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Definition
| pollutants released in harmful form; cause damage right away |
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| pollutants that are harmful after reaction in air; photochemical oxidants and acids |
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| do not go through a smokestack; train wreck or something similar |
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| unconventional pollutants |
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| compounds produced in less volume than conventional pollutants, but are especially toxic or hazardous |
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| reduce quality of life; noise, odor, light |
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| toxic metals and halogens |
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| chemical elements that are toxic when concentrated and released in the environment |
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| in high concentrations can cause chemical burns and severe respiratory problems |
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| fine aerosols can be carried great distances by wind |
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| isolates Antarctic air and allows stratospheric temperatures to drop and create ice crystals at high altitudes; absorb ozone and chlorine molecules; when sun returns in the spring, energy liberates the chlorine, which bonds with ozone, allowing the depletion process to proceed rapidly |
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Definition
| cool, dense air trapped below a warmer, lighter air mass; pollutants cannot disperse and thus increase in concentration |
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| temperature in cities warmer than surrounding areas |
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| tall buildings create updrafts |
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| can directly damage plants, or can cause indirect damage by disrupting normal growth and development patterns |
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| deposition of wet, acidic solutions or dry, acidic particles from the air |
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| clean, not very buffered, doesn't have many nutrients; clear mountain stream; doesn't take much to pollute it |
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Definition
| first national air pollution act |
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Definition
| rewrote original act; identified critical pollutants; established ambient air quality standards |
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| materials, environment, aesthetic and comfort |
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Definition
| describes the circulation of water as it evaporates from land, water and organisms, transpires from plants, enters the atmosphere, condenses and precipitates back to earth's surfaces, moves underground by infiltration or overland into rivers, lakes and seas |
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| 95% of Liquid fresh water; second largest reservoir of fresh water |
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| process of water percolating through soil and into fractures and permeable rocks |
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| upper soil layers that hold both air and water |
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Definition
| lower soil layers where all spaces are filled with water |
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| top of zone of saturation |
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| saturated zone below aerated soils |
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Definition
| porous layers of sand, gravel or rock lying below the water table |
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| pressurized aquifer intersects the surface (water flows without pumping) |
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Definition
| area where water infiltrates into an aquifer |
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Definition
| confining layers of an aquifer |
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Definition
| precipitation that does not evaporate or infiltrate into the ground runs off the surface, back towards the sea |
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Definition
| best measure of water volume carried by a river; the amount of water that passes a fixed point in a given amount of time; usually expressed as cubic feet per second |
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Definition
| play a vital role in hydrologic cycle; lush plant growth stabilizes soil and retards surface runoff, allowing more aquifer infiltration; disturbance reduces natural water-absorbing capacity, resulting in floods and erosion in wet periods, and less water flow the rest of the year |
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Term
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Definition
| among the smallest water reservoirs; contains .001% of total water supply; has most rapid turnover rate; provides mechanism for distributing fresh water over landmasses and replenishing terrestrial reservoirs; residence time is fairly short |
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Definition
| made up of surface runoff and infiltration into accessible freshwater aquifers |
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Definition
| total amount of water taken from a source |
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| fraction of withdrawn water made unavailable for other purposes (not returned to its source) |
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| change in water quality due to contamination making it unsuitable for desired use |
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Definition
| withdrawing large amounts of groundwater in a small area causes porous formations to collapse, resulting in _______ |
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Definition
| form when an underground channel or cavern collapses |
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Definition
| can occur along coastlines where overuse of freshwater reservoirs draws the water table low enough to allow saltwater to intrude |
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Term
| Eastern-Riparian Use Rights |
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Definition
| residents of river bank could use as much water as they liked, as long as it did not interfere with downstream quality or availability |
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Term
| Western-Prior Appropriation Rights |
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Definition
| First in time are first in right; appropriated water must be put to "beneficial use" |
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| all the land drained by a stream or river |
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| any physical, biological, or chemical change in water quality that adversely affects living organisms |
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| discharge pollution form specific locations; factories, power plants |
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| scattered or diffuse having no specific location of discharge; agricultural fields, feedlots, atmospheric deposition |
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Term
| biochemical oxygen demand |
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Definition
| amount of dissolved oxygen consumed by aquatic microorganisms |
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Definition
| measure of dissolved oxygen in water |
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Definition
| oxygen levels decline downstream from a pollution source as decomposers metabolize waste materials |
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| bodies of water that are rich in organisms and organic material |
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| process of increasing nutrient levels and biological productivity |
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| increase in biological productivity and ecosystem succession caused by human activities |
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| a poisonous dinoflagellate recognized as killer of fish and shellfish; caused neurological problems with fishermen |
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Definition
| build up in the fatty tissue, higher levels in older, larger fish |
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| produce artificial environments which attract many forms of wildlife |
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| established a National Pollution Discharge System which requires a permit for any entity dumping wastes in surface waters; goal was to return all U.S. surface waters to "fishable and swimmable" conditions |
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| Gasoline additive, and suspected carcinogen, is present in many urban aquifers |
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| physical separation of large solids from the waste steam |
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| biological degradation of dissolved organic compounds; activated sludge process |
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Definition
| removal of plant nutrients (nitrates and phosphates) from secondary effluent; chemical or natural wetlands |
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| natural water purification; effluent can be used to irrigate crops or raise fish for human consumption |
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Definition
| confine liquid wastes in place, or cap surface with impermeable layer to divert water away from the site |
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| used to pump out polluted water for treatment |
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