Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Facies:
characteristics of a rock or sediment mass that reflect its depositional environment.
Facies analysis:
technique used to help understand sedimentary environments and the
processes leading to the origin of their sediments. Also referred to as cross-dating.
Feasibility study:
an evaluation of the potential remediation methods after the nature and
extent of contamination have been determined.
Feedback:
an outcome of a process within a system affecting the overall function of the
system.
Fertilizers:
chemical compounds designed to promote plant growth when applied.
Fick's law of diffusion:
a relationship stating the flux of a diffusing species is propor-
tional to the concentration gradient.
Filter pack:
granular material placed around the circumference of a well screen designed
to prevent suspended fine-grained sediments from entering a well.
Flaser bedding:
interbedded and alternating fine and coarser-grained layers of sediment.
Floodplain deposits:
sedimentary strata deposited within the floodplain of a river.
Flowing artesian well:
water level of a well drilled into a confined aquifer that rises above
the ground surface and flows.
Fluvial deposits:
sediments deposited by a river.
Flux density:
the mass of a chemical transported across an imaginary surface of unit area
per unit of time.
Fossil:
the remains of a once-living organism preserved in rock or sediment.
Fracturing:
a remedial action involving cracking dense contaminated soil or rock so other
remedial methods can work more efficiently.
Fragmentation:
the division of ecosystems into spatially separated units or fragments.
Gaining stream:
occurs where groundwater flows into a stream. Also referred to as efflu-
ent stream.
Geographic scale:
areal extent defined through the observation and/or measurement of
events and processes.
Geographic information system (GIS):
computer software with the capability to input,
display, analyze, and output spatial data.
Geologic formation:
a fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy consisting of geologic strata
with similar features in lithology, origin, or other criteria.
Geologic vulnerability:
the natural properties of geologic materials acting to increase or
decrease their potential exposure risk to a contaminant.
Geology:
the science dedicated to the study of the history, structure, and composition of
Earth.
Geomorphic system:
the removal, transport, and deposition of material by wind or water.
Geophysical investigation:
a type of subsurface investigation employing any number of
geophysical techniques to gather geologic information in a certain area.
Glacial deposits:
sedimentary strata originating from the direct or indirect action of
glaciers.
Glacial lacustrine:
material ranging from fine clay to sand derived from glaciers and
deposited in glacial lakes mainly by glacial meltwater; many deposits are inter-
bedded or laminated.
Glacial lake:
a lake formed between the glacial front and an end moraine.
Glacial till:
sedimentary material deposited directly from glacial ice.
Glacial outwash:
glacial sedimentary deposits formed by the action of glacial meltwater
transporting the material away from the glacial front.
Gravel:
clastic sediment with a size greater than 2 mm.
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