Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Drumlins:
elongated hills composed of glacial till that are much steeper on one side than
the other. The steeper slope of a drumlin indicates the direction of ice movement.
Ecosystem:
a self-regulating association of living plants, animals, and their nonliving
physical and chemical environments.
Eddies:
turbulent swirls in a fluid.
Edge effects:
processes located at the margins of physical entities, such as the receipt of
more light at the edge of forests.
Effective porosity:
that portion of interconnected pore space permitting groundwater
flow through a geologic strata. Also termed specific yield.
Effluent stream:
occurs where groundwater flows into a stream. Also referred to as gain-
ing stream.
Electrokinetics:
a remedial method applied to heavy metals. Involves the imposition of an
electrical field via electroosmosis designed to induce migration of heavy metals to
a desired location where they are removed or encapsulated.
Elimination:
a pollution prevention term used to describe the removal or storage of a cer-
tain hazardous substance.
End moraine:
a moraine formed at the end of a glacier or at a location where the glacier
had been stagnant during a retreating or regressive phase.
Environment:
a broad term encompassing all living and nonliving things on Earth or
at smaller geographic scales. The environment encompasses the natural world
existing within the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere, and also
includes the built or developed world.
Environmental concern:
a condition or situation not presenting an obvious threat to human
health or the environment; typically not the subject of an enforcement action.
Environmental impact statement:
a study to identify and evaluate the positive and nega-
tive biophysical, social, and other environmental effects that a proposed develop-
ment action may have on the environment.
Environmental risk:
the probability of an event resulting in an adverse impact on the
environment or humans.
Environmental risk assessment:
a qualitative or quantitative assessment or investiga-
tion of the risks posed by the presence of contamination to human health or the
environment.
Eolian deposits:
sediments deposited by wind action. Also known as aeolian deposits.
Erosion:
a complex group of related processes where rock is broken down physically and
chemically and its products removed.
Esker:
glacial sedimentary feature formed beneath glaciers within ice-walled tunnels of
outwash that typically deposit coarse-grained gravel sediments in an irregular
pattern.
ESPM:
pollution prevention implemented with a stepwise evaluation process that pro-
ceeds from the most preventative measure to the least preventative measure;
e = elimination, s = substitution, p = prevention, m = minimization.
Esters:
a group of chemical compounds containing a modified carboxylic acid group; the
acidic hydrogen atom has been replaced by a different organic functional group.
Eutrophication:
the natural process of enrichment of surface waters with plant nutrients.
Evaporite:
a sedimentary deposit formed by the evaporation of water.
Experimental design:
the assignment of subjects to experimental groups.
Ex situ thermal treatment:
a remedial method involving the excavation of contaminated
soil and a subsequent thermal treatment at the surface in an effort to either destroy
or transform the contaminant into a harmless substance.
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