-
Adiabatic (lapse rate)
The way temperature changes with altitude in rising or falling air.
-
Aerosol
A tiny liquid droplet or tiny solid particle so small it remains suspended in the air.
-
Air
The invisible, odorless mixture of gases and suspended particles that surrounds the earth.
-
Air Pressure
The force exerted by the weight of overlying air.
-
Atmosphere
The mixture of gases, predominantly nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor that surrounds the Earth.
-
Cirrus Clouds
Fine, wispy or feathery clouds formed high in the troposphere, and composed entirely of ice crystals.
-
Clouds
Visible aggregations of minute water droplets, tiny ice crystals, or both.
-
Condensation
The formation of a more ordered liquid from a less ordered gas.
-
Cumulus Clouds
Puffy, globular, individual clouds that form when hot, humid air rises convectively and reaches a level of condensation.
-
Dew Point
The temperature at which the relative humidity reaches 100 percent and condensation starts.
-
Evaporation
The process by which a liquid is converted to its vapor.
-
Humidity
The amount of water vapor in the air.
-
Mesosphere
One of the four thermal layers of the atmosphere, lying above the stratosphere.
-
Pause
The boundaries that separate the four principal thermal layers of he atmosphere.
-
Percipitation
The process by which condensed water gathers into droplets or particles and falls under the pull of gravity.
-
Stratosphere
One of four thermal layers of the atmosphere, lying above the troposphere and reaching a maximum of about 50km.
-
Stratus Clouds
Uniform dull grey clouds with a cloud base less than two km above sea level.
-
Thermosphere
One of the four thermal layers of the atmosphere, reaching out to about 500km.
-
Troposphere
One of the four thermal layers of the atmosphere, which extends from the surface of the Earth to variable altitudes of 10 to 16 km.
-
Air Mass
Large volume of air with a fairly homogeneous internal temperature and humidity.
-
Climate
The average weather conditions of a place or area over a period of years.
-
Convergence
The coming together of air masses, caused by the inward spiral flow in a cyclone and leading to an upward flow of air at the center of the low pressure center.
-
Cyclone
Air spiral inward around a low-pressure center.
-
Desert
Arid land, whether "deserted" or not, in which annual rainfall is less that 250mm or in which he evaporation rate exceeds the precipitation rate.
-
Divergence
The separation of air masses in different directions, cause by the outward spiral flow in an anticyclone and leading to an outward flow of air from the center or a high-pressure center.
-
Drought
Below average rainfall in a region for an extended period of time.
-
El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
A periodic climatic variation in which trade winds slacken and surface waters of the central and eastern Pacific become anomalously warm.
-
Hurricane
A tropical cyclonic storm with wind speeds that exceed 119km/hr.
-
Isobar
Places of equal air pressure.
-
Pressure-Gradient Force
The drop in air pressure per unit of distance.
-
Thunderstorm
Updrafts of warm, humid, air (a cell) that release a lot of latent heat very quickly and become unstable.
-
Tornado
Violent windstorm produced by a spiraling column of air that extends downward from a cumulonimbus cloud.
-
Weather
The state of the atmosphere at a given time and place
-
Wind
Horizontal air movement arising from differences in air pressure.
-
Climate
The average weather conditions of a place or area over a period of years.
-
Climate forcing
Causes that result in climate change.
-
Climate Proxy Record
Records of past natural events that are influenced by, and closely mimic, climate.
-
Fractionation
The separation and differential concentration of isotopes of slightly different masses.
-
Glacial Period
An interval of time when Earth's global ice cover greatly exceeded that of today.
-
Interglacial Period
A time in the past when both the climate and global ice cover were similar to those of today.
-
Köppen System of Climate Classification
A system using the distribution of native vegetation types, based on the premise that vegetation is the best indicator of climate.
-
Little Ice Age
The interval of generally cool climate between the middle thirteenth and middle nineteenth centuries
-
Medieval Warm Period
An episode of relatively mild climate during the Middle Ages.
-
Milankovitch Cycles
The combined influences of astronomical factors that produce changes in Earth's climate.
-
Paleoclimate
Climate of the ancient past.
-
Biomass Energy
Energy derived from plant life.
-
Coal
A black, combustible, sedimentary of metamorphic rock consisting chiefly of decomposed plant matter and containing more than 50 percent organic matter.
-
Crude Oil
Petroleum as it emerges from the ground.
-
Evaporite Deposits
Layers of salt that precipitate as a consequence of evaporation.
-
Fission
Controlled radioactive transformation.
-
Fossil Fuels
Remains of plants and animals trapped in sediment that may be used for fuel.
-
Fusion
The merging of the nuclei of lightweight chemical elements, particularly hydrogen to form heavier elements such as helium and carbon.
-
Geothermal Energy
Heat energy drawn from the Earth's internal heat.
-
Hydrocarbons
Organic compounds that contain hydrogen and form carbon-hydrogen bonds.
-
Hydroelectric Power
Power captured from the kinetic energy of a flowing stream of water.
-
Maturation
The process by which organic matter is transformed into various forms of petroleum.
-
Mineral Deposit
Any volume of rock containing an enrichment of one or more minerals.
-
Mining
The set of processes by which useful resources are withdrawn from the stock of non-renewable resource.
-
Natural Gas
Naturally occurring hyrdo-carbon that is gaseous at ordinary temperature and pressure.
-
New Renewables (energy sources)
Alternative energy sources based on new and developing technologies.
-
Nuclear Energy
Energy released by the controlled breakdown of a large radioactive isotopes into two or more smaller isotopes.
-
Oil
The liquid form of petroleum.
-
Oil Shale
Fine-grained sedimentary rock containing much bituminous organic matter.
-
Ore
An aggregate of minerals from which one or more minerals can be extracted profitably.
-
Petroleum
Gaseous, liquid, and semi-solid substances occurring naturally and consisting chiefly of chemical compounds of carbon and hydrogen.
-
Reserve
The portion of a resource that has been identified and is economically extractable using current technologies.
-
Solar Energy
Power derived from electromagnetic energy radiated by the sun.
-
Tar Sand
Thick, dense, asphalt-like oil that cements sand grains together.
-
Tidal Energy
Power derived from the kinetic energy involved in the movement of water during the rise and fall of tides.
-
Wave Energy
Power drawn from the kinetic energy of waves.
-
Wind Energy
Power drawn from the kinetic energy of wind.
-
Anthropogenic Greenhouse Effect
Human contributions to the greenhouse effect.
-
Chlorofluorocarbons
Synthetic industrial gases that cause the breakdown of ozone in the stratosphere.
-
Coral Bleaching
Corals turning white due to sickness or death, as a result of stressful changes in their aquatic environment.
-
Cumulative Effects
The collective effects of local and regional environmental impacts eventually reaching global proportions.
-
Desertification
The invasion of desert into nondesert areas.
-
General Circulation Models (GCMs)
A mathematical model used to simulate present and past climate conditions on the Earth.
-
Global Change
The changes produced in the Earth system as a result of human activities.
-
IPAT Equation
A relationship that expresses that human impact (I) on the environment as a function of population (P), consumption and waste generation (A), and technology (T).
-
Ozone Hole
A region centered above the poles in which the ozone content of the stratosphere has been severely reduced.
-
Photochemical Smog
Fog caused by the accumulation in the lower troposphere of ozone, nitrous oxides, and carbon bearing compounds.
-
Precautionary Principle
The concept that if the potential consequences of an anticipated event are unacceptable severe, those in authority have a responsibility to take action to avoid or mitigate those consequences.
|
|