Climate Change — page 6 of 10

922 terms

Climate Change terms

  1. Joule A metric unit of energy or work; the energy produced by a force of one Newton operating through a distance of one meter; 1 Joule per second equals 1 Watt…
  2. Katabatic Wind A wind that is created by air flowing downhill.
  3. Kelvin-Helmoltz waves Vertical waves in the air associated with wind shear across statically stable regions.
  4. Kerogen Solid, waxy mixture of rock is heated to high temperatures, the kerogen is vaporized.
  5. Kerosene A type of heating fuel derived by refining crude oil that has a boiling range at atmospheric pressure from 400 degrees to 550 degrees F.
  6. Kyoto Protocol This is an international agreement struck by 159 nations attending the Third Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on…
  7. Land sky Land sky The relatively dark appearance of the underside of a cloud layer when it is over land that is not snow covered.
  8. Landfill An open area where trash is buried. Facility in which solid waste from municipal and/or industrial sources is disposed; sanitary landfills are those that…
  9. Lapse Rate The rate of change of an atmospheric variable, usually temperature, with height.
  10. Large-scale atmospheric processes Large-scale atmospheric processes (circulation) Atmospheric processes with a representative scale (large-scale) of 10 000 km.
  11. Latent Heat The change in heat content that occurs with a change in phase and without change in temperature.
  12. Latent Heat Flux The flux of heat from the earth's surface to the atmosphere that is associated with evaporation or condensation of water vapor at the surface; a component…
  13. Laurentide ice sheet the ice sheet that grew over a large part of North America during the last glacial period.
  14. LIDAR An instrument similar to a radar but uses a laser to generate light pulses rather than radio waves, generally used to measure aerosol content and particle…
  15. Lifetime (Atmospheric) The lifetime of a greenhouse gas refers to the approximate amount of time it would take for the anthropogenic increment to an atmospheric pollutant…
  16. Light-duty vehicles Automobiles and light trucks combined.
  17. Lightning (abbrev. LTNG) A visible electrical discharge produced by a thunderstorm. The discharge may occur within or between clouds, between the cloud and air…
  18. Lignite A brownish-black coal of low rank with high inherent moisture and volatile matter content, used almost exclusively for electric power generation.
  19. line of sight Usually refers to contributions of radiation from the atmosphere along the line-of-sight (path) that an instrument receives.
  20. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) (LNG) Reducing the temperature of natural gas to -259 degrees Fahrenheit at atmospheric pressure will convert the gas into a liquid, with a volume about 1/600…
  21. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) Ethane, ethylene, propane, propylene, normal butane, butylene, and isobutane produced at refineries or natural gas processing plants, including plants…
  22. liquid water path (gm/m^2) (gm/m^2) A measure of the weight of the liquid water droplets in the atmosphere above a unit surface area on the earth, given in units of kg m-2.
  23. Lithic Relating to stone or rock.
  24. Litter Undecomposed plant residues on the soil surface. See decomposition.
  25. Loess A group of windblown soils, largely comprising silt, weakly cemented by calcite.
  26. longwave net radiation The difference between upwelling and downwelling broadband longwave radiation.
  27. longwave radiance The rate at which light energy in the longwave portion of the spectrum is emitted in a particular direction per unit of projected surface area…
  28. Longwave Radiation A term used to describe the infrared energy emitted by the earth and atmosphere at wavelengths between about 5 and 25 micrometers.
  29. Low A region of low pressure, marked as "L" on a weather map. A low center is usually accompanied by precipitation, extensive cloudiness, and moderate winds.
  30. Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) A vehicle meeting the low-emission vehicle standards.
  31. Low Level Jet (abbrev. LLJ)- A region of relatively strong winds in the lower part of the atmosphere.
  32. Low-level clouds Low-level clouds (St, Sc, Ns) Stratus, Stratocumulus, and in some degree, Nimbostratus are low clouds.
  33. Lower heating value Quantity of heat liberated by the complete combustion of a unit volume or weight of a fuel assuming that the produced water remains as a vapor and the…
  34. Lubricant (LOO-brih-kant) An oily or slippery substance.
  35. Macroscale Large scale, characteristic of weather systems several hundred to several thousand kilometers in diameter.
  36. Magnetic pole Magnetic Pole Either of the two points on the Earth's surface at which magnetic meridians converge.
  37. Manure Dung and urine of animals that can be used as a form of organic fertilizer. See fertilizer, organic fertilizer.
  38. Marine climate Marine (maritime or oceanic) climate A climate dominated by the ocean. Because of the moderating effect of water, sites having this climate are considered…
  39. Mass balance The application of the principle of the conservation of matter.
  40. Mauna Loa An intermittently active volcano (elevation: 13,680 feet; 4,170 meters) on the island of Hawaii.
  41. Mechanism the means by which an effect or change is produced.
  42. melting layer The layer below the 0°C isotherm where snowflakes melt and turn into raindrops.
  43. Mercury Barometer An instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure. The instrument contains an evacuated and graduated glass tube in which mercury rises or falls as the…
  44. Meridional circulation Meridional circulation An atmospheric circulation in a vertical plane oriented along a meridian.
  45. Mesopause The top of the mesosphere, corresponding to the level of minimum temperature in the atmosphere found at 70 to 80 km.
  46. Mesoscale Size scale referring to weather systems smaller than synoptic-scale systems but larger than storm-scale systems.
  47. Mesosphere The atmospheric shell between about 20 km and about 70 to 80 km, extending from the top of the stratosphere (the stratopause) to the upper temperature…
  48. metadata Metadata is information about a particular data set which may describe, for example, how, when, and by whom it was received, created, accessed, and/or…
  49. metadata system (MDS) (MDS) The components of the ARM data system that collect and report data stream metadata. Formerly known as the Site Ops Log.
  50. Meteorological element Meteorological element Any one of the properties or conditions of the atmosphere which together specify the weather at a given place for any particular…
  51. Meteorology The science dealing with the atmosphere and its phenomena. A distinction can be drawn between meteorology and climatology, the latter being primarily…
  52. Methane (CH4) A hydrocarbon that is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential most recently estimated at 23 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2).
  53. Methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) A hydrocarbon that is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential most recently estimated at 21.
  54. Methanol (CH<sub>3</sub>3OH) A colorless poisonous liquid with essentially no odor and little taste. It is the simplest alcohol with a boiling point of 64.7 degrees Celsius.
  55. Methanotrophic Having the biological capacity to oxidize methane to CO2 and water by metabolism under aerobic conditions. See aerobic.
  56. Methyl bromide (CH<sub>3</sub>Br) An effective pesticide; used to fumigate soil and many agricultural products. Because it contains bromine, it depletes stratospheric ozone when released…
  57. Metric Ton (or tonne) 1000 kilograms. 1 metric ton = 2,204.62 lb = 1.023 short tons.
  58. Microburst A convective downdraft with an affected outflow area of less than 2½ miles wide and peak winds lasting less than 5 minutes.
  59. Microscale Pertaining to meteorological phenomena, such as wind circulations or cloud patterns, that are less than 2 km in horizontal extent.
  60. microwave radiation Electromagnetic radiation generally in the frequency range between 300 MHz and 300 GHz (wavelengths between 1mm and 1m).
  61. Middle-level clouds Middle-level clouds (Ac and As) Altocumulus and Altostratus are the middle-level clouds.
  62. Millibar A unit of atmospheric pressure equal to 1/1000 bar, or 1000 dynes per square centimeter.
  63. Mineral A nutrient required to maintain health.
  64. Mixed Layer An atmospheric layer, usually the layer immediately above the ground, in which pollutants are well mixed by convective or shear-produced turbulence.
  65. Mixed Precipitation Any of the following combinations of freezing and frozen precipitation: snow and sleet, snow and freezing rain, or sleet alone. Rain may also be present.
  66. Mixing Ratio The ratio of the weight of water vapor in a specified volume (such as an air parcel) to the weight of dry air in that same volume.
  67. Mobile Facility The ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) was first deployed in 2005; it consists of large shipping containers converted into laboratories.
  68. model See Exhibit.
  69. Model year Refers to the "sales" model year; for example, vehicles sold during the period from October 1 to the next September 31 is considered one model year.
  70. moist adiabatic lapse rate (MALR) (MALR) The rate at which the temperature of a parcel of saturated air decreases as the parcel is lifted in the atmosphere.
  71. Molecule The smallest particle of a substance that has all of the physical and chemical properties of that substance. Molecules are made up of one or more atoms.
  72. Monsoon A thermally driven wind arising from differential heating between a land mass and the adjacent ocean that reverses its direction seasonally.
  73. Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer The Montreal Protocol and its amendments control the phaseout of ozone depleting substances production and use.
  74. Motor gasoline A complex mixture of relatively volatile hydrocarbons, with or without small quantities of additives, obtained by blending appropriate refinery streams to…
  75. Mount Pinatubo A volcano in the Philippine Islands that erupted in 1991. The eruption of Mount Pinatubo ejected enough particulate and sulfate aerosol matter into the…
  76. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) (MSW) Waste material from households and businesses in a community that is not regulated as hazardous.
  77. Naphtha A generic term applied to a petroleum fraction with an approximate boiling range between 122 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  78. Natural gas A hydrocarbon gas obtained from underground sources, often in association with petroleum and coal deposits.
  79. Natural gas liquids (NGLs) Those hydrocarbons in natural gas that are separated as liquids from the gas. Includes natural gas plant liquids and lease condensate.
  80. Near Real Time When referred to in textual references, the ARM conception of "near-real time" is "with a few hours delay."
  81. near-surface soil heat flux A quantity measured near the surface of the soil, according to the formula B = λ(dT/dz), where λ is the conductivity of the soil that the heat or…
  82. near-surface soil moisture flux A quantity measured near the surface of the soil, according to the formula B = λ(dq/dz), where λ is the conductivity of the soil that the heat or…
  83. negative feedback the process by which an initial change brings about an additional change in the opposite direction.
  84. net radiation The difference between upwelling and downwelling, covering longwave and shortwave radiation.
  85. Net terrestrial radiation Net terrestrial radiation Difference between the downward and upward terrestrial radiation fluxes; net flux of terrestrial radiation.
  86. Neutral Stability An atmospheric condition that exists in unsaturated air when the environmental lapse rate equals the dry adiabatic rate, or in saturated air when the…
  87. Nimbostratus (abbrev. NS)- A cloud of the class characterized by a formless layer that is almost uniformly dark gray; a rain cloud of the layer type, of low altitude…
  88. nitrogen A colorless, tasteless element that comprises four-fifths of the atmosphere by volume, denoted by N2.
  89. Nitrogen cycle Cyclic movement of nitrogen in different chemical forms from the environment, to organisms, and then back to the environment.
  90. Nitrogen fixation The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to biologically usable nitrates.
  91. Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) (NOx) The products of all combustion processes formed by the combination of nitrogen and oxygen.
  92. Nitrous Oxide (N2O) A powerful greenhouse gas with a global warming potential of 296 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2).
  93. Nitrous Oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O) A powerful greenhouse gas with a global warming potential most recently evaluated at 310.
  94. non-linear a system that is not describable as the sum of its parts and, as a result, is difficult to predict.
  95. Non-Methane Volatile Organic Compounds (NMVOCs) Organic compounds, other than methane, that participate in atmospheric photochemical reactions.
  96. Non-point source Large land area such as crop fields and urban areas that discharge pollutant into surface and underground water over a large area. See point source.
  97. Nonbiodegradable Substance that cannot be broken down in the environment by natural processess. See biodegradable.
  98. Nonlinearities Occur when changes in one variable cause a more than proportionate impact on another variable.
  99. North American High North American High The relatively weak general area of high pressure which, as shown on mean charts of sea-level pressure, covers most of North America…
  100. North Atlantic Oscillation (Abbrev. NAO) - the NAO is a large-scale fluctuation in atmospheric pressure between the subtropical high pressure system located near the Azores in the…

Sources