Abiotic

a non living part of the environment

Absorb

To take in or to swallow up

Biotic

A living part of the environment

Brackish Water

The mixture of fresh and salt water

Dissolved oxygen

Free O2 molecules in water; Important for aquatic animal life

Divide

An area of high elevation that separates one water shed from another

Ecosystem

All the biotic communities that live in an area that together with the abotic factors in the environment

Erosion

The caring away of weather rock sediment and soil, by weather and water; a natural process were soil is lost and transported

Estuaries

A region of water were a fresh water source meet salt water from the ocean

Flood

a rising and overflowing of a body of water into normally dry land

Flood plains

a plain built up by stream dopsition

Forestry

the science of cultivation maintaining and developing forest

Ground Water

Water contained in aquifers underground in the porous or jointed bedrock

Habitat

the environment in which a particular species live

landforms

feature of the earth surface attributed to natural causes

macroinvertebrate

fairly large organism that lack a spinal column such as worms, snails and larvae of flies; dragon flies

migratory

passing periodically from one region or climate to another for feeding or breeding

neutralize

to make harm substances harmless

neutrients

substance needed by organisms for energy, growth, repair or maintanence

organism

all living things "plants, mamals....¨

PH

a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a liquid or damp substance - ¨soil¨ - range from 0 -14 ..... 0 being most acidic and 14 being the most alkaline and 7 is neutral

River system

A river and all its tributary

Runoff

Water from rainfall and the melting of ice that runs along the ground

Salinity

A measure of the dissolved salts in a sample of water

Sediments

Small particles ¨usually rock¨ that settles at the bottom of water

Surface water

The water that is above the ground and streams, lakes, rivers and ponds

Tidal

Alternate rising and falling of the surface of the water and the area that is affected by this water level change

Topography

The shape of a land surface, showing the position and changes of elevation of the land such as mountains, valleys and rivers

Tributary

A stream of water that feeds into a larger stream, river, bay or ocean

Turbidity

Sediments suspended in water which causes the water to be unclear or cloudy

Waste Management

The control and regulation of waste

Water Quality

A measurement of water pureness

Water Shed

A region or area where water travels down hill and ultimately drains into a larger body of water

Wet lands

An ecosystem in which the root of the plants are submerged under water at least part of the year ¨ie. marshes, bogs, swamps¨

swamps

A area of land permanently filled with water

marsh

an area of land where water covers ground for long periods of time

eutrophication

nutrients saturated shallow algae and bacteria development

thermal pollution

heated water released into a body of water

Salt marshes

coastal wetlands