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| Forms when a low pressure area is accompanied by thunderstorms that produce a circular wind flow with maximum sustained winds below 39 mph. |
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| When liquid water from any area of accumulation becomes water vapor |
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| When water vapor rises in the atmosphere, cools and returns to a liquid state (condenses, forming clouds. |
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| Water that falls from clouds as rain, sleet, snow and hail |
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| Is the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place. This includes precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, dew point, wind speed, etc. |
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| An intense tropical weather system with a well defined circulation and maximum sustained winds of 74 mph (64 knots) or higher. |
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| Occurs as a result of the rise and fall of hot and cold fluids or gases; convection currents move heat around the troposphere |
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| The source of energy in our atmosphere |
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| The source of energy for hurricanes |
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| The first stage of development of a hurricane. It consists of a mass of thunderstorms that have only a slight wind circulation. |
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| Strong winds of over 39 miles (63 kilometers) per hour but less than hurricane intensity. |
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| When water vapor that is given off by plants; "plant sweat" |
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| Groundwater is water that lies beneath the ground in spaces in the soil. |
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| Surface water collects on the ground after falling from clouds as precipitation. |
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| Wetlands are areas of land that are always wet and they support a great variety of plants and animals. Examples are bogs and marshes. |
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| Aquifers are a body of permeable (allowing liquids to pass through it) rock that collects groundwater. |
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| Aeration is the first step in water Aeration is when a region in the ground where pore spaces are filled with air. Zone of Saturation |
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| Porosity is the describes the amount of spaces in between sediments. Depends on size and shape of sediments. |
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| Water pollution occurs when bodies of water (lakes, streams, ocean, groundwater, etc.) are contaminated by man-made pollutants that are directly or indirectly released into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds. |
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| Saline is a solution of salt in water. |
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| The Recharge Zone is the ground surface where water enters an aquifer. |
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| The Watershed is the region of land that supplies water to a river system and all the tributaries that enter it; A watershed carries water "shed" from the land after rain falls and snow melts and takes that water to rivers, lakes, and streams. |
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| Run-off refers to the rainwater that does not soak into the ground, but flows down the land where it collects in bodies of water on the earth's surface. |
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| Permeable Rock contains many well-connected pores that allows groundwater flow through it. |
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| Transpiration occurs when moisture is carried up through a plant's roots to small pores on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor and is released to the atmosphere. "Plant sweat" |
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| Evaporation is the process by which water changes from liquid water to water vapor (from a liquid to a gas). |
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| Condensation is when water vapor (a gas)changes into liquid water. Condensation generally occurs in the atmosphere when warm air rises, cools and looses its ability to hold water vapor. This results in the water vapor condensing and forming clouds. |
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| A Tributary is a small stream or river that flows into a larger stream, river or a lake. Tributaries do not flow directly into a sea or ocean. |
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| Infiltration is the downward movement of water into soil. |
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| Accumulation is any place where water gathers (accumulates)in large quantities such as in rivers, lakes, oceans, glaciers, ice caps and aquifers |
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| The Water Table is the upper level of an underground surface in which the soil or rocks is completely saturated with water. |
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| Impermeable means when something does not allow anything to get through it. When referring to rock, it means that fluids cannot pass through it. |
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| Reservoirs are areas where water is stored. |
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| Non-potable water refers to water that is unsafe to drink. |
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| The Water Cycle refers to process that causes all of the Earth's water to change from one state (water vapor, liquid, solid) to another, over and over again. It is the continuous process by which water is circulated throughout the Earth and the atmosphere through evaporation (water vapor in the air - gas), condensation (water vapor to liquid water), precipitation (falling of liquid or frozen, solid water), and by transpiration -the loss of water vapor from pores ins a plant's leaves. |
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| Saturation is when no more water can be absorbed or added. |
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| The Hydrosphere refers to all the liquid water components of the Earth. It includes the oceans, seas, lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. The hydrosphere covers about 70% of the surface of the Earth and is the home for many plants and animals. |
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| Precipitation refers to how the Earth's water is released from clouds in the form of rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, or hail. It is how the water cycle provides for the delivery of atmospheric water to the Earth. |
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| An Estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments. |
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| Potable refers to water that is fit to drink. |
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