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Freshwater

Published on Dec 12, 2015

Freshwater vocabulary

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

Freshwater Vocabulary

 by: Kimberly Harris

Water cycle- The continuous process by which water is circulated throughout the earth and the atmosphere through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and the transpiration of plants and animals.

Precipitation- rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground

Evaporation- The change of a liquid to a gas

Runoff- Water that flows over the ground surface rather than soaking into the ground

Infiltration- Flow of water from the land surface into the subsurface.

Transpiration-Plants release water vapor into the air

Condensation- The change from a gas to a liquid

Groundwater-The water that is beneath the Earths surface

Velocity-the speed of something in a given direction
ex: speed of a river

Gradient-steepness of a stream channel

Channel-A body of water joining two larger bodies of water.

Discharge-An outflow of water from a stream, pipe, groundwater aquifer, or watershed; the opposite of recharge.

Headwaters-Beginning of river

Mouth- End of river

Tributary-a stream of river thst flows into a larger stream of river

Load (stream load)-The materials other than water carried by a stream

Deposition-Process in which sediment is laid down in new locations.

Delta-A fan shaped mass of rock material deposited at the mouth of streams

Levee- Form by deposition, keep water from spilling over

Floodplain-An area along the river that forms when sediment is deposited when the river overflows its banks.

Flood-A very heavy flow of water, which is greater than the normal flow of water and goes over the stream's normal channel.

Dam-A barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its level

Drainage basin- An extent or an area of land where surface water from rain, melting snow, or ice converges to a single point at a lower elevation

Watershed-An area of land that is drained by a river system

Water table-The upper surface of underground water; the upper boundary of the zone of saturation

Zone of Saturation-Lower levels of soil where all spaces are filled with water.

Zone of Aeration-The top zone, right below the surface where the pores are filled with water and air

Porosity-Percentage of open spaces between grains in a rock.

Permeability-Ability of rock or soil to allow water to flow through it

Spring-A flow of groundwater that emerges naturally at the ground surface

Hot Spring-a spring of naturally hot water, typically heated by subterranean volcanic activity

Geyser-A fountain of water and steam that builds up pressure underground and erupts at regular intervals.

Aquifer-An underground formation that contains groundwater

Cavern-A cave, especially one that is large and underground

Sinkhole-A depression produced in a region where soluble rock has been removed by groundwater