Climate Change terms starting with D

48 terms

Dansgaard-Oeschger event one of a series of climate changes during the last glacial period that occurred roughly every few thousand years.
Data Archive Serves as long-term storage for ARM data to keep data easily accessible. It is located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Data Management Facility (DMF) Manages ARM datastream and provides for the collection, processing, analysis, and delivery of ARM data.
Data Management System (DMS) Controls the data flow and minimizes data loss. Its primary functions are data collection, storage, and processing.
data object description The basic information, definitions, and metadata required to process "raw" measurement data to standard NetCDF files.
Data Quality Assessment Report (DQAR) An assessment report issued by the Data Quality Office and/or instrument mentors based on a data quality inspection.
Data Quality Health and Status (DQ HandS) The Data Quality Office website that displays automatically generated data quality results.
Data Quality Office (DQO) Formed in July 2000 to coordinate ARM's Data Quality Program.
Data Quality Problem Report (DQPR) An ARM infrastructure problem report issued to site operators by the Data Quality Office, instrument mentors, and/or site scientists to report a problem…
Data Quality Program Run by the ARM Program Data Quality Office to help coordinate the continued evolution and implementation of efforts to assure the quality of the data…
Data Quality Report (DQR) Used to identify and document problems with ARM systems, physical infrastructure, or instruments.
datastream Similar files that are in a time-sequenced series.
Deciduous trees Trees such as oaks and maples that lose their leaves during part of the year. See coniferous trees.
Decomposition The process of breaking down organic material; reduction of the net energy level and change in physical and chemical composition of organic material.
deepwater an ocean water mass with relatively uniform temperature, salinity, and density, found near the bottom of the ocean.
Deforestation Those practices or processes that result in the conversion of forested lands for non-forest uses.
Degradable See biodegradable.
Density The average number of people, families, or housing units on one unit of land. Density is also expressed as dwelling units per acre.
Deposition An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths.
Depression A depression is a severe and prolonged downturn in the economy. Prices fall, reducing purchasing power.
Depth of snow Depth of snow Vertical interval between the top surface of a snow layer and the ground beneath; the layer is assumed to be evenly spread over the ground…
derived product A new datastream generated by applying an algorithm or model to existing data.
Desertification When soil erosion is so severe that plants and animals can no longer exist.
Deuterium A special form of hydrogen (an isotope called "heavy hydrogen") that has a neutron as well as a proton in its nucleus.
Dew point The temperature to which air with a given quantity of water vapor must be cooled to cause condensation of the vapor in the air.
Diamond Dust A fall of non-branched (snow crystals are branched) ice crystals in the form of needles, columns, or plates.
Diatom Single-celled or colonial algae whose cell walls are made of silica.
diffuse insolation The solar radiation that is scattered or reflected by atmospheric components (e.g., clouds) to the earth's surface.
diffuse shortwave irradiance All of the solar radiation, across the wavelength range of 0.4 and 4 µm, coming directly from the sky except for solar radiation coming directly from the…
diffuse spectral irradiance The narrow spectral range of measurements coming directly from the sky except for solar radiation coming directly from the sun whose wavelength falls…
direct insolation The solar radiation that is transmitted directly through the atmosphere to the earth's surface without interacting with atmospheric components.
direct shortwave irradiance Radiant energy, across the wavelength range of 0.4 and 4 µm, that is transferred directly from the sun to the receiver.
direct spectral irradiance The narrow spectral range of measurements coming directly from the sun whose wavelength falls within the solar range of 0.4 and 4 µm.
Distillate fuel oil Products of refinery distillation sometimes referred to as middle distillates; kerosene, diesel fuel, and home heating oil. No.
Diurnal During the daytime.
divergence The expansion or spreading out of a vector field; usually said of horizontal winds. It is the opposite of convergence.
Dolomite A magnesium-rich carbonate sedimentary rock. Also, a magnesium-rich carbonate mineral (CaMgCO3).
doppler velocity (m/s) When used, the positive is down (towards the radar). Particle and air motions contribute to the velocity.
Downdraft (Abbrev. DWNDFT) - A small-scale column of air that rapidly sinks toward the ground, usually accompanied by precipitation as in a shower or thunderstorm.
downwelling longwave irradiance The total diffuse and direct radiant energy, at wavelengths longer than approximately 4 µm, that is being emitted downwards.
downwelling shortwave irradiance The total diffuse and direct radiant energy that comes from some continuous range of directions, at wavelengths between 0.
Drift of ice Drift of ice Displacement of a sea ice field from its place of origin under the effect of ocean currents and winds.
Drifting buoy Drifting buoy Floating (or drifting on ice) ocean buoy equipped with meteorological and/or oceanographic sensing instruments linked to transmitting…
Drifting Snow Drifting snow is an uneven distribution of snowfall/snow depth caused by strong surface winds. Drifting snow may occur during or after a snowfall.
Drifting stations Drifting stations (drifting ice stations) Research stations on the floes of the Arctic Ocean.
Drizzle Precipitation consisting of numerous minute droplets of water less than 0.5 mm (500 micrometers) in diameter.
dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR) The rate at which the temperature of a parcel of dry air decreases as the parcel is lifted in the atmosphere. The dry adiabatic lapse rate is 5.
Dry Line A boundary separating moist and dry air masses, and an important factor in severe weather frequency in the Great Plains.