Environmental Science

• Surface Water

  Fresh water on Earth's land surface, found in lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands
• River system


  Streams and rivers move across the land and form a flowing network of water
• Watershed


  The area of land that is drained by a river
• Ground water


  Water stored beneath the Earth's surface in sediment and rock formations
• Water table


  A level where the rocks and soil are saturated with water
• Aquifer


  An underground formation that contains groundwater
• Porosity


  The amount of space between the particles that make up a rock
• Permeability


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


  The area of the Earth's surface where water percolates down into the aquifer
• Wells


  A hole that is dug or drilled to reach groundwater
• Water treatment


  The process that removes elements such as mercury, arsenic, and lead, which are poisonous to humans even in low concentrations
• Irrigation


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


  A structure built across a river to control the river's flow
• Drip irrigation systems


  Deliver small amounts of water directly to plant roots by using perforated tubing
• Desalination


  The process of removing salt from salt water
• Water Pollution


  The introduction of chemical, physical, or biological agents into water that degrade water quality and adversely affect the organisms that depend on the water
• Waste water


  Water that contains waste from homes or industry
• Artificial Eutrophication


  Eutrophication caused by humans
• Biomagnification


  The accumulation of pollutants at successive levels of the food chain
• Primary Pollutant


  A pollutant that is put directly into the air by human activity
• Secondary Pollutant


  Form when a primary pollutant comes into contact with other primary pollutants or with naturally occurring substances such as water vapor and a chemical reaction takes place
• Zero-emission vehicles


  Vehicles that have no tailpipe emissions, no emissions from gasoline, and no emission-control systems that deteriorate over time
• Scrubber


  A machine that moves gases through a spray of water that dissolves many pollutants
• Smog


  Produced when air pollution hangs over urban areas and reduces visibility
• Sick-building syndrome


  Most common in hot places where buildings are tightly sealed to keep out the heat
• Radon


  One of the elements produced by the decay of uranium, a radioactive element that occurs naturally in the Earth's crust
• Decibels


  A measurement unit to measure the intensity of sound
• Acid Precipitation


  Precipitation such as rain, sleet, or snow that contains a high concentration of acids
• pH (power of hydrogen)


  A number that is a measure of how acidic or basic a substance is
• Acid shock


  The sudden influx of acidic water that causes a rapid change in the water's pH
• Climate


  The long-term prevailing weather conditions at a particular place based upon records taken
• Latitude


  The distance from the equator measured in degrees north or south of the equator
• Wind


  The movement of air within the atmosphere
• Prevailing Winds


  Winds that blow predominantly in one direction throughout the year
• Trade winds


  Belts of prevailing winds are produced in both hemispheres between 30° north and south latitude and the equator
• El Nino


  The name given to the short-term (generally 6- to 18-month period), periodic change in the location of warm and cold water masses in the Pacific Ocean. During an El Niño, winds in the western Pacific Ocean, which are usually weak, strengthen and push warm water eastward
• La Nina


  The water in the eastern Pacific Ocean is cooler than usual. El Niño and La Niña are opposite phases of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. El Niño is the warm phase of the cycle, and La Niña is the cold phase
• Pacific Decadal Oscillation


  A long-term, 20- to 30-year change in the location of warm and cold water masses in the Pacific Ocean
• Solar maximum


  The sun emits an increased amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. UV radiation produces more ozone
• Ozone layer


  An area in the stratosphere where ozone is highly concentrated