chapter 27.3 and 27.4 Flashcards
(33 cards)
the process by which water enters earth and becomes groundwater below the surface
infiltraction
the upper boundary of the saturated zone
water table
a rock unit that can transfer water through its pore space
aquifer
of a material is the percentage of the materials total volume that is the pore space
porosity
the process of assigning an exact numerical age to an organism, an object, or an event
absolute dating
the process of placing objects or events in their proper order in time
relative dating
the law of nature
uniformitarianism
an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rock layers
principle of superposition
gaps in the rock record during which either erosion ocurred or deposition
unconformity
the remains or traces of organisms found in the geologic rock record
fossil
what percentage of water on earth is salt water
97%
what percentage of water on earth is freshwater
3%
where is the majority of freshwater found
glaciers
where is the smaller percentage of freshwater found
lakes rivers and stored in ground water
what is precipitation
when water vapor in the air cools and condenses to form liquid water or ice crystals
what is runoff
water running off the land surface
what is infiltration
when water enters earth and becomes groundwater
what is transpiration
when plants release water vapor into the atmosphere through their leaves
what is evaporation
when water is turned into vapor and released into the atmosphere
what is condensation
when water vapor collides with other water vapor molecules to form water droplets
what is water cycle
water on the land that evaporates then returns back to the land
what is an unsaturated zone for groundwater storage
a porous area where water easily passes through
what is a saturated zone for gorundwater storage
beneath the unsaturated zone, where water completely fills the pore spaces
what is a water table
the upper boundary of the saturated zone
