Freshwater Vocabulary Unit 3: Vocabulary

1. ) Water Cycle – the unending circulation of Earth’s water supply. 2 1.) Water Cycle – the unending circulation of Earth’s water supply. 2.) Infiltration – the movement of surface water into rock or soil through cracks and pore spaces. 3.) Transpiration – plants absorb water and releases it into the atmosphere.

4. ) Stream Channel – the course the water in a stream follows. 5 4.) Stream Channel – the course the water in a stream follows. 5.) Discharge – the volume of water flowing past a certain point in a given unit of time.

6. ) Tributary – a stream that empties into another stream. 7 6.) Tributary – a stream that empties into another stream. 7.) Base Level – the lowest point to which a stream can erode its channel. 8.) Meanders – a stream with many bends

9.) Bed Load – the part of a stream’s load of solid material that is made up of sediment too large to be carried in suspension. 10.) Delta – an accumulation of sediment formed where a stream enters a lake or ocean. 11.) Natural Levee – a landform that parallels some streams.

12.) Floodplain – the side-to-side cutting of a stream eventually producing a flat valley floor. 13.) Drainage Basin – the land area that contributes water to a stream. 14.) Divide – an imaginary line that separates the drainage basin of one stream from another.

15.) Zone of Saturation – the area where water fills all the open spaces in sediment and rock. 16.) Water Table – the upper limit of the zone of saturation.

17.) Porosity – the percentage of the total amount of rock or soil that consists of pore space. 18.) Permeability – a material’s ability to release a fluid. 19.) Aquifer – permeable rock layers or sediments that transmit groundwater freely

20. ) Well – a hole bored into the zone of saturation. 21 20.) Well – a hole bored into the zone of saturation. 21.) Artesian Well – any formation in which groundwater rises on its own under pressure. 22.) Cavern – a naturally formed underground chamber.

23.) Sinkhole – A depression produced in a region where groundwater has removed soluble rock.

Ocean Vocabulary Chapter 3: Vocabulary

1.) Oceanography – a science that draws on the methods and knowledge of geology, chemistry, physics, and biology to study all aspects of the world ocean. 2.) Sonar – a type of electronic depth-sounding equipment (Sound Navigation And Ranging)

3.) Continental Shelf – the gently sloping submerged surface extending from the shoreline 4.) Continental Slope – marks the seaward edge of the continental shelf, steeper than the shelf 5.) Gas Hydrates – Compact chemical structures made of water and natural gas

6.) Salinity – the total amount of solid material dissolved in water 7.) Thermocline – the layer of ocean water between about 300 meters and 1,000 meters, where there is a rapid change of temperature with depth

8. ) Density – mass per unit of volume 9 8.) Density – mass per unit of volume 9.) Photosynthesis – the use of light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into energy-rich glucose molecules

10.) Chemosynthesis – the process by which certain microorganisms create organic molecules from inorganic nutrients using chemical energy 11.) Gyre – large whirls of water within an ocean basin

12.) Upwelling – the rising of cold water from deeper layers to replace warmer surface water 13.) Tide – the daily change in the elevation of the ocean surface