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Environmental Geology
Final Exam
44
Chemistry
Undergraduate 4
12/10/2007

Additional Chemistry Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
watershed
Definition
land area that contributes water to a particular stream system
Term
vadose zone
Definition
zone or layer above the water table in which some water may be suspended or moving in a downward migration toward the water table or laterally toward a discharge point
Term
zone of saturation
Definition
zone or layer below the water table in which all the pore space of rock or soil is saturated
Term
water table
Definition
surface that divides the vadose zone from the zone of saturation; the surface below which all pore space in rocks is saturated with water
Term
aquifer
Definition
earth material containing sufficient groundwater that can be pumped out; highly fractured rocks and unconsolidated sands and gravels make good aquifers
Term
what major factors control the movement of groundwater?
   
Definition

hydraulic gradient

 

type of material that makes up the aquifer 

Term
Darcy's Law
Definition
empirical relationship that states that the volumetric flow rate such as cubic meters per day is a product of hydraulic conductivity, hydraulic gradient, and cross-sectional area of flow
Term
what are some of the important interactions between surface and groundwater?
Definition
surface water filters into groundwater, groundwater discharges to the surface, groundwater pumped to surface via wells
Term
instream vs. offstream water uses
Definition

instream: water used but not withdrawn from its source, ex: boating

 

offstream: water that is removed or diverted from its source, ex: irrigation, public supplies, thermoelectric power generation 

Term
consumptive use
Definition
type of offstream use in which water does not return to the stream or groundwater resource immediately after use
Term
who are the biggest users of fresh water?
Definition
agriculture
Term
what are some ways to conserve water?
Definition
improved irrigation, more efficient faucets
Term
define luna leopold's philosophy concerning water management
Definition
use surface water in years of high precip., save groundwater for years of drought
Term
wetlands
Definition
landscape features such as swamps, marshes, bogs, or prairie potholes that are frequently or continuously inundated with water
Term
list some important environmental features associated with wetlands
Definition
buffers for coastal erosion, highly productive lands, groundwater recharge, natural filler
Term

why might we be facing a global food shortage based on water use?

Definition
not enough water for irrigating croplands
Term
water pollution
Definition
degradation of water quality as measured by biological, chemical, or physical criteria
Term
biochemical oxygen demand
Definition
the amount of oxygen used in bacterial decomposition, a commonly used measurement in water quality management
Term
what is the role of fecal coliform in determining water pollution?
Definition
a measure of biological pollution and a standard of microbial pollution
Term
cultural eutrophication
Definition
anthropogenic causes for increases in nutrient pollution
Term
point source vs. nonpoint source pollution
Definition

point source - discrete and confined

 

 

nonpoint source - diffuse and intermittent 

Term
acid mine drainage
Definition
acidic water with elevated concentrations of dissolved metals that drain from coal or metal mines, high concentration of sulfuric acid
Term
saltwater intrusion
Definition
happens when you overpump a well near an ocean and saltwater fills the space formerly filled by freshwater (cone of depression)
Term
differentiate primary, secondary, and advanced wastewater treatment
Definition

primary - sediment removal

 

secondary - aeration to stimulate bacterial break-down of organic materials

 

advanced - removal of nutrients, heavy metals, or specific chemicals 

Term
septic tank disposal failure
Definition
poor soil drainage can cause the wastewater to rise to the surface
Term
wastewater renovation and conservation cycle
Definition

process of recycling liquid waste; primary processes

 

1- the return of treated wastewater to cropfields (irrigation)

2 - renovation by natural purification of wastewater as it slowly seeps through the soil to eventually recharge the the groundwater resource with clean water

 3 -the reuse or conservation of the water by pumping it out of the ground for municipal, industrial, institutional, or agricultural purposes

Term
resource vs. reserve
Definition

resource - a concentration of a naturally occurring material in or on the crust of the Earth in a form that can now or potentially be extracted at a profit

 

reserve - a portion of a resource that is identified and is currently available to be legally extracted at a profit

Term
ore
Definition
earth material from which a useful commodity ca be extracted profitably
Term
concentration factor
Definition
measure of concentration necessary for profitable mining, % in ore / average % in Earth
Term
why do metallic ore deposits form at divergent plate boundaries?
Definition
warm water moves trhough the fractured rock and leaches out metals which are carried in solution and precipitated as metallic sulfides at black smokers
Term
what are the environmental impacts of mining?
Definition

acid-mine drainage

coal sludge

ugly

death

collapsing of the Earth 

Term
use of biotechnology in the mining industry
Definition
processes used for metal extraction and processing that include biooxidation, bioleaching, biosorption, and genetic engineering of microbes
Term
why do we recycle so much iron?
Definition

economic burden if no recycling

significant environmental impacts if no recycling

huge market for scrap metals 

Term
Long Island case study
Definition

salt-water intrusion

groundwater pollution 

Term
Edwards Aquifer, TX
Definition

increasing water demands calls for legislation regarding distribution and rights to the water

whatever decisions are made will have significant social, economic, and environmental impacts 

Term
Colorado River Management case study
Definition

damming of the Colorado River for water management has had severe consequences

 

deprives people downstream of water

 

disturbs natural ecosystems

 

reduces number of annual floods 

Term
bay of pigs case study
Definition
hurricane Floyd caused flooding of pig waste retaining ponds, serious pollution, death of pigs - mass burials
Term
plate tectonics and minerals case study
Definition
metals at divergent plate boundaries are released by black smoker vents, sulfides, no economically feasible way to extract these minerals yet
Term
itai-itai disease
Definition
causes bones to become extremely brittle, caused by high concentrations of heavy metals such as Zn, Pb, and Cd in drinking water
Term
homestake mine
Definition
use of bacteria to clean mine water before it reaches streams, removed cyanide
Term
coal sludge
Definition
sludge from cleaning coal, placed in retaining ponds, dams break, cover towns, death
Term
china on the edge
Definition
dirty coal, coal v. abundant, rapid industrialization, unsafe factories
Term
Pb in the env
Definition
could have lead to fall of roman empire, was used in pipes to carry drinking water, causes mental retardation
Term
radon gas
Definition
decaying uranium turns into radon gas, released from soil, trapped under houses, carcinogenic
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