environmental science Ch 11

fresh water on Earth’s land surface.

flowing network of water as streams and rivers move across the land

The area of land that is drained by a river

Water stored beneath the Earth’s surface in sediment and rock formations.

An underground formation that contains groundwater.

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

The ability of rock or soil t allow water to flow through it.

The area of the Earth’s surface where water percolates down into the aquifer.

Safe to drink

Organisms that cause illness or diseases such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and parasitic worms

structure built across a river to control the river’s flow.

formed when the river is dammed, an artificial lake.

process of removing salt from saltwater

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

pollution discharged from a single source such as leaking septic tank, unlined landfills, leaking storage tanks, the water discharged from industries and abandoned mines, and wastewater treatment plants.

Pollution coming from many different sources which are often difficult to identify such as water runoff on streets, fertilizer runoff, chemicals added to road surfaces.

water that contains waste from home or industry

accumulation of pollutants at successive levels of the food chain. Harms the organisms at the top of the food chain.

an increase in the number of nutrients, such as nitrates, in a marine or aquatic ecosystem. Artificial eutrophication is caused by humans

when the temperature of a body of water, such as a lake or stream increase