Abiotic
a non living part of the environment
Absorb
To take in or to swallow up
Biotic
A living part of the environment
Brackish Water
The mixture of fresh and salt water
Dissolved oxygen
Free O2 molecules in water; Important for aquatic animal life
Divide
An area of high elevation that separates one water shed from another
Ecosystem
All the biotic communities that live in an area that together with the abotic factors in the environment
Erosion
The caring away of weather rock sediment and soil, by weather and water; a natural process were soil is lost and transported
Estuaries
A region of water were a fresh water source meet salt water from the ocean
Flood
a rising and overflowing of a body of water into normally dry land
Flood plains
a plain built up by stream dopsition
Forestry
the science of cultivation maintaining and developing forest
Ground Water
Water contained in aquifers underground in the porous or jointed bedrock
Habitat
the environment in which a particular species live
landforms
feature of the earth surface attributed to natural causes
macroinvertebrate
fairly large organism that lack a spinal column such as worms, snails and larvae of flies; dragon flies
migratory
passing periodically from one region or climate to another for feeding or breeding
neutralize
to make harm substances harmless
neutrients
substance needed by organisms for energy, growth, repair or maintanence
organism
all living things "plants, mamals....¨
PH
a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a liquid or damp substance - ¨soil¨ - range from 0 -14 ..... 0 being most acidic and 14 being the most alkaline and 7 is neutral
River system
A river and all its tributary
Runoff
Water from rainfall and the melting of ice that runs along the ground
Salinity
A measure of the dissolved salts in a sample of water
Sediments
Small particles ¨usually rock¨ that settles at the bottom of water
Surface water
The water that is above the ground and streams, lakes, rivers and ponds
Tidal
Alternate rising and falling of the surface of the water and the area that is affected by this water level change
Topography
The shape of a land surface, showing the position and changes of elevation of the land such as mountains, valleys and rivers
Tributary
A stream of water that feeds into a larger stream, river, bay or ocean
Turbidity
Sediments suspended in water which causes the water to be unclear or cloudy
Waste Management
The control and regulation of waste
Water Quality
A measurement of water pureness
Water Shed
A region or area where water travels down hill and ultimately drains into a larger body of water
Wet lands
An ecosystem in which the root of the plants are submerged under water at least part of the year ¨ie. marshes, bogs, swamps¨
swamps
A area of land permanently filled with water
marsh
an area of land where water covers ground for long periods of time
eutrophication
nutrients saturated shallow algae and bacteria development
thermal pollution
heated water released into a body of water
Salt marshes
coastal wetlands