Glossary:T Words

territorial sea noun

The offshore belt in which a coastal state has exclusive jurisdiction. The territorial sea may not extend more than 12 nautical miles from the coast line.

tidal flat noun

An extensive, nearly horizontal, barren or sparsely vegetated tract of land that is alternately covered and uncovered by the tide, and consists of unconsolidated sediment (mostly clays, silts and/or sand, and organic materials).

• Tidal flat, level muddy surface bordering an estuary, alternately submerged and exposed to the air by changing tidal levels.

tidal height noun

difference between water level at high tide and mean sea level, the average height of the ocean.

tidal inlet noun

Any inlet through which water alternately floods landward with the rising tide and ebbs seaward with the falling tide.

tidal marsh ( tid·al ( /ˈtīdl/ ) marsh ( /märSH/ ) ) noun

An extensive, nearly level marsh bordering a coast (as in a shallow lagoon, sheltered bay, or estuary) and regularly inundated by high tides; formed mostly of unconsolidated sediments (e.g. clays, silts, and/or sands and organic materials), and the resistant root mat of salt tolerant plants, a marshy tidal flat.

tidal range noun

difference between high and low tide.

tide ( tīd ) noun

periodic rise and fall of ocean waters due to gravitational pull of sun and moon, and rotation of earth.

tide mark noun

High-water mark left by tidal water; the highest point reached by high tide; a mark placed to indicate the highest point reached by a high tide, or occasionally, any specified stage of tide

tidewater ( tide·wa·ter / ˈtīdwôtər ) noun

Water activated by the tide generating forces and/or water affected by the resulting tide, especially in coastal and estuarine areas. Also, a general term often applied to the land and water of estuarine areas formed by postglacial drowning of coastal plain rivers.

total maximum daily load(TMDL)

A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) describes a plan for restoring impaired waters that identifies the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can receive while still meeting water quality standards.

treatment system noun

Any technology or combination of technologies (treatment trains or unit processes) that discharges treated wastewater to surface waters, ground water, or the atmosphere.

tributary ( trib·u·tar·y / ˈtribyəˌterē ) noun

a stream that flows into a larger stream or other body of water.

trophic level noun

level in a food chain, e.g., producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer.

turbid ( tur·bid / ˈtərbəd ) noun

water that is so full of small particles, such as silt, that the water is no longer transparent but instead appears cloudy.