Water and Groundwater: Properties, Zones, and Uses, Quizzes of Physical Geography

Download Water and Groundwater: Properties, Zones, and Uses and more Quizzes Physical Geography in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 Where is water? DEFINITION 1 Glaciers - 77%Groundwater - 22%Surface water - 0.3%Soil moisture - 0.1%Atmosphere - 0.04%Saline water - 97%Fresh water - 3% TERM 2 Groundwater & Flow DEFINITION 2 Groundwater: Water under the Earth's surface, within sediments or cracks in rock; largest accessible source of fresh waterRecharge area: place where surface water infiltrates aquiferDischarge area: place where groundwater flows back up to surfacePorosity: percent pore space in sediment or rock (how much?)Permeability: capability of a substance to allow the passage of water (how is pore space connected?) TERM 3 Examples of Porous Rocks DEFINITION 3 High porosity materials Sand, sandstone, conglomerate, limestone Pumice & scoria Low porosity materials Clay/ shale Most igneous and metamorphic rocks High porosity doesn't mean high permeability (e.g. pumice) TERM 4 Water Table & Saturation DEFINITION 4 Water Table: boundary between saturated and unsaturated zones; mimics topography; when the water table intersects the land surface, a body of water will formUnsaturated zone:air and water in poresSaturated zone:water only in pores TERM 5 Aquifers & aquicludes DEFINITION 5 Aquifer: layer of rock/sediment with permeability high enough to produce usable amounts of water Sand, sandstone, conglomerate, limestone Aquiclude (aquitard): layer of rock/sediment that doesn't conduct water in usable amounts Clay, shale, crystalline bedrock Potentiometric surface: elevation that water within a confined aquifer will rise to due to confining pressure TERM 6 DEFINITION 6 A: Regional water tableB: Perched water tableC: Unconfined aquiferD: ContinuousimpermeablelayerE: Confined aquifer (under pressure) TERM 7 Artesian wells DEFINITION 7 Artesian well: A well that taps into the water table?Flowing artesian well: Water flows from well without pumping TERM 8 Groundwater issues DEFINITION 8 Over-consumption:causes the water to lowerSubsidence: Lowering of the land surface (why the leaning tower of Pisa leans!)Saline intrusionFlow reversal TERM 9 Drainage basin area DEFINITION 9 Area enclosed by the drainage divides TERM 10 Stream flow DEFINITION 10 Stream flow: how much water is flowing in a streamMeasured as discharge (Q) = volume per timeMeasured with stream-gauging station TERM 21 Coastline Shapes DEFINITION 21 Shapes vary because Sea level fluctuations Waves TERM 22 Emergent coastlines DEFINITION 22 Occurs when the: Sea level falls Tectonic uplift Creates: Steep cliffs Terraces Wave notches TERM 23 Submergent coastlines DEFINITION 23 Occurs when the: Sea level rises Tectonic sinking Creates: Estuaries: mixing of saline and freshwater systems Flooded river valleys(How the Chesapeake Bay formed) Barrier islands (inlets, salt marsh, lagoons/ bays) TERM 24 Barrier islands DEFINITION 24 Inlets serve to allow sand movement from island to islandSalt marches and lagoons form protective environmentsMigrate toward the mainland with sea level rise TERM 25 Wave orbitals DEFINITION 25 Waves are formed by wind on the waterWave energy moves, not the water so floating things stay in place(like garbage island!)Wave base is where particle motion ends TERM 26 What happens as waves approach the shore? DEFINITION 26 What happens when the water depth is less than the wave depth? Interacts with sea floor Wave is slowed by friction Wave movement is disrupted Wave orbital crashed in on itself (causing breakers) Fair-weather conditions: waves push sand on-shore (littoral drift)Foul-weather conditions: storm waves move sand offshore TERM 27 Beach Drift DEFINITION 27 Beach drift and long shore currents lead to: Spits:hook like feature on down-current side Baymouth bars: sediment clogs a bay (pre-spit) Barrier islands: sand accumulates away from mainland TERM 28 Beach erosion: Basics DEFINITION 28 Sand on beaches is constantly accumulating and eroding awayStorms in particular flatten and widen beaches TERM 29 Beach erosion: Hard stabilization DEFINITION 29 Efforts to reverse erosion include: Groins:hard permanent structure perpendicular to shoreline Jetties: two groins around an inlet to protect it Breakwater: parallel to shoreline meant to deflect wave activity on-shore TERM 30 Beach erosion Beach nourishment DEFINITION 30 Some areas prefer Dredging to pump sand onto beaches Sub-aqueousvegetation planted TERM 31 Ocean water DEFINITION 31 Ocean water is mostly composed of chloride and sodiumSalt ions come from: Chemical weathering Transport of dissolved load in rivers Volcanic gases (like at MORs) TERM 32 Oceans: Salinity DEFINITION 32 Salinity:the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. Greatest in the tropics, lowest at highest altitude More chemical weathering occurs in warmer climates Variable salinity in surface oceans, but equals off in the Halocline TERM 33 Oceans: Temperatures DEFINITION 33 Thermocline is where there is the most rapid transitions in temperature TERM 34 Oceans: Surface currents DEFINITION 34 Surface currents: Driven by wind at the surface ( upper 400 m)Gyre: the circular portion at the center of ocean currents (e.g. Garbage Island, the book Moby Duck)Upwelling: Deflection of water away from the coastline and deeper, colder waters rise near shoreline (causing increased biodiversity)Surface currents can also heat and cool overlying air! TERM 35 Oceans: Deep water currents DEFINITION 35 Deep water currents: Driven by differences in temperature and salinity (density)Coriolis effect: Current direction offset by rotation of Earth (~45d);Greatest deflection at the surface, decreases with depthThermohaline circulation