| Term | Definition |
|---|
| infiltration | movement of water from the land surface into the soil surface. |
| transpiration | process by which plants return moisture to the air. Plants take up water through their roots and then lose some of the water through pores in their leaves. This moisture evaporates into the air. This process allows the plant to cool and conduct minerals from the soil into the plant. |
| vapor | matter that exists in the gas state but is generally a liquid or solid at room temperature |
| runoff | the movement of water, usually from precipitation, that flows across the Earth's surface (rather than soaking into the ground) to enter streams, lakes, rivers and stormdrains |
| sublimation | The change in state from a solid directly to a gas without passing through the liquid state |
| less than 1% | percent of Earth's water available for human use |
| 70% | percent of Earth that is covered with water |
| 97% | percent of Earth's water that is ocean |
| 3% | percent of Earth's water that is freshwater |
| 20% | percent of all freshwater lakes that is in the Great Lakes |
| 10% | percent of all freshwater lakes that is in Lake Superior |
| evapotranspiration | the loss of water by plants due to both the evaporation of water from the soil and transpiration from plants |
| percolation | downward movement of water through tiny spaces between soil and rock. Often used interchangeably with infiltration. |
| condensation | the process of water vapor(gas) int the air turning into liquid water |
| direct water use | water that is used for drinking, cooking, cleaning, etc. |
| domestic water use | water that is used for household purposes, such as drinking, food preparation, bathing, washing clothes, flushing toilets, watering lawns |
| evaporation | the process of liquid water becoming a vapor (gas) |
| hydrologic cycle | water cycle |
| hydrology | study of the quantity, distribution, movement, and effects of water on the Earth's surface, in the soil and underlying rocks, and in the atmosphere |
| indirect water use | human use of products that required water to grow or manufacture them |
| precipitation | rain, snow, hail,sleet, dew, and frost |
| reservoir | a pond, lake, or basin, either natural or artificial, for the storage of water |
| water cycle | the continuous cycle of the transfer of water through an ecosystem, which involves evaporation, transpiration, condensation, and precipitation |
| water use | water that is used for a specific purpose, such as domestic use, irrigation, or industrial processing |
| glacier | a huge mass of ice, formed on land by the compaction and recrystallization of snow, that moves very slowly downslope or outward due to its own weight |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace
!