e-chem vocab
Terms
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- Ecosystem
- Consists of an assembly of mutually interacting organisms and their environment in which materials are interchanged in a largely cyclical manner.
- Biosphere
- Composed of all living entities on Earth.
- Contaminant
- Cause deviations from the normal composition of an environment. Are not classified as pollutants unless they have some detrimental effect.
- Pollutant
- A substance present in greater than natural concentration as a result of human n activity that has a net detrimental effect upon its environment or upon something of value in that environment.
- Geosphere
- Consists of the solid earth, including soil, which supports most plant life.
- Atmosphere
- The thin layer of gases that cover Earth's surface. Reservoir of gases, moderates Earth's temperature, absorbs energy and damaging ultraviolet radiation from the sun, transports energy away from equatorial regions and serves as a pathway for vapor-phase movement of water in the hydrolic cycle.
- Aquatic Chemistry
- The branch of environmental chemistry that deals with chemical phenomena in water
- Hazardous waste
- A potentially dangerous substance that has been discarded, abandoned, neglected, released or designated as a waste material, or one that may interact with other substances to pose a threat.
- Hydrosphere
- Contains the Earth's water.
- Alkalinity
- The capacity of water to accept H+ ions (protons).
- Ecology
- The study of environmental factors that affect organisms and how organisms interact with these factors and with each other.
- Environmental Chemistry
- The study of the sources, reactions, transport, effects, and fates of chemical species in water, soil, and air environments and the effects of technology thereon.
- Hydrology
- The study of water