| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Hydrologic Cycle | Evaporates form land, water, and organisms (transpires from plants), Enters atmosphere, Condenses and precipitates back to the earth's surfaces, Moves underground by infiltration or overland runoff into rivers, lakes and seas |
| Evaporation | changing liquid into vapor below its boiling point |
| Sublimation | changing water between solid and gaseous states without ever becoming a liquid |
| Humidity | amount of water vapor in the air |
| Saturation Point | when a volume of air contains as much water vapor as it can hold at a given temperature |
| Relative humidity | amount of water vapor in the air expressed as a percentage of the maximum amount that can be held at that temperature |
| Dew point | temperature at which condensation occurs for a given amount of water |
| Condensation Nuclei | tiny particles that facilitate condensation |
| Infiltration | process of water percolating through the soil and into fractures and permeable rocks |
| Zone of aeration | upper soil layers that hold both air and water |
| Zone of saturation | lower soil layers where all spaces are filled with water |
| Water Table | top of zone of saturation |
| Aquifers | porous layers of sand, gravel, or rock lying below the water table |
| Artesian | pressurized aquifers intersects the surface (water flows without pumping) |
| Recharge Zones | area where water infiltrates into aquifer |
| Withdrawal | total amount of water taken source |
| Consumption | fraction of withdrawn water made unavailable for other purposes (not returned to its source |
| Degradation | change in water quality due to contamination making it unsuitable for desired use |
| Watershed | all the land drained by a stream or river |
| Point Sources | discharge pollutions from specific locations |
| Non point sources | scattered or diffuse having no specific location of discharge |
| Atmospheric deposition | contaminants carried by air currents and precipitated into watersheds or directly onto surface waters |
| Biochemical Oxygen Demand | amount of dissolved oxygen consumed by aquatic microorganisms |
| Dissolved Oxygen Content | measure of dissolved oxygen in water |
| Oxygen Sag | oxygen levels decline downstream from a pollution source as decomposers metabolize waste materials |
| Oligotrophic | bodies of water that have clear water and low biological productivity |
| Eutrophic | bodies of water that are rich in organisms |
| Eutrophication | process of increasing nutrients organic material |
| Cultural Eutrophication | increase in biological productivity in the ecosystem succession caused by human activity |
| Red tide | dinoflagellate blooms – have become increasingly common in slow-moving and shallow waters |
| Clean Water Act | established a National Pollution Discharge System which requires a permit for any entity dumping wastes in surface waters |
| Primary Treatment | physical separation of large solids from the waste stream |
| Secondary Treatment | biological degradation of dissolved organic compounds |
| Teritary Treatment | removal of plant nutrients (nitrates/phosphates) from secondary effluent |
| CERCLA | Comphrensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act |
| SARA | Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act |
Combine with other sets
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