click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Chapter 10 vocab.KS
Term | Definition |
---|---|
infiltration | the process by which precipitation that has fallen on land trickles into the ground and becomes groundwater. |
zone of saturation | the region below earths surface in which groundwater completely fills all the pores of a material |
Water table | the upper boundary of the zone of saturation |
zone of aeration | above the water table, materials are moist, but because they are not saturated with water, air occupies much of the pores |
permeability | the tendency of a material to let water pass through |
aquifers | groundwater flows through permeable sediment and rock |
aquicludes | barriers to groundwater flow |
springs | natural discharges of groundwater |
hot springs | springs that discharge water that is much warmer than the average annual temperature. |
geysers | explosive hot springs |
cave | a natural underground opening with a connection to Earth's surface |
sinkhole | a depression in the ground caused by the collapse of a cave or by the direct dissolution of limestone by acidic water |
karst topography | limestone regions taht have sinkholes and disappearing streams |
stalactite | a dripstone that hangs from the ceiling of the cave |
stalagmites | a dripstone that builds up to a mound in a cave |
well | holes dug or drilled into the groun to reach an aquifer |
drawdown | the difference between the original water table level and the water level in the pumped well |
recharge | water from precipitation replenishes the water sontent of an aquifer |
artessian well | when the rate of recharge is high enough the pressurized water in a well drilled into an artesian aquifer can spurt above the land surface in the form of a fountain |