1. Groundwater Review

2. Water Cycle Transpiration vs Evaporation
Infiltration: water soaking in
Permeability: how easily water flows through
Zone of aeration: permeable, above the water table
Zone of saturation: zone below the water table
Influent Stream: has the potential of going dry
Effluent Stream: most likely will not go dry

3. Aquifer
Underground layer of permeable rock that contains water

4. Water Types Fresh water: water that is not salty
Little or no taste, color, odor
~3% of water on Earth is fresh
Brackish water: mix of salt and fresh water
Salt water: water that contains dissolved salts and other minerals

5. Divide
A continuous line of high land from which water flows in different directions.

6. Drainage Basin
An area that receives all of the surface runoff from one side of a ridge
Aka River basin

7. Lakes/Ponds
Eutrophication: an increase of nutrients in a lake.

8. Fresh Water Availability

9. Estuaries
Nursery’s of Sea

11. Estuaries
Semi-enclosed areas where fresh water and seawater meet and mix.
Interaction of land and sea!
Some of the most productive environments on earth!
Most affected by humans!
Harbors
Cities

12. Value of Estuaries Protected fertile habitat – Home for many!
Vital breeding and feeding grounds
Cities built near estuaries because of great fishing. (shrimp and crab)

13. Physical Characteristics of Estuaries
Salinity in a salt wedge
Substrate
Rivers carry nutrients into estuary by size and weight.
Mud = silt and clay high in nutrients
Anoxic = low oxygen in mud b/c bacteria respiration.
Anaerobic bacteria thrive in mud.

14. Physical Characteristics of Estuaries
Water temp varies.
Exposed organisms during low tides.
Sun, Drying out, Predation

17. The Salt wedge moves in and out with the tide
High Tide
Low Tide
The Salt wedge moves in and out with the tide

18. The daily tides play a crucial role in salt marshes.
They help circulate detritus and nutrients and expose mudflat organisms to predation by shorebirds and other animals

19. Why does mud not have much oxygen in it?
Look at the shallow roots of this mangrove tree reaching above the mud to get oxygen.
Why does mud not have much oxygen in it?

20. Cordgrass is an important component of salt water marshes

21. Pickle Weed is a common succulent plant in salt marshes around the world.

22. A salt marsh near Atlantic Beach, NC
A salt marsh near Atlantic Beach, NC. Many of these types of marshes have been filled in and destroyed.

23. The Atlantic menhaden is an important commercial fish spawn offshore and larvae drift with tides into the estuary to grow.