Glossary


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A

Abstraction

The process of taking or extracting water from a natural source (rivers, lakes, groundwater aquifers)


Acid rain

Caused by atmospheric pollution as a result of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen compounds in the air which combine with atmospheric water to form acids that fall as precipitation


Aquaculture

The breeding, rearing, and harvesting of fish, shellfish, algae, and other organisms in all types of water environments. It is basically farming in water, rather than on land


Aquifers

Sections of soil and rock that hold groundwater (like rocky sponges)


B

Bioaccumulation

The gradual accumulation of substances, such as pesticides or other chemicals, in an organism


Biosphere reserve

An ecosystem with plants and animals of unusual scientific and natural interest. It is a label given by UNESCO to help protect the sites


C

Confined aquifer

An impermeable rock layer preventing water from seeping into the aquifer from the ground surface directly above it. Instead, water travels down and across and eventually seeps into an unconfined aquifer farther away where the impermeable layer does not exist, often travelling large distances


E

Ecosystem

A biological community of interacting living organisms and their physical environment. The living and physical components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows


Ecotoxicology

The study of the effects of toxic chemicals on biological organisms


Energy Mix

The specific combination of different energy sources a country, for example, uses to meet its energy consumption needs


Erosion

Where particles or fragments are weathered from rock material


Eutrophication

When a water body becomes enriched with nutrients which lead to the growth of algae


Evaporation

Where water returns to the atmosphere because water is heated up, so the water molecules change from liquid to gas


F

Floodplain

An area of flat land next to a river, formed mainly of river sediments and subject to flooding


Fluvial sediment

The process where water is the key agent for erosion


Food chain

How each living thing gets their energy


Food web

Systems of interlocking and interdependent food chains


Fossil water

An ancient body of water that has been contained in some undisturbed space, such as subglacial lakes or aquifers, and may have laid there for millennia


G

Gross domestic product

Measures the value of economic activity within a country. GDP is the sum of the market values, or prices, of all final goods and services produced in a country during a given period of time


Groundwater

Fresh water located in the subsurface pore space of soil and rocks that collects within aquifers


H

Hydraulic fracturing

An oil and gas well development process that typically involves injecting water, sand, and chemicals under high pressure into a bedrock formation via the well


Hydropower

Energy that can be harnessed from a continuous flow of water, such as a river. It is a renewable source of energy because the water cycle is constantly renewed by the sun


L

Liquid waste

Wastewater and sewage and include faeces and the contents of pit latrines and septic tanks


N

Nonpoint source pollution

Contamination derived from diffuse sources, where there are many sources or the source is unknown


Non-renewable water resources

Water resources that are not replenished or not for a very long time


P

Percolating

Where water slowly trickles downwards


Point source pollution

When contamination originates from a single source that can be traced


Poldering

The building of dykes and drainage canals in low lying reclaimed coastal areas


R

Recession agriculture

Where farmers capitalize on natural flows and sediments to irrigate and fertilize crops on floodplains


Renewable water resources

Water resources that are rechargeable due to the hydrological cycle (water cycle), comprising groundwater aquifers and surface water like rivers and lakes


Riverine flooding

When rivers fill to their capacity, often bursting their banks and causing flooding alongside the river


S

Sediment cycle

Starts with the process of erosion, whereby particles or fragments are weathered from rock material followed by the erosion of minerals, their transport and deposition, then burial


Sediment load

Particles eroded and carried by water



Solid waste

Anything in solid form that is discarded as unwanted, such as garbage



Stakeholder

A person, group or organization with an interest or concern in something


Surface water

Water from precipitation (rain, snow, hail, sleet) falls on the land and runs over the surface collecting in rivers, streams and lakes, and ultimately drains into oceans


T

Tailing ponds

Areas where waterborne refuse material from mining operations is pumped to allow the sedimentation of solids from the water


Transboundary pollution

Contamination from one country impacts another country by crossing its borders


Transpiration

The process by which plants send water up through their stems, and deliver it from their leaves back into the atmosphere


Turbidity

Water that loses its transparency due to the presence of suspended particulates


U

Unconfined aquifer

Where water seeps from the ground surface directly into the aquifer


W

Water endowment

Renewable water resources per capita (the total sustainable water available per inhabitant) per year


Water table

The top of the groundwater



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