Glossary

Chapter 9 groundwater Water that sinks into the soil and is stored in slowly flowing and slowly renewed underground reservoirs called aquifers; underground water in the zone of saturation, below the water table. Compare runoff, surface water. Large or dispersed land areas such as crop fields, streets, and lawns that discharge pollutants into the environment over a large area. Compare point source. Single identifiable source that discharges pollutants into the environment. Examples are the smokestack of a power plant or an industrial plant, drainpipe of a meatpacking plant, chimney of a house, or exhaust pipe of an automobile. Compare nonpoint source. Surface runoff of water that generally can be counted on as a stable source of water from year to year. See runoff. Series of large waves generated when part of the ocean floor suddenly rises or drops, usually because of an earthquake

nonpoint source point source

reliable runoff tsunami