Infiltration Of Surface Water example essay topic

ENVIORMENTAL SCIENCE REVIEW SHEET 1) Mutation- a random change in one or more genes of organisms. Mutations may occur spontaneously in nature, but exposure radiation and / or other chemicals vastly increase their number and degree. 2) Natural selection- the process whereby the natural factors of environmental resistance tend to eliminate those members of the population that are least well adapted to cope and thus, in effect select those best adapted for survival and reproduction. 3) Speciation-the evolutionary process whereby populations of a single species separate and, though being exposed to different forces of natural selection, gradually develop into distinct species. 4) Selective pressure-An environmental factor that causes individuals with certain traits, which are not the norm for the population, to survive and reproduce more then rest of the population.

The result is a shift in the genetic makeup of the population 5) Selective breeding- breeding of certain individuals because they bear certain traits and the exclusion from breeding of others. 6) Tectonic plates- huge slabs of rocks which make up the earths crust. 7) Igneous rock- produced under conditions involving intense heat; 'igneous rock is rock formed by solidification from a molten state; especially from molten magma'; 'igneous fusion is fusion by heat alone. 8) Metamorphic rock- Pertaining to, produced by, or exhibiting, certain changes which minerals or rocks may have undergone since their original deposition; -- especially applied to the recrystallization which sedimentary rocks have undergone through the influence of heat and pressure, after which they are called metamorphic rocks.

9) Sedimentary rock- rock formed from consolidated clay sediments 10) Aquifer- An underground bed or layer of earth, gravel, or porous stone that yields water. 11) Capillary water- water that clings in small pores, cracks, and spaces against the pull of gravity, like water held in a sponge. 12) Aqui tard- 13) Condensation- collecting of molecules from the vapor state to form the liquid state, as for example, water vapor condenses on a cold surface to from water droplets. 14) Desalinization- process that purify seawater into high quality drinking water via distillation or micro-filtration. 15) Infiltration- the process that water soaks into the solid as oppose to running off the surface. 16) Groundwater- water that has accumulated in the ground completely filling and saturating all pores and spaces in rock and / or soil.

Groundwater is free to move more of less readily. It is the reservoir for springs and wells and is replenished by infiltration of surface water. 17) Percolation- the process of water seeping through cracks and pores in the sold or rock. 18) Watershed- the total land area which drains directly or indirectly into a particular stream or river. 19) Surface runoff- the portion of the precipitation which runoff the surface rather then soak into the surface. 20) Spring- natural exits of groundwater.

21) Sinkhole- a large holds resulting from a collapse of an underground cavern. 22) Transpiration- the loss of water vapor from plant. 23) Water table- the upper surface of groundwater. It rises and falls based on the ground water.

24) Benthic macroinvertebrates- critter that live below the surface of the water. 25) Benthic plants- plants the grow underwater attached to or rooted plant in the bottom. For photosynthesis they require light penetration. 26) Eutrophication- the process of a body of water becoming nutrient rich water supporting abundant growth of algae other aquatic plants at the surface. Deep water has little or no DO. 27) Point source pollution specific points of origins of pollutants such as factory drains or outlets from sewage treatment plants.

28) Non-point source- source of pollution such as general runoff of sediments, fertilizer, pesticides, and other materials from farms and urban areas opposed to specific discharges from like factories. 29) BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) - the amount of oxygen that will be absorbed or "demanded" as wastes are being digested to oxidized in both biological and chemical processes. Potentially impacts of wastes are measured in BOD. 30) Pathogen- and organism usually a microbe that is capable of causing disease. 31) Oligo trophic- refers to a make in which the water is nutrient poor therefore it will not support phoylplanton but will support Save because they get there nutrients from the bottom.