climate change glossary

This glossary about climate change and globalwarming is by no means all-inclusive, this extensive list of terms is a basic understanding of some of the more commonly used climate change and global warming terms.

Find the definitions of terms on this page, all times are categorized in alpabetic order, click to view the definition.

Terms of definition

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

a

Aerosols
Tiny solid particles or liquid droplets that remain suspended in the atmosphere for a long time, aerosols can also originate as a result of human activities and in this case are often considered pollutants.

Albedo
The proportion of incident light which a body reflects in all directions. The clouds have a higher albedo than the surface of the ocean.

Anthropogenic
Releases of carbon to the atmosphere as part of compounds that arise from man-made processes such as energy use or agriculture.

b

Biodiversity
The variety of life on our planet, measurable as the variety within species, between species, and the variety of ecosystems.

c

Carbon dioxide
A naturally occurring greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, the molecule known as CO2, which is a biproduct of respiration.

Climate
The meteorological elements, including temperature, precipitation, and wind, that characterize the general conditions of the atmosphere over a period of time at any one place or region of the Earth's surface.

Chlorofluorocarbons
Synthetic chemical gases used in aerosols, packaging and refrigeration.

Climate Changes
The slow variations of climatic characteristics over time at a given place.

d

Deforestation
The destruction of the world's forests, mainly rain forests, through direct human activity such as logging or slash and burn clearing for agriculture and grazing, and the indirect effects of pollution and acid rain.

e

Electromagnetic radiation
Fluctuations of electric and magnetic fields that depending on their frequency take the form of visible light, radio waves, or X rays, among others.

El Niño/Southern Oscillation
A periodic warming of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America caused by the absence of the normal upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water.

f

Fossil fuels
Any naturally occurring fuel of an organic nature formed by the decomposition of plants or animals; includes coal, natural gas, and petroleum.

g

Greenhouse effect
The increasing mean global surface temperature of the earth caused by gases in the atmosphere (including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and chlorofluorocarbon). The trapping of the sun's radiant energy, so that it cannot be reradiated, whereas the longer-wave outgoing radiation is absorbed and reradiated by water vapor, droplets and carbon dioxide, thus retaining heat in the atmosphere.

Greenhouse gases
Gases in the Earth's atmosphere that allow sunlight through but absorb and capture infrared radiation. Increasing volumes of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are through to be causing a rise in average global temperatures.

Globalwarming Awareness2007
A website dedicated to bring the latest information and resources about climate change and a number one spot in search engines for this term in order to win a s e o competition.

h

Heat capacity
The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a specific quantity of a substance by one degree Celsius.

i

Ice core
Obtained by drilling into ice sheet, for example in Greenland or Antarctica.

l

La Niña
means "Infant Girl" in Spanish and is so named because in many ways it is the opposite of El Niño, a cooling of the equatorial waters in the Pacific Ocean.

m

Methane (CH4)
A gas given off by animal waste, the simplest of the various hydrocarbons and is the major hydrocarbon component of natural gas. A colorless, odorless gas formed naturally by the decomposition of organic matter.

n

Negative Feedback
A process that results in a reduction in the response of a system to an external influence.

o

Ozone
A molecule made up of three atoms of oxygen, responsible for filtering out much of the sun's ultraviolet radiation. A naturally occurring, highly reactive, irritating gas comprising triatomic oxygen formed by recombination of oxygen in the presence of ultraviolet radiation.

p

Photosynthesis
The process by which plants convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates. Oxygen is released in the process and Increased levels of carbon dioxide can increase net photosynthesis in some plants

r

Remote sensing
A method of obtaining information about properties of an object without coming into physical contact with that object.

s

Stratosphere
The layer of the atmosphere above the troposphere, where temperature increases with height.

Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6)
Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is a gas that consists of one part sulfur and six parts fluorine.

t

Thermal expansion
Lengthening of shafting caused by thermal changes in environment.

u

Urban Heat Island (UHI)
The phenomenon of urban centres being are warmer by a degree or two than the surrounding area.

w

Water Vapor (H2O)
The colorless, odorless, invisible, gaseous form of water in the atmosphere. The concentration of water vapor regulates the temperature of the planet, in part, because of its relationship with the atmosphere and the water cycle.

Weather
The state of the atmosphere, mainly with respect to its effects upon life and human activities. We experience it as wet or dry, warm or cold, windy or calm.

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