Climate Change terms starting with E

44 terms

Earth radiation Earth radiation (terrestrial radiation) The total infrared radiation emitted from the Earth's surface; to be carefully distinguished from effective…
Eccentricity A dimensionless quantity describing the elliptical shape of a planet's orbit.
Economy The way a country manages its money and resources (such as workers and land) to produce, buy, and sell goods and services.
Ecosystem A complex ecological community or environment forming a functioning whole.
Eddy Circular current of water moving against the main current. See recirculation zone.
effective emissivity A correction factor, dependent on the radiational characteristics of the earth-atmosphere system, that permits application of black body radiation laws to…
Effective Terrestrial Radiation The difference between upwelling infrared or terrestrial radiation emitted from the earth and the downwelling infrared radiation from the atmosphere
El Niño A warming of the ocean current along the coasts of Peru and Ecuador that is generally associated with dramatic changes in the weather patterns of the…
El NiÃ¯Â¿Â½ A climatic phenomenon occurring irregularly, but generally every 3 to 5 years. El NiÃ¯Â¿Â½s often first become evident during the Christmas season…
El NiÃ¯Â¿Â½ - Southern Oscillation (ENSO) El NiÃ¯Â¿Â½, in its original sense, is a warm water current that periodically flows along the coast of Ecuador and Peru, disrupting the local…
Electrons Tiny particle moving around outside the nucleus of an atom. Each electron has one unit of negative charge (-) and almost no mass.
element (EH-leh-ment) A basic part of a whole. In chemistry, refers to a simple substance that cannot be broken down into smaller parts or changed into another…
Emission inventory A list of air pollutants emitted into a community's, state's, nation's, or the Earth's atmosphere in amounts per some unit time (e.g.
Emissions Waste substances released into the air or water.
Emissions coefficient/factor A unique value for scaling emissions to activity data in terms of a standard rate of emissions per unit of activity (e.g.
Emissions Factor A unique value for scaling emissions to activity data in terms of a standard rate of emissions per unit of activity (e.g.
Emissivity The ratio of the radiant energy (heat) leaving (being emitted by) a surface to that of a black body at the same temperature and with the same area…
emittance The rate at which a black body radiates energy across all wavelengths.
Endemic Where disease occurs on a consistent basis.
Energy The capability of doing work; different forms of energy can be converted to other forms, but the total amount of energy remains the same.
Energy conservation Reduction or elimination of unnecessary energy use and waste. See energy-efficiency.
Energy Efficiency Using less energy to achieve the same outcome. For example, better insulation would enable a home to stay warm utilizing less energy.
Energy Intensity The relative extent that energy is required for a process.
Energy quality Ability of a form of energy to do useful work. High-temperature heat and the chemical energy in fossil fuels and nuclear fuels are concentrated high…
Engineering Change Order (ECO) An engineering task or project directly resulting from an Engineering Change Request.
Engineering Change Request (ECR) A method of formally requesting that a change be made to the infrastructure. This change can be to a particular instrument, data system, data process…
Engineering Work Request (EWR) Used to request engineering resources, as soon as possible, when operational, science, or engineering needs require a quick engineering response where no…
Enhanced Greenhouse Effect The concept that the natural greenhouse effect has been enhanced by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases.
Enhanced oil recovery Removal of some of the heavy oil left in an oil well after primary and secondary recovery. See primary oil recovery, secondary oil recovery.
Enteric fermentation A digestive process by which carbohydrates are broken down by microorganisms into simple molecules for absorption into the bloodstream of an animal.
Entrainment The incorporation of fish, eggs, larvae, and other plankton with intake water flow entering and passing through a cooling water intake structure and into…
Environment All the natural and living things around us. The earth, air, weather, plants, and animals all make up our environment.
Environmental Lapse Rate The rate of decrease of air temperature with height, usually measured with a radiosonde.
equilibrium vapor pressure The necessary vapor pressure around liquid water that allows the water to remain in equilibrium with its environment.
Equinox The two times of the year when the sun crosses the equator and night and day are of equal length; usually occurs on March 21st (spring equinox) and…
error Error The difference between a measured value of a quantity and its true value. Different types of errors are inherent to observations.
Ethanol (C 2 5OH)Otherwise known as ethyl alcohol, alcohol, or grain spirit. A clear, colorless, flammable oxygenated hydrocarbon with a boiling point of 78.
Evaporation The conversion of a liquid to a vapor (gas), usually by means of heat.
Evapotranspiration The net water loss (in vapour form) per unit area of land, both directly from the land surface, and indirectly through transpiring leaves.
Exponential growth Growth in which some quantity, such as population size, increases by a constant percentage of the whole during each year or other time period; when the…
external data Data whose origin is not from within the ARM Program; may include data observed at ARM facilities, but whose processing and quality control is done by…
External Data Center (XDC) Stores data from non-ARM sources. It is managed by Brookhaven National Laboratory.
external instruments Instruments that belong to organizations that are outside of the ARM Program.
extreme event time The time of extreme meteorological events such as min/max temperature and wind gusts.