Water Glossary / Key Terms
Benthic: Refers to animals that live in or on the bottom of a lake, sea, or river.
Elevation: Height above sea level.
Freshwater: Not salt or ocean water.
Groundwater: Water held below the surface of the land, underground.
Land use: Refers to how land within a community is utilized. Some examples of land uses include urban, suburban, commercial (businesses/shopping districts), agricultural (farming), or natural areas.
Model: Simplified representation of natural phenomena. Models can be manipulated and used as tools to make predictions or test hypotheses.
Nursery: Breeding or nesting grounds for plants or animals.
pH: Measurement of the amount of hydrogen ions present in a substance such as water. Knowing the amount of hydrogen in a substance allows us to judge whether it is acidic, neutral, or basic.
River system: A network of small rivers leading into larger rivers.
Runoff: Excess rainfall or snowmelt that flows over land into lakes and rivers because it was not absorbed by soil or plants.
Salt water: Ocean or sea water.
Secchi disk: Instrument used by scientists to measure water clarity. The depth at which the disk’s black and white marks cannot be seen is called the “secchi depth.”
Sediment: Soil and other particles carried by water or settled on the bottom of a water body.
Slope: Change in elevation, such as downhill or uphill.
Surface water: Water that is above ground, e.g., in lakes and rivers.
Turbidity: Measurement of sediment and/or other particles stirred up or suspended in water.
Water clarity: Measurement of the clearness of water (e.g., low turbidity).
Water quality: Measurement of many factors that contribute to the overall health of water in an ecosystem.
Watershed: The area of land that drains into a river system.
Wetland: An area, such as a bog, swamp, or marsh that has seasonally wet soils and a distinct plant community. Wetlands provide valuable nursery areas and habitat for many plants and animals.
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