Honors Environmental Science Water Review

River System

A flowing network of water Examples: The Amazon River, The Nile River, The Mississippi River

Well

A hole that is dug or drilled to reach groundwater

Irrigation

A method of providing plants with water from sources other than direct precipitation

Recharge Zone

An area of Earth's surface from which water percolates down into an aquifer

Reservoir

An artificial lake

Aquifer

An underground formation that contains groundwater

Dams

Built across rivers to control the river's flow

Why is Earth called the "Water Planet?"

Earth is often called the "Water Planet" because it has an abundance of water in all forms: solid, liquid, and gas

Surface Water

Fresh water on Earth's surface

Explain why freshwater is a limited resource

Freshwater is a limited resource because it only symbolizes 3% of the global water distribution. Humans use this small percentage for many the things.

How are groundwater and surface water connected?

Groundwater may be a more of a reliable source than surface water in some areas because some containments are filtered out as the water travels underground. The height of the water table changes, so wells are drilled to extend below the water table. If the water table falls below the bottom of the well, the well will dry up. In addition, if groundwater is removed faster than it is recharged, the water table may fall below a well. To continue supplying water, the well must be drilled deeper.

Xeriscaping

Involves designing a landscape that requires minimal water use

Why do most large cities depend on surface water?

Most large cities depend on surface water because they need it for their water supplies. Rivers, lakes, man-made reservoirs, aquifers, and streams provide drinking water, water to grow crops, food such as fish and shellfish, power for industry, and a means of transportation by boat.

What is most of the freshwater use for worldwide?

Most of the freshwater that is used worldwide is used for irrigating crops

Drip Irrigation Systems

Offer a promising step toward conservation

Pathogens

Organisms that cause illness or disease Examples: Bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and parasitic worms

Why are recharge zones environmentally sensitive areas?

Recharge zones are environmentally sensitive areas because any pollution in a recharge zone can also enter the aquifer.

Potable

Safe to drink

Aqueducts

Systems of pipes and tunnels that brought water from the mountains to the dry areas of Italy, France, and Spain

What is Ogallala Aquifer? Describe its location, importance, and why it's threatened?

The Ogallala Aquifer is an enormous underground water system formed from glaciers that melted at the end of the last Ice Age 12,000 years ago. Today, the Ogallala Aquifer supplies about one-third of the groundwater used in the United States. The Ogallala Aquifer is located in the Great Plains.in recent years, the Ogallala Aquifer has started to show its limits, and by this, water is being withdrawn from the aquifer 10 to 40 times faster than it is being replaced.

Permeability

The ability of rock or soil to allow water to flow through it

Watershed

The area of land that is drained by a river

Describe the residential water use

The average person in the United States uses about 300 L(80 gallons)of water every day. In the United States, only about half of residential water use is for activities inside the home, such as drinking, cooking, washing, and toilet flushing. The remainder of the water used residentially is used outside the home for activities such as watering lawns and washing cars.

Why does the level of the water table vary in different regions?

The level of the water table varies in different regions because in wet regions, the water table may be at Earth's surface, and a spring of fresh water may flow out onto the ground. But in deserts, the water table may be hundreds of meters beneath Earth's surface. The water table is actually not as level as its name implies. The water table has its peaks and valleys that match the shape of the land above it.

Porosity

The percentage of the total volume of a rock that has spaces(pores)

Desalination

The process of removing salt from water

Salt Water

The water in oceans and contains a higher concentration of dissolved salts and minerals

First Filtration

This is the first step in the drinking water treatment and the source water supply is filtered to remove large organisms and trash

Coagulation

This is the second step in the drinking water treatment and alum is rapidly mixed into the aged and forms sticky globs called flocs

Groundwater

Water that is found beneath Earth's surface in the spaces in sediment and rock formation

Fresh Water

Water that people can drink and contains little salt

Describe the distribution of Earth's water resources

With 71 percent of the Earth's surface covered with water, nearly 97 percent of Earth's water is salt water in oceans and seas. Of the fresh water, about 77 percent is frozen in glaciers and polar icecaps. Only a small percentage of the water on Earth is liquid fresh water that humans can use. The fresh water we use comes mainly from lakes and rivers and from a relatively narrow zone beneath Earth's surface. Fresh water symbolizes 3%, groundwater symbolizes 22%, and other fresh water symbolizes 1%.