Hydrological cycle
The water cycle — technically known as the hydrological cycle — is the continuous circulation of water within the Earth's hydrosphere, and is driven by solar radiation. This includes the atmosphere,...
View ArticleHydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons are referred to as consisting of a "backbone" or "skeleton" composed entirely of carbon and hydrogen and other bonded compounds, and lack a functional group that generally facilitates...
View ArticleScattered dwellings
Scattered dwellings is a diffuse source sector used in the inventory of releases into water defined as discharge from households not connected to urban waste water treatment plants and other diffuse...
View ArticleWater stress
Water stress occurs when the demand for water exceeds the available amount during a certain period or when poor quality restricts its use. Water stress causes deterioration of fresh water resources in...
View ArticleSuspended matter
Suspended matter is made up of fine particles. Some are present naturally in river water, such as plankton, fine plant debris and minerals, while others stem from human activity (organic and inorganic...
View ArticleTributaries
A tributary (or confluent/affluent) is a stream or river which flows into another river (a parent river) or body of water but which may not flow directly into the sea.
View ArticleIntrusion of saltwater
Saltwater intrusion is a natural process that occurs in virtually all coastal aquifers. It consists in salt water (from the sea) flowing inland in freshwater aquifers. This behavior is caused by the...
View ArticleGroundwater abstraction
Groundwater abstraction is the process of taking water from a ground source, either temporarily or permanently. Most water is used for irrigation or treatment to produce drinking water. Depending on...
View ArticleDiffuse pollution
Pollution from widespread activities with no one discrete source, e.g. acid rain, pesticides, urban run-off, etc.
View ArticleLarge basin management
A large basin is a natural or artificially created pond, lake or other space used for storage, regulation or control of water.
View ArticleAquifer
1/ A subsurface layer or layers of rock or other geological strata of sufficient porosity and permeability to allow either a significant flow of groundwater or the abstraction of significant quantities...
View ArticleBiodiversity level
The term biodiversity describes the variety of life on our planet or a specific region, measurable as the variety within species, between species, and the variety of ecosystems.
View ArticleDirect point source
A stationary location or fixed facility from which pollutants are discharged; any single identifiable source of pollution; e.g. a pipe, ditch, ship, ore pit, factory smokestack.
View ArticleNutrients
Nutrients are chemical elements which are involved in the construction of living tissue and which are needed by both plant and animal. The most important in terms of bulk are carbon, hydrogen and...
View ArticleTopography
The representation of a portion of the earth’s surface showing natural and man-made features of a given locality such as rivers, streams, ditches, lakes, roads, buildings and variations in ground...
View ArticleCatchment area
1) An area from which surface runoff is carried away by a single drainage system. 2) The area of land bounded by watersheds draining into a river, basin or reservoir.
View ArticleDownstream reaches
A reach is an expanse, or widening, of a stream or river channel. This commonly occurs after the river or stream is dammed.
View ArticleEutrophication
A process of pollution that occurs when a lake or stream becomes over-rich in plant nutrient; as a consequence it becomes overgrown in algae and other aquatic plants. The plants die and decompose. In...
View ArticleRecharge area
Aquifers are replenished with water from the surface through a process called "recharge." This occurs as a part of the hydrologic cycle when water from rainfall percolates into underlying aquifers. The...
View ArticleAnthropogenic processes
Anthropogenic effects, processes, objects, or materials are those that are derived from human activities, as opposed to those occurring in natural environments without human influences. The term is...
View ArticleRiver basin
The area of land from which all surface run-off flows through a sequence of streams, rivers and, possibly, lakes into the sea at a single river mouth, estuary or delta.
View ArticleWater body
Any mass of water having definite hydrological, physical, chemical and biological characteristics and which can be employed for one or several purposes.
View ArticleLake basin
A basin is a natural depression in the surface of the land. A lake basin is a geographic land area draining into a lake; also referred to as drainage basin or watershed.
View ArticlePrecipitation
In meteorology, precipitation (also known as hydrometeor) is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that is deposited on the earth's surface. It occurs when the atmosphere (being a...
View ArticleBrackish water
Brackish water is water that is saltier than fresh water, but not as salty as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, but also certain human activities can...
View ArticleTurbid waters
Water is said to be turbid when particles suspended in it restrict the transmission of light and give a cloudy or muddy appearance. Only small particles can remain suspended for significant periods of...
View ArticlePollution
Pollution is the introduction of substances or energy into the environment, resulting in deleterious effects of such a nature as to endanger human health, harm living resources and ecosystems, and...
View ArticleAtmospheric deposition
The transfer of substances in air to surfaces, including soil, vegetation, surface water, or indoor surfaces, by dry or wet processes. (S. L. Brown)
View ArticleImpervious
Impervious surfaces seal the soil surface, eliminating rainwater infiltration and natural groundwater recharge.
View ArticleAquaculture
Aquaculture is the cultivation of the natural produce of water (fish, shellfish, algae and other aquatic organisms). Also known as aquafarming, the term is distinguished from fishing by the idea of...
View ArticlePercolation
In chemistry and materials science, percolation concerns the movement and filtering of fluids through porous materials. During the last three decades, percolation theory, an extensive mathematical...
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