Chapter 5 ESS – Flashcards
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Floodplain
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A flat surface next to a river channel
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Natural leve
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ridge of flood deposits next to a river channel
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How does the formation of a natural levee impact flooding?
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Natural levees raise the height of the stream channel, reducing the amount of flooding that will occur on the floodplain.
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Water erodes the outside of a river bend to form what?
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Cut bank
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Discharge is a measurement of what?
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The amount of water flowing in a river
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How did the MI river delta form?
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As the MI River enters the Gulf of Mexico, its velocity decreases and it begins to drop its sediment load
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What has caused the hypoxic dead zone to form off the coast of the Gulf states?
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Fertilizers promote the growth of algae. When they die and decompose, oxygen is depleted in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Force of Gravity
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Groundwater tends to flow downward into oceans and rivers because it typically flows from land that is above sea level to land that is at sea level.
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Pressure
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groundwater flows through pores in the saturated zone,
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Gravitational Potential energy
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The energy that results from the pull of gravity on the groundwater. Increases with the elevation of the groundwater.
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Groundwater is second only to what?
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Glaciers
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The majority of groundwater is stored within what?
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The zone of saturation
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During a summer with little rainfall, your house on a hill slope experiences an interval during which your well runs dry. You have to borrow water from your neighbor who lives downslope from you. Why does your neighbor have water when you don't?
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As the water table drops due to the lack of precipitation, it goes below the base of your well.
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What does the Murphree Water Treatment Plant use to disinfect the water?
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Chlorine
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What federal agency regulates the bottled water industry?
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Food and Drug Administration
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The safest drinking water source?
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Groundwater
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Next frontier in the drinking water industry?
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Desalination
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Two types of aquifers
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Confined
Unconfined
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Groundwater flow is influenced by several factors
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The porosity and permeability of the earth the water flows in Pressure gradients that result from the varying height of the local water table
