| A | B |
|---|
| Hydrosphere | all the water on the Earth |
| salinity | amount of salt in salt water |
| glacier | large, slow moving mass of ice |
| groundwater | water found in the pores and spaces underground |
| aquifer | a rock layer that stores water and allows water to flow through it |
| wetlands | areas of land that remain wet for all or part of the year |
| watershed | area of land where precipitation collects and drains into one single collection place such as a lake or river |
| river | a large flowing stream of water fed by other smaller streams |
| tributaries | smaller streams of water flowing into a larger river |
| lake | a low area of land where run-off accumulates |
| desalination | removing the salt from salt water |
| sonar | method of determining the depth of the ocean using sound echoes |
| benthos | organisms that live on or near the bottom of the ocean |
| plankton | tiny organisms that are moved by ocean currents |
| nekton | free-swimming organisms that can move independently of the currents |
| intertidal zone | shoreline area between the high tide line and the low tide line |
| neritic zone | area that slopes from the edge of the shoreline towards the ocean floor |
| oceanic zone | open waters of the ocean |
| coral reef | a limestone deposit formed by coral shells |
| upwelling | movement of nutrient rich waters from the deep ocean into shallow waters |
| hydrothermal vents | cracks in the ocean crust that release mineral rich water that has been heated by Earth's interior |
| estuary | forms where salty ocean water mixes with fresh water from rivers |
| pH | measures how acidic or basic water is |
| turbidity | measure of how clear water is |
| algal blooms | rapid growth of algae from too many nutrients in the water |
| Nitrates | nitrogen based compounds used by plants for growth |
| phosphates | phosphorus based compounds used by plants for growth |
| bio-indicators | an organism used to assess ecosystem health |
| point-source pollution | pollution that comes from a single, identifiable source |
| non-point-source pollution | pollution that comes from many sources or is hard to identify |
| economic trade-off | spending money or losing money to help take care of the environment |
| stewardship | following practices that protect Earth's resources |
| freshwater | water that is not salty |
