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Algae - group of primitive,
non-flowering plants which include certain seaweeds and microscopic
phytoplankton.
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Anoxia- lack of oxygen.
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Anthropogenic- caused or produced
by humans.
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Bacteriology- the branch of
microbiology dealing
with bacteria.
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Barrier Island-narrow islands
of sand that run parallel to the shoreline. They are separated from
the mainland by a river, marsh, or lagoon. Inlets separate adjacent
barrier islands. Barrier islands function as a buffer for the mainland
against storms and heavy surf.
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Benthic organisms - plants
and animals living in or on the bottom in aquatic habitats
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Best Management Practices-
practices determined to be the most effective and feasible means of
preventing or reducing pollution from point and non-point sources
in order to protect water quality.
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Brackish- somewhat salty water
that is a mixture of fresh and salt water.
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Buffer- strips of land between
a waterway and a developed area that are left undeveloped to protect
the waterway from pollution by filtering runoff water.
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Bulkhead- a retaining structure
of wood, steel or concrete used for shore protection.
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Detritavore- an organism that
feeds on detritus
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Detritus - decomposed or partly
decomposed plant and animal matter
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Dissolved Oxygen (DO)- the
amount of free oxygen dissolved in water. DO is required by organisms
for respiration in water. DO levels in estuaries fluctuate widely
from both natural and manmade influences.
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Dredging- deepening rivers
or coastal waters by removing the material from the bottom of the
water body.
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Ecology- the science of the
relationships between organisms and their environment
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Ecosystem - an interactive
system of a biological community and its non-living environment
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Estuarine System- the interconnected
network of streams, creeks, rivers, salt marshes, forests and their
inhabitants that surround an estuary.
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Estuary- a body of water where
inflowing salt water from the ocean mizes with fresh water from streams,
rivers, rainwater and runoff.
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Eutrophication- excessive
nutrient enrichment of water bodies, frequently the result of human
activities, that causes an explosive growth or “bloom”
of algae and other aquatic plants. The respiration of the additional
plant life depletes the water of dissolved oxygen which can be detrimental
to the plant and animal inhabitants of the water body.
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Geographic Information System (GIS)-
a computerized data management system created by geographers for the
capture, storage, analysis and display of data, most often on maps.
Different “data layers” can be placed on top of one another
on maps (for instance, the distribution of docks can be placed on
top of the distribution of grass shrimp) to examine and analize relationships
between the layers.
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Habitat- the total environment
in which an organism lives. A habitat is able to include all the resources
an organism needs including food, water and shelter.
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Hectare- a unit of land equal
to 100 acres or 10,000 square meters.
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Hydrology- the study of the
properties, location and movement of inland waters both above and
below ground. The hydrologic cycle is the cycle of water movement
from the atmosphere to the earth and back to the atmosphere through
various processes including rain, runoff, infiltration, and evaporation.
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High Salinity Estuary- an
estuary with limited fresh water input often only from rain and runoff
characterized by higher salt content in the water.
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Impervious Surface- ground
cover such as roofs, driveways and roadways that does not allow water
to sink into (infiltrate) the soil. Impervious surfaces increase the
volume and speed of runoff after rainfall.
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Infiltration- the penetration
of water through the ground surface and into the soil.
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Inorganic-not pertaining to
or derived from living things.
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Intertidal- pertaining to
the region above the low water mark of low tide and below the high
water mark of high tide. This region is covered by water for a portion
of every day and is above water for the remainder of every day.
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Marsh - low, wet grassland
without trees, periodically covered by water
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Metadata-definitional data
that provides information about or documentation of other data managed
within an application or environment.
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Microbiology- the branch of
biology dealing with microscopic organisms.
- Microorganism-
any organism too small
to be viewed by the unaided eye
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Nitrogen- one of the major
nutrients required for the growth of plants (including aquatic plants).
Nitrogen is usually found in water as organic nitrogen or inorganic
nitrate and ammonia. High concentrations of nitrogen can cause an
overabundance (bloom) of aquatic plant and algal growth.
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Non-point Source Pollution (NPS)-
pollution from diffuse sources that cannot be attributed to one identifiable
point, such as a discharge pipe.
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Nutrients - chemicals (primarily
nitrogen and phosphorous) necessary for organisms to live.
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Parasite-an organism that
lives on or within an individual of another species, from which it
obtains nutrients.
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Permeable- capable of being
penetrated or passed through.
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Phosphorous
- an inorganic nutrient essential for plant growth and reproduction;
excess can cause eutrophication; problems are usually associated with
farmland runoff, sewage, and detergents.
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Photosynthesis - the process
by which plants convert sunlight into living tissue using carbon dioxide,
water, and nutrients; primary production.
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Phycology- the branch of biology
dealing with algae.
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Phytoplankton - the plant
form of plankton, most are microscopic; they are important as primary
producers in an estuarine ecosystem.
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Plankton - passively drifting
or weakly swimming organisms living suspended in the water column,
often microscopic but sometimes visible to the naked eye.
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Point source pollution - pollution
from a definable source, such as an outfall pipe.
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Pollution - the addition of
a substance(s) to an environment in greater than natural concentrations
as a result of human activity producing a net detrimental effect on
the environment.
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Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH)-
a class of chemicals which are by-products of the combustion of petroleum
products that can cause lethal and sub-lethal impacts on estuarine
organisms.
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Retention Basin- man made
ponds built in or near developments to retain storm water and runoff
from the development.
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Riparian- situated on the
bank of a river or other body of water.
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Runoff- rain water that does
not penetrate the ground's surface and therefore flows off into creeks
and sterams often carrying with it sediment and sediment bound contaminants.
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Salinity - the measurement
of the amount of dissolved salts in water, usually measured in parts
per thousand; 35 ppt is average for seawater, 0 ppt for freshwater.
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Salt Marsh- a low-lying tract
of soft wetland that is tidally flooded with salt water and is often
dominated by a few plant species such as Spartina alterniflora and
other grasses.
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Sediment - particles which
accumulate on the bottom of a waterway.
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Spartina alterniflora-(smooth
cord grass or marsh grass) the predominant plant species in salt marshes
on the east coast.
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Tides - periodic movement
(raising and lowering) of a body of water by the gravitational attraction
of the moon and sun with the rotation of the earth
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Toxicology- the branch of
pharmacology dealing with the effects, antidotes and detection of
poisons.
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Turbidity - the measurement
of water cloudiness; it may be affected by sediment and plankton concentrations
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- Urbanization- the process by
which an area becomes developed for resedential, commercial and industrial
use.
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- Zooplankton - the animal form
of plankton. Copepods are an example of zooplankton.
The definitions on this page were taken from
:
- "The Citizens Guide to the Charleston Harbor
Project" a publication of the SC Department of Health and Environmental
Control
- Webster's College Dictionary
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