Climate Change terms starting with I

41 terms

  1. ICE Ice The solid state of water.
  2. Ice Age A time of widespread glaciation.
  3. Ice blink Ice blink White glare on the underside of low clouds indicating presence of ice which may be beyond the range of vision.
  4. Ice Core A cylindrical section of ice removed from a glacier or an ice sheet in order to study climate patterns of the past.
  5. ice crystal Precipitation consisting of small, slowly falling crystals of ice.
  6. ice nuclei Particles that act as nuclei for the formation of ice crystals in the atmosphere.
  7. Ice patrol ship Ice patrol ship A research ship which performs ice surveys in polar regions.
  8. ice rafted detritus continental material transported within a matrix of ice and deposited in marine sediments when the ice matrix melts.
  9. ice sheet a mass of glacier ice that covers a wider area than a glacier does.
  10. ice sheet margin edge of the ice sheet where melting and calving of icebergs occurs.
  11. ice streams region within an ice sheet where ice moves towards the ice sheet margin significantly faster than the surrounding ice does.
  12. Icelandic Low A semi-permanent, subpolar area of low pressure in the North Atlantic Ocean. Because of its broad area and range of central pressure, it is an area where…
  13. Icing A coating of ice on a solid object.
  14. Ideal Gas Laws The thermodynamic laws applying to perfect gases.
  15. Industrial sector Construction, manufacturing, agricultural and mining establishments.
  16. infrared brightness temperature (°C) The downwelling atmospheric emission in the 9.9 to 11.4 micrometers band; in general, relatively warmer temperatures imply "thicker" clouds.
  17. Infrared Radiation Electromagnetic radiation whose wavelengths lie in the range from 0.75 micrometer to 1000 micrometers; invisible long wavelength radiation (heat) capable…
  18. Infrastructure Management Board (IMB) ACRF management team that manages the overall budget, planning, user request screening, activity implementation, and impact assessments for the ARM…
  19. inorganic chemical composition The chemical composition of an aerosol, with the exception of those with hydrocarbons, and usually including carbides, oxides of carbon, metallic…
  20. Inorganic compound Historically, chemicals that could not be derived from living processes. In modern usage, chemicals that do not contain carbon, although carbonates and a…
  21. Inorganic fertilizer See synthetic fertilizer.
  22. Insolation The solar power density incident on a surface of stated area and orientation, usually expressed as Watts per square meter or Btu per square foot per hour.
  23. instantaneous radiative flux (IRF) An approach that involves collecting data on the distribution of radiation and the radiatively active constituents of the atmosphere and radiative…
  24. instrument data processing circuit Data processing module that transforms data from the instrument output format into a designed data structure in netCDF format.
  25. instrument mentor The technical point of contact for ACRF instrument systems. Mentors are the presumed experts on the instrument and the data it provides.
  26. Instrument Shelter A boxlike structure designed to protect temperature measuring instruments from exposure to direct sunshine, precipitation, and condensation, while at the…
  27. instrumental record data measured using instruments, such as thermometers and rain gauges.
  28. interglacial a time interval characterized by lack of glacial ice in mid-latitudes, such as modern Holocene climate.
  29. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) The IPCC was established jointly by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization in 1988.
  30. Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) The region where the northeasterly and southeasterly trade winds converge, forming an often continuous band of clouds or thunderstorms near the…
  31. Inversion A chromosome re-arrangement, which involves the re-orientation of a segment so that the order of a linear array of genes within it is reversed.
  32. Ion An atom or molecule that has lost or gained one or more electrons and has become electrically charged as a result.
  33. Irradiance The direct, diffuse, and reflected solar radiation that strikes a surface.
  34. Irreversibilities Changes that, once set in motion, cannot be reversed, at least on human time scales.
  35. Isobar A line connecting points of equal pressure.
  36. Isohyet A line that connects points of equal rainfall.
  37. Isotach A line connecting points of equal wind speed.
  38. Isotherm A line connecting points of equal temperature.
  39. Isothermal Having a constant temperature.
  40. isotope (I-soh-tope) A form of a chemical element in which the atoms have the same number of protons (part of the nucleus of an atom) but with a different number…
  41. Isotropic the property of being independent of direction. Isotropic radiation has the same intensity regardless of the direction of measurement.