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AP Environmental Science Water Flashcards

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8415029872Availability of Freshwateronly about 0.024% of the earth's water supply is available to us0
8415029873Groundwatersome precipitation infiltrates the ground and is stored in spaces in soil and rock; water in these spaces is one of most important sources of fresh water; moves from high to low elevation1
8415029874Zone of Saturationa certain depth where these spaces are completely filled with water2
8415029875Water Tablethe top of the zone of saturation3
8415029876Aquifersgeological layers deeper down like caverns and porous, layers of sand, gravel, or bedrock through which groundwater flows; contain much more freshwater than lakes and rivers4
8415029879Surface Waterthe freshwater that flows across the earth's land surface and into rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs5
8415029880Surface Runoffprecipitation that does not return to the atmosphere by evaporation or infiltrate into the ground6
8415029881Watersheddrainage basin; the land fro which surface water drains into a river, lake, wetland, or other body of water7
8415029889Withdrawing Groundwater Advantagesuseful for drinking and irrigation, available year round and everywhere, renewable, no evaporation losses, cheaper to extract than most surface waters8
8415029890Withdrawing Groundwater Disadvantagesdepletion from over pumping, sinking of land from over pumping, pollution, saltwater intrusion, reduced water flows into surface waters, increased cost and contamination with more depth9
8415029894Advantages to Large Damsproduce cheap electricity, reduce downstream flooding, and provide year-round water for irrigating crop land10
8415029897Aral Seaformerly the fourth largest lake in the world: shallow and saline, now badly polluted; use of its source waters for irrigation led to a loss of over 50% of its area; diverted water was mostly used for irrigation11
8415029898Colorado River BasinMany dams and withdrawals have stopped its flow to the sea; 14 major dams and reservoirs; supplies water mainly to California but is also used for Nevada and other states around12
8415029899China's Three Gorges Damworld's largest dam that helps reduce flooding and provide electricity but displaces many people and will cause flooding in different areas13
8415029903Desalinationremoving dissolved salts from ocean water or from brackish water in aquifers or lakes for domestic use; Israel uses prominently; two major problems: very costly and takes a lot of energy14
8415029904Distillationheating saltwater until it evaporates, leaves behind salts in solid form, and condenses as freshwarer15
8415029905Reverse Osmosismicrofiltration; uses high pressure to force salt water through a membrane filter with pores small enough to remove the salt (pushes freshwater out of salt water)16
8415029911Reducing Flood Damagepreserve forests on watersheds, preserve and restore wetlands in floodplains17
8415029914Transpirationthe process by which moisture is carried through plants from roots to small pores on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor and is released to the atmosphere18
8415029919Ogallalashallow water table aquifer surrounded by sand, silt, clay and gravel located beneath the Great Plains in the United States19
8415108767Disadvantages of DamsDisplaces people and disrupt aquatic systems, and reducing downstream flow20

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