1.
Ablation: A glacial zone where there is more snow fall than melt
2.
Accumulation Zones: Zone of a glacier where there is more snowfall than melt
3.
Aeration: A surface water treatment in which you pump oxygen rich air back into deplete water
4.
Aerobic Bacteria: Bacteria which uses up nutrients and require oxygen to live
5.
Alpine Glaciers: Glaciers in Mountain Valleys
6.
Anaerobic Bacteria: Bacteria which take over once oxygen levels go to low from excessive nutrients. Needs no oxygen to live.
7.
Aquifer: Rock that holds enough water and transmits easily enough to be used a water source
8.
Arete: A ridge between two glacial valleys
9.
Barchan Dune: A dune with a crescent shape and with tips pointing downwind. There is low sand, constant wind direction.
10.
Bedload: The name of sediment carried on the bed of a river
11.
Biodiesel: An alternative fuel made from corn oil and methanol which can be used in place of or with diesel fuel
12.
BOD: The amount of oxygen needed to support a water supply and keep it aerobic
13.
Braided: A type of river where multiple channels that water moves between
14.
Calving: When a glacier meets a body of water and continues to advance large chunks of ice fall off, which become icebergs, which sink the titanic, which inspires one of the highest grossing films of all time
15.
Carbon Gases: The greenhouse gases most associated with global temperature increase; results from fossil fuel combustion
16.
Carrying Capacity: Amount of pollutant a reservoir can hold
17.
Central Plain States: The most at risk area of the United States to groundwater pollution from runoff
18.
Cirque: A circular shape head end of a glacier
19.
Combustion: When this happens to fossil fuels, it produces carbon dioxide and water
20.
Condensation: When water vapor condenses to liquid to form clouds
21.
Confined Aquifer: An aquifer binded above and below by low permeable rocks
22.
Continental Glaciers: Glaciers which cover larger areas of land
23.
Cyclone: The term for a circular wind pattern around a low pressure center
24.
Decontamination: A surface water treatment in which you treat a specific pollutant
25.
Dendritic: A drainage pattern that looks like a leaf, small streams that converge into a larger river
26.
Dissolved Load: The ions from dissolved rock in the water
27.
Distributary Channels: Small streams which a main river breaks into (on an alluvial fan/delta)
28.
Dredging: A surface water treatment in which you scoop sediment out to treat it
29.
Drought: You would monitor rainfall, snow pack, ground moisture, crop moisture as an indicator of this
30.
Drought: You can pass laws, encourage conservation, and recycle to help prevent this (not pollution)
31.
Dunes: Piles of sand which are manipulated through wind action
32.
El Nino: A climate pattern which occurs when easterly wind patterns breaks down. Warm water builds up in the eastern Pacific. Fish populations decline, and there is more chance for hurricanes in the Pacific. Atlantic is chill though.
33.
End Moraine: The deposited till at the snout of a retreating glacier
34.
Equilibrium Zone: A glacier zone where snow fall and melt is equal
35.
Ethanol: An alternative fuel made by fermentation of starchy foods. It can be mixed with gasoline. It needs a special engine and fuel lines.
36.
Eutrophication: Excessive Algal growth
37.
Evapotranspiration: When evaporation from bodies of water, transpiration from plants puts water vapor back into the air
38.
Extraction: A style of water pollution treatment in which water is pumped out, treated, and returned to the ground
39.
Eye: The point of lowest pressure withing a hurricane
40.
Eyewall: The area of clouds on the outside of the eye. It has the highest wind speed and heaviest rain of all the areas in the hurricane.
41.
F5: The highest ranking on the fujita scale a tornado can earn
42.
Fertilizers: Something which provides nutrients to water sources
43.
Floodplain: The area that fills with water when the river floods
44.
Freezing Rain: Precipitation that goes above freezing but drops below freezing shortly before it hits the ground
45.
Fujita Scale: A system which uses eyewitness accounts and observed damages to rank tornadoes and determine wind speeds
46.
Geothermal Energy: An alternative energy source which used internally heated water for steam; common in Iceland.
47.
Glaciers: Accumulation and compaction of snow over many years forms these; flow downhill due to gravity
48.
Global Warming: The increasing in temperature caused by the build up of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen oxides. It leads to changes in weather patterns, severe storms, glacial melting, and ocean water expansion.
49.
Ground Moraine: The layer of till deposited at the end and lateral moraines
50.
Hanging Valley: A small tributary glacial valley that meets a larger glacial valley
51.
Heavy Metals: Something that is toxic to humans, accumulates in all organisms, and which increases in concentration as you move up the food chain
52.
Horn: A peak formed by the meeting of three glacial valleys
53.
Hydropower Energy: An alternative energy source which makes use of flowing or falling water in dams or along rivers. It uses spinning turbines to produce electricity. The most common alternative fuel
54.
Infiltration: When water on surface moves into the ground
55.
InSitu: An in ground style of treatment for water pollution
56.
La Nina: A climate pattern which occurs when Easterly winds strengthen. There is extremely cool water off the coast of South South America. There are lots of Atlantic Hurricanes.
57.
Lateral Moraine: The deposited till at the sides of a glacier
58.
Leeward Side: The side not facing the wind (the back)
59.
Levee: An artificial high bank built to prevent floods
60.
Longitudinal Dune: A dune with long lines parallel to the wind direction. There is abundant sand with two obliquely converging wind directions.
61.
Longshore Current: A erosional process in which waves break at an angle to the shoreline. The motion of the current is down the beach.
62.
Meandering: A type of river that moves across a floodplain
63.
Mesocyclone: A rotating storm system in the middle of a supercell
64.
Moraines: Piles of till (glacial sediment)
65.
Natural Gas: An alternative fuel source which is a byproduct of animal waste/petroleum. It burns cleaner than gasoline
66.
Nitrogen Gases: A gas which forms in engines at high temperatures due to the combustion of nitrogen in the air.
67.
Nonpoint Source: A diffuse source of pollution
68.
Nuclear Energy: An alternative energy source which is produced through the taking apart of radioactive atoms. Causes radioactive waster and problems with storage. The starting material is scarce
69.
Organic Compounds: Man made industrial compounds that interfere with natural organic compounds in lifeforms
70.
Organic Matter: Matter which acts as a nutrient source for bacteria in water supplies
71.
Organic Pollutants: The collective term for herbicides and pesticides
72.
Ozone: A gas which is good up high but bad down low
73.
Parabolic Dunes: A dune with a crescent shape with tips pointing upwind. There is moderate sand with tips held in place by vegetation in coastal regions
74.
Particulates: Small particles of solids in the air
75.
Petroleum: Waxes, oil, and natural gases are products of this
76.
Physical Isolation: A surface water treatment in which you use plastic or sand layers to cover sediment
77.
Plain States: Area of the world where the most tornadoes occur
78.
Point Source: A specific source of pollution
79.
Precipitation: When liquid water falls from clouds to the ground
80.
Radial: When streams move outward from a single location
81.
Rain: Precipitation that goes above freezing and stays above freezing all the way to the ground
82.
Rectangular: When streams meet at 90 degree angles due to cracks in the rock
83.
Residence Time: The length of time a pollutant within a reservoir has been there
84.
Runoff: When surface water runs along surface to lakes, rivers, or ocean
85.
Saturated Zone: Rock layers where all pore spaces are filled with water
86.
Sediment: Something which blocks sunlight and increases anaerobic activity in water
87.
Sleet: Precipitation that goes above freezing but then below freezing well above the ground
88.
Snow: Precipitation that stays below freezing all the way to the ground
89.
Solar Power: Alternative energy which is practical for heating water. It is still expensive but is used as large collectors in some cities. Comes from the sun by the way
90.
Souther Oscillation Index: A system which measures the air pressure between Tahiti and Darwin. This can indicate an incoming El Nino
91.
Star Dunes: Dunes with star shaped mounds. There is moderate sand with changing wind directions. They grow taller rather than move.
92.
Sulfur Gases: A gas sin which sulfur dioxide reacts with water to form sulfuric acid, the main acid in acid rain.
93.
Supercell Storm: A large storm with only one area of updraft
94.
Suspended Load: The amount carried within the water
95.
Thermal Pollution: A release of excessive heat which can damage systems by changing temperatures
96.
Thunderstorms: Storms which produce rain around cyclones
97.
Till: The term for glacial sediment
98.
Tornadoes: Large super cells of cumulonimbus clouds which wraps around itself to form concentrated areas of uplift
99.
Transverse Dune: A dune with Long lines perpendicular to the wind direction. There is abundant side wind direction constantly going on.
100.
Trellis: A drainage pattern which has multiple parallel running streams
101.
U-Shaped Valley: A U-Shape from the scouring action of the glacial ice
102.
Unconfined Aquifer: An aquifer which directly overlain by permeable rocks and soil
103.
Vadose Zone: Unsaturated rock just below surface soil. Pore spaces have some water and some air
104.
Vegetation: A natural way to help control flooding
105.
Water Table: The top of the saturated zone
106.
Wind Energy: An alternative energy source which is limited because of difficult conditions needed. It uses wind.
107.
Windward Side: The side of a dune facing the wind (the front)
