River catchment terms

Question 2

Algae

Answer 2

a group of relatively simple plants that live in an aquatic or moist environment

Question 3

aquifier

Answer 3

a layer of rock or gravel that holds water and allows it to move through

Question 4

artesian

Answer 4

a term applied to a body of water in an aquifier

Question 5

benthic

Answer 5

relating to those plants and animals that inhabit the floor of lakes, rivers and oceans

Question 6

biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)

Answer 6

The amount of oxygen used when organic matter undergoes decomposition by micro-organisms

Question 7

biota

Answer 7

all living organisms, including plants and animals

Question 8

drainage texture

Answer 8

the channel type, density and pattern of a drainage network

Question 9

enviornmental flow

Answer 9

a proportion of a river’s flow considered necessary to maintain its riverine ecosystem

Question 10

eplilimnion

Answer 10

the surface layer or stratum of water in a water body

Question 11

horizon (soil)

Answer 11

an identifiable layer in a soil profile, distinguished as a result of soil-forming processes

Question 12

hypolimnion

Answer 12

the bottom layer in a water body

Question 13

impermeable

Answer 13

a layer of rock through which groundwater cannot pass

Question 14

infiltration

Answer 14

the movement of water through the soil surface

Question 15

lentic

Answer 15

referring to still or slow-moving water bodies

Question 16

lotic

Answer 16

referring to fast-moving water bodies

Question 17

morphology

Answer 17

the study of shape (of the ground or landscape)

Question 18

organic

Answer 18

living material and its by-products

Question 19

permeable

Answer 19

rocks or soils that allow water to pass into them

Question 20

porosity

Answer 20

the degree to which water may pass through matter

Question 21

regulated

Answer 21

relating to streams and rivers that have their flow controlled by dams and weirs

Question 22

riverine

Answer 22

relating to a rive

Question 23

runoff

Answer 23

the proportion of rainfall that does not infiltrate the soil and flows into river channels

Question 24

stratification

Answer 24

appearing to be layered

Question 25

tectonic

Answer 25

relating to the processes of the earth’s crust

Question 26

topography

Answer 26

the detailed surface of an area

Question 27

transpiration

Answer 27

the loss of water vapour from plants via the leaves and to a lesser extent the stems

Question 28

turbidity

Answer 28

the clouding of water by the suspended sediment

Question 29

unregulated

Answer 29

relating to streams and rivers that have not had their flow controlled by dams or weirs.