Ch. 11 Key Terms Flashcards
(20 cards)
Surface Water
fresh water on Earth’s land surface
River System
As streams and rivers move across the land, they form a flowing network of water
Watershed
The area of land that is drained by a river
Groundwater
Water that is found beneath Earth’s surface in the spaces in sediment and rock formations
Aquifer
An underground formation that contains groundwater
Porosity
the percentage of the total volume of a rock that has spaces (pores)
Permeability
The ability of rock or soil to allow water to flow through it
Recharge Zone
An area of Earth’s surface from which water percolates down into an aquifer
Potable
safe to drink
Pathogen
organisms that cause illness or disease
Dam
built across rivers to control the river’s flow
Reservoir
an artificial lake
Desalination
the process of removing salt from saltwater
Water Pollution
the introduction of chemical, physical, or biological agents into water that degrades water quality and harms the organisms that depend on the water
Point-Source Pollution
pollution discharged from a single source
Nonpoint-Source Pollution
also known as runoff pollution, comes from many different sources that are often difficult to identify
Wastewater
water that contains waste from homes or industry
Artificial Eutrophication
inorganic plant nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, enter the water from sewage and fertilizer runoff
Thermal Pollution
When the temperature of a body of water, such as a lake or stream, increases
Biomagnification
Each organism stores the pesticide in its tissues and the concentration of the pesticide that is passed on to the next organism in the food chain increases. This buildup is called biomagnification
