Freshwater Vocab

The quality of being cloudy, opaque, or thick with suspended matter. A key measurement of water quality.

• Turbidity

• Clarity

• Opacity

• Visibility

A measure of how far down light penetrates through water. The deeper light penetrates, the clearer the water.

• Turbidity

• Clarity

• Opacity

• Permeability

Deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching body tissues.

Oxygen deficiency in an environment.

• Hypothalamus

• Suffocation

• Hypoxia

• Hypothermia

A steep temperature change in a body of water such as a lake, marked by a layer above and below which the water is at different temperatures.

• Thermometer

• Thermolayer

• Temperature Gradient

• Thermocline

Zone of a sea, lake or river which is close to the shore. Often has an abundance of nutrients and light; high in biodiversity

• Limnetic

• Littoral

• Benthic

• Profunal

The ecological zone at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers.

• Limnetic

• Littoral

• Benthic

• Epiphotic

A river or stream flowing into a larger river or lake. Most originate at the sources in higher elevation.

• Meander

• Watershed

• Delta

• Tributary

A landform that forms from deposition of sediment that is carried by a river as it flows toward the mouth. Enters slower-moving or stagnant water.

• Meander

• Watershed

• Delta

• Tributary

A winding curve or bend of a river or road. Comes from the Greek word "to wander".

• Meander

• Watreshed

• Delta

• Tributary

The well-lit, open surface waters zone in a lake away from the shore. This is the part of the lake where most photosynthesis occurs.

• Limnetic

• Littoral

• Benthic

• Aphotic