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rights. In developing nations, Water trusts often support access, sanitation, and
other key aspects of water security.
Watershed (also Catchment Basin or Drainage Basin) A geographical delineation characterized by the fact that all runoff within the basin will eventually drain
to a given water body. Catchment basins are nested. For example, the catchment
of a small tributary is within the catchment of a larger river, and both of those are
within the catchment basin of the lake or large river to which they drain.
Watershed Associations Organizations, which may or may not be incorporated,
dedicated to preserving or improving management of a watershed or catchment
basin. They may engage in public outreach and education, lobbying for legal
protections for the watershed, and engaging citizens in data collection and restoration efforts. Most members of watershed associations live or work in the
watershed.
Watt (W) A metric unit of power defined as the flow of 1 J/s. Power plant capacities range from a few MW for a very small plant to 22,500 MW (22.5 GW) for
Three Gorges Dam, the largest power plant in the world.
Watt-hour (Wh) A metric unit of energy defined a power flow of 1 W for one
hour, equivalent to 3600 J. Electric power production or demand is often defined
in kilowatt hours (kWh) for residential, megawatt-hours (MWh) for power plant
generation, or terawatt hours (TWh) for global scales.
WEAP (Software) The water evaluation and planning system is a software tool
that takes an integrated approach to water resources planning, developed by the
Stockholm Environment Institute.
Weathering The physical and chemical environmental processes associated with
breaking materials down into their component parts, through the activity of the
earth’s atmosphere, water cycle and biological organisms; examples include
water freezing in rock cracks to break it apart and limestone dissolving from
exposure to rainfall because atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves in water to
produce carbonic acid.
Withdrawal (Water) Water that is removed from a watershed for human purposes
without consideration of whether that water is returned to the same watershed in
liquid form. See Consumption (Water).
XML (Computing) The extensible markup language is a generic standard for
structuring metadata (and less commonly, data).
Glossary
rights. In developing nations, Water trusts often support access, sanitation, and
other key aspects of water security.
Watershed (also Catchment Basin or Drainage Basin) A geographical delineation characterized by the fact that all runoff within the basin will eventually drain
to a given water body. Catchment basins are nested. For example, the catchment
of a small tributary is within the catchment of a larger river, and both of those are
within the catchment basin of the lake or large river to which they drain.
Watershed Associations Organizations, which may or may not be incorporated,
dedicated to preserving or improving management of a watershed or catchment
basin. They may engage in public outreach and education, lobbying for legal
protections for the watershed, and engaging citizens in data collection and restoration efforts. Most members of watershed associations live or work in the
watershed.
Watt (W) A metric unit of power defined as the flow of 1 J/s. Power plant capacities range from a few MW for a very small plant to 22,500 MW (22.5 GW) for
Three Gorges Dam, the largest power plant in the world.
Watt-hour (Wh) A metric unit of energy defined a power flow of 1 W for one
hour, equivalent to 3600 J. Electric power production or demand is often defined
in kilowatt hours (kWh) for residential, megawatt-hours (MWh) for power plant
generation, or terawatt hours (TWh) for global scales.
WEAP (Software) The water evaluation and planning system is a software tool
that takes an integrated approach to water resources planning, developed by the
Stockholm Environment Institute.
Weathering The physical and chemical environmental processes associated with
breaking materials down into their component parts, through the activity of the
earth’s atmosphere, water cycle and biological organisms; examples include
water freezing in rock cracks to break it apart and limestone dissolving from
exposure to rainfall because atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves in water to
produce carbonic acid.
Withdrawal (Water) Water that is removed from a watershed for human purposes
without consideration of whether that water is returned to the same watershed in
liquid form. See Consumption (Water).
XML (Computing) The extensible markup language is a generic standard for
structuring metadata (and less commonly, data).
Glossary