, fertile area next to a stream that floods periodically.

Question 16

Meander

Answer 16

A bend or curve in a stream channel.

Question 17

Discharge

Answer 17

Discharge is the volume of water flowing past a certain point in a given unit of time.

Question 18

Gradient

Answer 18

The slope or steepness of a stream channel.

Question 19

Erosion and Deposition:

Answer 19

• Water flows fastest on the outside of a meander and erodes a cut bank.
• Water flows slowest on the inside of a meander and deposits a sandbar
• An oxbow lake is a blocked-off meander

Question 20

Mouth and Delta

Answer 20

• Mouth is the end of the stream
• Usually locates at the ocean or another large body of water
• Streams lose ability to carry sediment
• A delta is a triangular deposit which forms at the mouth of a river
• Pollution comes from upstream.

Question 21

Stream Load

Answer 21

All materials carried by a stream and its water

• Can be solutions, suspensions, or bed loads (sediments are too large to be carried in suspension)

Question 22

Carrying capacity

Answer 22

The ability to transport material (determined by its velocity and size of the streams).

Question 23

National Weather Service

Answer 23

Agency which monitors weather, as well as potential flood conditions.

Question 24

Cut-bank and Point Bar

Answer 24

A cut-bank is a steep, bare slope formed by stream erosion (Outside of a meander)

A point bar is outside of the continuous erosion (Inside of a meander).

(https://images.app.goo.gl/KJQq2929PMrMLuLx8)

Question 25

Eutrophication

Answer 25

Excess nutrients cause the overgrowth of algae which die and decay and use up oxygen.

(Process can be sped up by over-fertilizing land near a waterway)

Question 26

Point vs. Nonpoint Pollution:

Answer 26

Point-source pollution is pollution from one direct source.

Nonpoint pollution is from multiple sources.

Question 27

Groundwater Storage (Porosity):

Answer 27

• Groundwater is stored in the pore spaces of rocks and sediments.
• The percentage of pore space in a material is called “porosity.”
• The types of soil that have the highest porosity are “well sorted.”

Question 28

Zone of Saturation:

Answer 28

• The Zone of Saturation is the depth below Earth’s surface at which groundwater completely fills all the pores.
• The upper boundary of this zone is the water table

Question 29

Aquiclude

Answer 29

Impermeable layer above or below an aquifer

Question 30

Springs

Answer 30

Groundwater discharges at Earth’s surface.

Springs are formed when temperatures and pressure come in contact with water

Question 31

Percentages of:

• Where most freshwater is found
• How much of freshwater is groundwater
• How much is surface water

Answer 31

• Most (~69) of freshwater is found in glacier and ice caps.
• Some (30%) of freshwater is groundwater
• A little (0.3%) of freshwater water is surface water (streams, lakes, and rivers).

Question 32

Hot Springs

Answer 32

Springs which have temperatures higher than the human body.

They are so hot because the subsurface is still hot from relatively recent igneous activity.

Question 33

Geysers

Answer 33

An explosive springs that erupts at regular intervals.

Question 34

Well

Answer 34

A hole dug to reach a reservoir of groundwater.

Question 35

Cone of depression (Well)

Answer 35

Water level due to pumping.

Produced by the over-pumping of wells.

Question 36

Drawdown (Well)

Answer 36

The difference between the original water table level and that of a pumped well (The action of pumping water)

Question 37

Recharge (Well)

Answer 37

When water from rain or runoff is added to an aquifer.

Question 38

Hard Water

Answer 38

Water that contains high concentrations of calcium, magnesium, or iron.

• Common in limestone areas
• Causes deposits of calcium bicarbonate and can clog water pipes.

Question 39

Wetlands

Answer 39

Land that is soaked with water.

• Bogs
• Marshes
• Swamps

Question 40

Bogs:

Answer 40

• Water in a bog comes from precipitation
• The soil in a bog is acidic because of the decaying moss.
• This slows bacterial growth which prevents nutrient recycling.

Question 41

Marshes:

Answer 41

Freshwater marshes often form at the mouth of a river.

Marsh grasses have shallow roots that anchor silt and mud deposits in a delta (Builds land!).

Question 42

Swamps

Answer 42

A low-lying area near a stream

Swamps may develop from marshes that have filled in and support the growth of shrubs and trees.

Question 43

Caves

Answer 43

A natural underground opening with a connection to Earth’s surface.

• Formed by Carbonic Acid (H2O + CO2 in the soil).
• The rock that is eroded by this acid is a limestone.

Question 44

Karst Topography

Answer 44

Limestone regions that have sinkholes, sinks, and sinking streams.

• Sinkholes are depressions caused by the collapse of a cave.

Question 45

Infiltration

Answer 45

When some precipitation does not runoff, and instead sinks to become groundwater.