APES_water unit
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62 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Hydrologic Cycle | Water cycle: the flow of water -- in liquid, gaseous, and solid forms -- through our biotic and abiotic environment |
| Evaporation | The conversion of a substance from a liquid to a gaseous form |
| Precipitation | Water that condenses out of the atmosphere and falls to Earth in droplets (rain) or crystals(snow) |
| Leaching | The process by which chemicals or minerals are dissolved in a liquid (usually water) and transported to another location (usually through soil percolation/infiltration) |
| Condensation | The process by which a gas changes to a liquid |
| Infiltration | The slow passage of a water through a soil Ie. from rain into soil and ground water. Also called percolation. |
| Transpiration | The release of water vapor by plants through their leaves (evaporation out stomata). Found to affect local climate/water cycle. |
| Runoff | The water (usually from precipitation) that flows into streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds, and (in many cases) eventually into the ocean. |
| Confining Layer | A relatively impermeable layer of sediment above or below an aquifer -- usually clay |
| Non point Source Pollution | A diffuse source of pollutants, often consisting of many small sources Examples: runoff from roads or agricultural lands. |
| Watershed | The entire area of land from which water drains into a given river or large body of water. Also called a drainage basin. |
| Sewage Treatment | Waste water is strained (Primary), organic matter in sewage is decomposed by bacteria. Cleaned water is then filtered and disinfected (Secondary). |
| Dissolved Oxygen | Oxygen that has been dissolved into a liquid such as water. Measure of ability of water to support heterotrophic life. |
| Specific Heat | The heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance one degree centigrade. (water has a high specific heat/resists temp. change) |
| Safe Drinking Water Act | A law that set maximum contaminant levels for pollutants that may have adverse effects on human health such as E. Coli and arsenic. |
| Floodplain | The region of land over which a river has historically wandered and periodically flooded |
| Profundal zone | In a water body, the volume of open water that sunlight does not reach |
| Water Quality Index | A score based upon results from nine different chemical & physical tests: Dissolved Oxygen, Fecal Coliform, pH, BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand), Temperature, Total Phosphate, Nitrates, Turbidity, Total Solids |
| Nitrate | A compound form of nitrogen which is favored by plants for assimilation and used for growth. Formed by soil bacteria in nitrification and part of fertilizers. |
| Primary treatment | A stage of wastewater treatment in which contaminants are physically removed. Wastewater flows into tanks in which sewage solids, grit, and particulate settle to the bottom. Greases and oils float to the surface and can be skimmed off |
| Wetland | A system that combines elements of fresh water and dry land. These biologically productive systems include freshwater marshes, swamps, and bogs |
| Groundwater | Water held in aquifers underground. May be accessed through springs or wells. |
| Desalinization | The process of removing salt from seawater using distillation or reverse osmosis. |
| Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) | Amount of oxygen required for biochemical decomposition process. Oxygen demanding wastes are typically sewage, animal waste or other decomposing organic matter. |
| Algae Bloom | A large increase in a population of phytoplankton Typically caused by a nutrient increase such as in eutrophication. |
| Eutrophication | The process of nutrient enrichment (P & N) which leads to 1) algae bloom 2)Decomposing bacteria bloom (high BOD) 3) lowering of DO 4) often causes fish death/dead zones |
| Domestic Use | Water used for household purposes, such as drinking, bathing, and flushing toilets |
| Cone of Depression | The cone-shaped depression of the water table that occurs around a well |
| Tertiary Treatment | Advanced wastewater treatment methods that are sometimes employed after primary and secondary treatments to create water that is potable-quality. (Can be used for drinking, typically transfered to purple pipes for irrigation or industrial cooling). |
| Levee | A long raised mound of earth erected along a river bank to protect against floods by holding rising water in the main channel (along rivers or wetlands). |
| Turnover | The mixing of waters as a result of changing water-temperature profiles in a lake (fall and spring) |
| Clean Water Act | Federal Law setting a national goal of making all natural surface water fit for fishing and swimming by 1983, banned polluted discharge (point source) into surface water and required the metals be removed from waste |
| Oligotrophic | Term describing a water body that has low-nutrient and high-oxygen conditions (Example Lake Tahoe) |
| Potable Water | Water suitable for drinking and supplied from wells or municipal water systems. |
| Littoral Zone | The region ringing the edge of a water body typically has highest biodiversity due to light penetration and available nutrients, also ecotone. |
| Benthic Zone | The bottom layer of a water body. Detritivores, scavengers and decomposers often live here. |
| Phosphate | A chemical necessary for plant and animal growth that can be found in many fertilizers, animal waste, and detergents. |
| Water Table | The upper limit of groundwater held in an aquifer |
| Activated Sludge | Refers to a mass of living bacterial organisms feeding on waste material that has settled. Activated sludge is recycled to the aeration tank of secondary wastewater treatment. |
| Secondary Treatment | A stage of wastewater treatment biological means are used to remove contaminants remaining after primary treatment. Organic matter in sewage is decomposed by bacteria into carbon dioxide, nitrates, phosphates, sulfate and other inorganic compounds in a wastewater treatment plant. |
| Turbidity | The measurement of water cloudiness; it may be affected by such things as sediment and plankton concentrations. Indicates depth of light penetration. |
| Salinization | The buildup of salts in surface soil layers. Often due to the evaporation of irrigation water in arid farming areas. |
| Aquifer | An underground water reservoir (a concentrated area of ground water) |
| Industrial Use | water used for industrial purposes such as cleaning and cooling. For example: industries as power plants, steel, chemical, paper, and petroleum refining. |
| Point Source Pollution | A specific source of pollution that can be identified such as the effluent from a sewage treatment plant or discharge from industry. |
| Dissolved Solids | Salts, such as sodium, calcium, and magnesium found dissolved in water |
| Fecal Coliform | A water quality test used to determine if there are bacteria associated with animal waste or sewage contamination. |
| Irrigation | The pumping/diverting of water from rivers, lakes or aquifers to support agriculture. |
| Upwelling | In the ocean, the flow of cold, deep water towards the surface bringing nutrients from bottom with it. |
| Saltwater Intrusion | Movement of saltwater into freshwater aquifers in coastal areas where groundwater is withdrawn faster than it is replenished |
| Tributary | A smaller river that flows into a larger one |
| Limnetic Zone | In a lake, the layer of open water where sunlight penetrates to allow for photosynthesis. |
| Drought | a temporary or prolonged shortage of rainfall/dry weather. |
| Recharge area | the area over which groundwater will infiltrate and resupply an aquifer |
| subsidence | the settling or sinking of a surface land as a result of the loss of support from underlying water, soils, or strata. For example from over drawing of an aquifer. |
| zone of saturation | Area where all available pores in soil and rock in the earth's crust are filled by water. Top of which is called the water table. |
| Conductivity water test | A measure of disolved minerals which allow heat or electric charges to flow. A test of salinity in fresh water. |
| Salinity | the total amount of dissolved salts in a water sample. Sea water is = 3.5% |
| Brackish water | Mixture of fresh and salt water. Found in estuaries or in aquifers that have suffered from salt water intrusion. |
| Septic tank | an underground tank that separates solid waste from liquids and that has bacteria that break down the solid waste while liquids are leached into underground soils. Used for homes and buildings not hooked up to sewage pipes. |
| Living system waste water treatment | A series of tanks which use the processes of various communities of plants, bacteria and other organisms to decompose, treat and filter waste water. |
| Sludge | the solids that remain after the secondary treatment of sewage. In septic tanks must be periodically pumped out of tank. |
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