Climate Change terms starting with S

113 terms

Sahara a large desert in northern Africa.
Sahel a large savanna in northern Africa.
sampling frequency The rate at which sensor data is read or sampled.
Saturation Saturation The condition in which the partial pressure of any fluid constituent (water in the atmospheric air) is equal to its maximum possible partial…
Saturation Vapor Pressure The vapor pressure of a system, at a given temperature, wherein the vapor of a substance is in equilibrium with a plane surface of that substance's pure…
Savanna A flat grassland of tropical and subtropical regions usually having distinct periods of dry and wet weather.
Scale Ratio of map distance to Earth distance. Thus, in a 1:24,000 scale map, one centimeter, inch, or foot equals 24,000 centimeters, inches, or feet on the…
Scattering The process in which a beam of light is diffused or deflected by collisions with particles suspended in the atmosphere.
Science Board An ACRF group made up of the ARM Science Team Executive Committee working group science chairs and climate research community appointees, that ensures…
Science Team Executive Committee (STEC) The committee that provides recommendations, prioritization, coordination of activities, and program vision to the U.S.
Sea Level Pressure The sea level pressure is the atmospheric pressure at sea level at a given location.
Sea smoke Sea smoke (arctic sea smoke) Evaporation fog or steam fog which is formed when water vapor is added to air which is much colder than the vapor's source…
Sea surface temperature Sea surface temperature Temperature of the water film at the sea surface.
Secondary oil recovery Injection of water into an oil well after primary oil recovery to force out some of the remaining thicker crude oil.
Sector A sector is a segment of the economy that shares distinctive characteristics, such as telecommunications or energy.
Sediment Any finely divided organic and/or mineral matter deposited by air or water in nonturbulent areas.
Semipermanent anticyclone Semipermanent anticyclone (high) High pressure area largely predominate during a major portion of the year where an anticyclone appears on the mean…
Semipermanent depression Semipermanent depression (low) Slowly moving or motionless cyclone.
Sensible Heat The heat absorbed or released when a substance undergoes a change in temperature.
Sensible Heat Flux The flux of heat from the earth's surface to the atmosphere that is not associated with phase changes of water; a component of the surface energy budget.
Septic tank Underground tank for treatment of wastewater from a home in rural and suburban areas.
Severe Thunderstorm A thunderstorm that produces a tornado, winds of at least 58 mph (50 knots), and/or hail at least Â¾" in diameter.
Sewage treatment (primary) Mechanical treatment of sewage in which large solids are filtered out by screens and suspended solids settle out as sludge in a sedimentation tank.
Shale oil Slow-flowing, dark brown, heavy oil obtained when kerogen in oil shale is vaporized at high temperatures and then condensed.
SHIELD Shield (screen) A screen to shield a rain-gauge from the influence of the wind, or to shield a thermometer against insolation.
Short Ton 2000 pounds. A ton, as commonly used in the U.S. and Canada.
shortwave irradiance The rate at which radiant energy, at wavelengths between 0.4 and 4 µm, is being transferred across an area of a surface (real or imaginary) in a…
shortwave net radiation The difference between upwelling and downwelling broadband shortwave radiation.
shortwave radiance A measure of the intrinsic radiant energy flux intensity, at wavelengths between 0.
Shortwave Radiation In solar-terrestrial terms, shortwave radiation is a term used to describe the radiant energy emitted by the sun in the visible and near-ultraviolet…
shortwave spectral irradiance The rate at which radiant energy, at specrally-resolved wavelengths between 0.4 and 4 µm, is being emitted upwards and downwards into a radiation field…
Shortwave Trough Also called Shortwave; A disturbance in the mid or upper part of the atmosphere which induces upward motion ahead of it.
Siberian High Siberian High An area of high pressure which forms over Siberia in winter, and which is particularly apparent on mean charts of sea-level pressure.
single-column modeling (SCM) An approach to the development and testing of cloud formation and parameterizations.
Sink Any process, activity, or mechanism which removes a greenhouse gas, an aerosol, or a precursor of a greenhouse gas or aerosol from the atmosphere.
sky brightness temperature A descriptive measure of radiation in terms of the temperature of a hypothetical black body emitting an identical amount of radiation at the same…
Sleet Precipitation that consists of clear pellets of ice; sleet is formed when raindrops fall through a layer of cold air and freeze.
Sling Psychrometer An instrument used to measure the water vapor content of the atmosphere in which wet and dry bulb thermometers are mounted on a frame connected to a…
Sludge The mixture of organic and inorganic substances separated from sewage.
Smog A visible haze caused by particulate matter and ground-level ozone.
Snow Precipitation that consists of frozen flakes formed when water vapor accumulates on ice crystals, going directly to the ice phase.
Snow blink Snow blink (snow sky) A bright white glare on the underside of clouds, produced by the reflection of light from snow-covered surface.
Snow cover Snow cover 1) In general, a layer of snow on the ground surface. 2) The areal extent of snow-covered ground, usually expressed as per cent of total area…
Snowflake An agglomeration of snow crystals falling as a unit.
Snowstorm Snowstorm Strong wind with snow.
Soil Sediments or other unconsolidated accumulations of solid particles produced by the physical and chemical disintegration of rocks, and which may or may not…
Soil Carbon A major component of the terrestrial biosphere pool in the carbon cycle. The amount of carbon in the soil is a function of the historical vegetative cover…
Soil Moisture Water stored in soils.
soil temperature The temperature measured near the surface of the soil.
Solar energy Electromagnetic energy transmitted from the sun (solar radiation). The amount that reaches the earth is equal to one billionth of total solar energy…
Solar Radiation A general term for the visible and near visible (ultraviolet and near-infrared) electromagnetic radiation that is emitted by the sun.
solar variability changes in the amount of radiation emitted by the sun due to the sun's internal dynamics.
Solstice The two times of the year when the sun is apparently farthest north and south of the earth's equator; usually occurring on or around June 21 (summer…
sounding A set of data measuring the vertical structure of an atmospheric parameter (temperature, humidity, pressure, winds, etc.) at a given time.
Source Any place or object from which air pollutants are released. Sources that are fixed in space are stationary sources and sources that move are mobile…
Southern Great Plains (SGP) site The first of the ARM research sites, the SGP site is located in south Kansas and north Oklahoma.
Special naphtha All finished products within the naphtha boiling range that are used as paint thinners, cleaners, or solvents.
Specific Heat The amount of heat required to raise a unit mass of a substance through one degree, expressed as a ratio of the amount of heat required to raise an equal…
Specific Humidity The weight of water vapor, per unit weight of dry air.
spectral width A measure of the spread of the Doppler spectrum and consequently is sensitive to the spread in the particle size spectra.
speleothem a mineral deposit formed in caves. Two types of speleothems are stalagmites and stalactites.
Spring equinox Spring equinox See equinox.
Squall Line A line of active thunderstorms, either continuous or with breaks, including contiguous precipitation areas resulting from the existence of the…
stability Tendency of systems, especially ecosystems, to persist, relatively unchanged, through time; also, persistence of a component of a system.
Stable air mass Stable air mass Air mass having static stability in its lower layers; it is free from convection, has a low degree of turbulence and may have stratiform…
stable isotope different species of an element that have the same atomic number, but different atomic mass, that are not affected by radioactive decay.
stable state a steady condition in which the recently observed behavior is expected to continue unchanged in the future.
Standard Atmosphere A hypothetical vertical distribution of atmospheric temperature, pressure, and density that, by international agreement, is taken to be representative of…
Station Pressure The absolute air pressure at a given reporting station. The air pressure is directly proportional to the combined weight of all air in the atmosphere…
stationary pressure A front between warm and cold air masses that is moving very slowly or not at all.
Steering flow Steering flow A basic fluid flow which exerts a strong influence upon the direction of movement of disturbances embedded in it.
Steppe Habitat dominated by shrubs and grasses.
Still gas Any form or mixture of gases produced in refineries by distillation, cracking, reforming, and other processes.
Stratiform Having extensive horizontal development, as opposed to the more vertical development characteristic of convection.
Stratocumulus Low-level clouds, existing in a relatively flat layer but having individual elements. Elements often are arranged in rows, bands, or waves.
Stratopause The boundary between the stratosphere and mesosphere.
Stratosphere The region of the atmosphere extending from the top of the troposphere to the base of the mesosphere, an important area for monitoring stratospheric ozone.
Stratospheric Ozone In the stratosphere, ozone has beneficial properties where it forms an ozone shield that prevents dangerous radiation from reaching the Earth's surface.
Stratus A low, generally gray cloud layer with a fairly uniform base. Stratus may appear in the form of ragged patches, but otherwise does not exhibit individual…
Streamflow Discharge that occurs in a natural channel.
Strip mining Cutting deep trenches to remove minerals such as coal and phosphate found near the earth's surface in flat or rolling terrain. See surface mining.
Subbituminous coal A dull, black coal of rank intermediate between lignite and bituminous coal. See coal.
Sublimation The transition of a substance from the solid phase directly to the vapor phase, or vice versa, without passing through an intermediate liquid phase.
Subsidence Sinking or settlement of the land surface, due to any of several processes. As commonly used, the term relates to the vertical downward movement of…
Sulfate Aerosols Particulate matter that consists of compounds of sulfur formed by the interaction of sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide with other compounds in the…
Sulfur cycle Cyclic movement of sulfur in different chemical forms from the environment, to organisms, and then back to the environment.
Sulfur dioxide (SO<sub>2</sub>) A compound composed of one sulfur and two oxygen molecules. Sulfur dioxide emitted into the atmosphere through natural and anthropogenic processes is…
Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) A colorless gas soluble in alcohol and ether, slightly soluble in water. A very powerful greenhouse gas used primarily in electrical transmission and…
Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF<sub>6</sub>) A colorless gas soluble in alcohol and ether, slightly soluble in water. A very powerful greenhouse gas used primarily in electrical transmission and…
Sun Pillar A bright column above or below the sun produced by the reflection of sunlight from ice crystals.
sundog A colored luminous spot produced by refraction of light through ice crystals that appears on either side of the sun. Also called parhelion.
Supercool To cool a liquid below its freezing point without solidification or crystallization.
supersaturated air A condition that occurs in the atmosphere when the relative humidity is greater that 100 percent.
surface albedo The fraction of incoming solar radiation at a surface (i.e., land, cloud top) that is effectively reflected by that surface.
surface condition State of the surface, including vegetation, land use, surface type, roughness, and such; often provided in model output.
Surface Energy Budget The energy or heat budget at the earth's surface, considered in terms of the fluxes through a plane at the earth-atmosphere interface.
Surface mining Removal of soil, sub-soil, and other strata and then extracting a mineral deposit found fairly close to the earth's surface. See strip mining.
surface moisture flux The vertical flux of surface moisture due to atmospheric turbulent transport.
Surface observation Surface observation A meteorological observation made on the Earth's surface in contrast with an upper-air observation).
surface skin temperature The radiative surface skin temperature, from an infrared thermometer measuring the narrowband radiating temperature of the ground surface in its field of…