Surface Water and Underground Water - AP Environmental Science

Fresh, above-ground water (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, etc.) compose roughly 0.5% of all fresh water on earth.

Below-ground water tables consist of roughly 22% of all fresh water on Earth.

A confined aquifer is a naturally occurring phenomenon where the water table is sealed by impermeable bedrock or clay. This geological phenomenon makes it impossible for the water table to recharge by precipitation or from above-ground water percolating through porous rock.

Unconfined aquifers are not as deep below ground as confined water tables and are usually surrounded by porous soil and bedrock. This results in a heightened potential for pathogens and pollutants (particularly from agricultural leeching) to make their way into the ground water.

Oligotrophy occurs when there are insufficient nutrients (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) for the development of aquatic vegetation. This phenomenon is common with newly-formed lakes where primary succession has not yet fixed enough nitrogen for larger plant communities. This is especially true for glacial lakes, where the receding of ice sheets uncover land often devoid of nutrients.

Dried-out topsoil that has no root system or ground cover is at the highest risk of being lost to wind erosion. The Dust Bowl was mainly a result of a decrease in annual precipitation and farming methods that relied heavily on tilling, effectively destroying the root systems and organic cover from the native prairie grasses.

Lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and glaciers are all examples of freshwater bodies. An estuary, on the other hand, is formed where freshwater and saltwater bodies mix.

The correct response is drainage basin. This term refers to the entire landscape and how water and sediment moves from the terrestrial into the riparian zone.

Transpiration invovles the opening of the stomata pores on the surface of the plant's leaves. When the pores are open, water is able to evaporate and be released from the plant. The result is a negative pressure differential that helps pull water upwards via capillary action through the xylem. Water is lost during transpiration, not conserved.

Fresh, above-ground water (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, etc.) compose roughly 0.5% of all fresh water on earth.

Below-ground water tables consist of roughly 22% of all fresh water on Earth.

A confined aquifer is a naturally occurring phenomenon where the water table is sealed by impermeable bedrock or clay. This geological phenomenon makes it impossible for the water table to recharge by precipitation or from above-ground water percolating through porous rock.

Unconfined aquifers are not as deep below ground as confined water tables and are usually surrounded by porous soil and bedrock. This results in a heightened potential for pathogens and pollutants (particularly from agricultural leeching) to make their way into the ground water.

Oligotrophy occurs when there are insufficient nutrients (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) for the development of aquatic vegetation. This phenomenon is common with newly-formed lakes where primary succession has not yet fixed enough nitrogen for larger plant communities. This is especially true for glacial lakes, where the receding of ice sheets uncover land often devoid of nutrients.

Dried-out topsoil that has no root system or ground cover is at the highest risk of being lost to wind erosion. The Dust Bowl was mainly a result of a decrease in annual precipitation and farming methods that relied heavily on tilling, effectively destroying the root systems and organic cover from the native prairie grasses.

Lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and glaciers are all examples of freshwater bodies. An estuary, on the other hand, is formed where freshwater and saltwater bodies mix.

The correct response is drainage basin. This term refers to the entire landscape and how water and sediment moves from the terrestrial into the riparian zone.

Transpiration invovles the opening of the stomata pores on the surface of the plant's leaves. When the pores are open, water is able to evaporate and be released from the plant. The result is a negative pressure differential that helps pull water upwards via capillary action through the xylem. Water is lost during transpiration, not conserved.

Fresh, above-ground water (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, etc.) compose roughly 0.5% of all fresh water on earth.