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The region on the lee (sheltered) side of a mountain or mountain range where the precipitation is noticeably less than on the windward side, because the moisture-bearing air mass loses most of its moisture on the windward side before reaching the lee side.
- Browse Related Terms: arid, Desert, Mantle hot spot, Mesic habitat, OASIS, Prehistoric resources, Rain shadow effect, Semi-arid, Shadow zone, Shrink-swell potential, Upper-air sounding
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Land on which the native vegetation, climax, or natural potential consists predominately of grasses, grasslike plants, forbs, or shrubs. Rangeland includes lands that are revegetated naturally or artificially to provide a plant cover that is managed similar to native vegetation. Rangelands may consist of natural grasslands, savannas, shrub lands, most deserts, tundra, alpine communities, coastal marshes, and wet meadows.
- Browse Related Terms: Ambient Air, Boreal, Chaparral, Demographic, Desert scrub, Ethnobotany (ethnobotanical), Grasslands, Habitat type, In-migration, Rangeland, Socioeconomics
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The thermodynamic cycle of temperature and pressure changes of water as it is converted from a liquid to a gaseous state by heating, and returns back to liquid as it performs work, typically by driving a steam turbine. Modern steam turbines operating in a Rankine cycle have a maximum steam temperature of about 1,963°F (1,073°C) with thermal efficiencies of about 40%.
- Browse Related Terms: Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR), Concentrating solar collector, Concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies, Dish engine, Heat exchanger, Heat transfer fluid (HTF), Parabolic solar collector trough, Parabolic Trough, Parabolic trough system, Power tower, Rankine steam cycle, Steam turbine-generator (STG), Stirling Engine, Thermal energy
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A bird of prey such as a falcon, hawk, or eagle.
- Browse Related Terms: Corridor-transmission, Corridor-wildlife, Ecological segmentation, Flyway, Migration corridor, Neotropical migrants, Passerine, Prey base, RAPTOR
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A price list showing how the electric bill of a particular type of customer will be calculated by an electric utility company.
- Browse Related Terms: Baseload demand, Distribution, Grid, Load Management, Mill, Mill/kWh, Rate Schedule, Reserve margin, Wheeling
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- The term used by battery manufacturers to indicate the maximum amount of energy that can be withdrawn from a battery under specified discharge rate and temperature. See Battery capacity
- Browse Related Terms: Application for Certification (AFC), Capacity Factor, Dispatchable power (dispatchability), Distributed Generation, Maximum output, Nameplate rating, Power block, Power production capacity, Rated battery capacity, Renewable Resource Generation Development Area (GDA), STG, Thermoelectric (power) water use, Utility scale facilities, Withdrawal
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A chemical reaction is a dissociation, recombination, or rearrangement of atoms.
- Browse Related Terms: Bioenergy, catalyst, Coproducts, dehydration, denaturant, Enzymatic hydrolysis, enzyme, fast pyrolysis, Feedstock, glycerin, hydrogenation, nitrogen oxides, reaction, substrate, thermochemical conversion
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The recovery/rise of the water level in a groundwater aquifer after groundwater pumping has ceased.
- Browse Related Terms: 100-year floodplain, Aquifer-unconfined, Artesian water (artesian pressure), Confined aquifer, Hydraulic gradient, Impoundment (surface), Rebound (of water levels), Recharge, Sole source aquifer, Transmissivity, Unconfined aquifer
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A component of a solar energy facility that receives solar energy and converts it to useful energy forms, typically heat.
- Browse Related Terms: Collector, Conditional Use Permit (CUP), Design basis, Edge-on, Flat-plate reflector (heliostat), Fresnel lens, Heliostat, Mirror, Molten salts, Receiver, Reflector, Solar collector, Solar collector array, Solar energy technology, Solar Energy Zone (SEZ), Solar tracking, specular reflection, Thermal inertia, Tracking array
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A location where environmental resources such as air concentration or noise level are evaluated (e.g., property boundaries, residences, schools, hospitals, libraries).
- Browse Related Terms: Air quality, Air Quality Standards, Ambient Air Quality Standards, California Ambient Air Quality Standard (CAAQS), Embryotoxicity, Hazardous air pollutant (HAP), Maximum contaminant level (MCL), National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), OSHA, receptor
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The addition of water to an aquifer by natural infiltration (e.g., rainfall that seeps into the ground) or by artificial injection through wells.
- Browse Related Terms: 100-year floodplain, Aquifer-unconfined, Artesian water (artesian pressure), Confined aquifer, Hydraulic gradient, Impoundment (surface), Rebound (of water levels), Recharge, Sole source aquifer, Transmissivity, Unconfined aquifer
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Returning a fraction of the effluent outflow to the inlet to dilute incoming wastewater.
- Browse Related Terms: Activated sludge process, Aeration basin, Cascade aeration, Floodplain, Recirculation, Sedimentation, Turbidity
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The process of restoring surface environment to acceptable pre-existing conditions.
- Browse Related Terms: Abiotic, Anthropogenic emissions, Demand-side management, Direct effects, Ecosystem, Effects, Full-time equivalent (FTE), Indirect effects, NatureServe, Noise criteria, Reclamation, Stressors
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Withholding an area of public land from the operation of the public land laws for the purpose of reserving the land for the use of the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR). In general, this means that the BOR has first priority for use of the land for BOR projects. Other uses of the land may sometimes be approved with the concurrence of the BOR.
- Browse Related Terms: Appropriation Doctrine, Augmentation Plan, Beneficial use of water, Domestic water use, Entry, Fast-track, Incidental take permit, Irrigation, Reclamation withdrawal, Regular-track proposals, Reserved Water Right, Safe Drinking Water Act (SWDA)
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DNA that has been artificially introduced into a cell, resulting in alteration of the genotype and phenotype of the cell, and is replicated along with natural DNA. Used in industrial micro-organisms to produce more productive strains.
- Browse Related Terms: anaerobic digestion, Bacteria, Bioconversion, Biogas, digester, fermentation, fungi, greenhouse gas, Landfill gas, Methane, microorganism, Photosynthesis, recombinant DNA
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- The decision document for an environmental impact statement (EIS). Separate from the EIS itself, this document states the decision, states the reasons for the decision, identifies all alternatives and states compliance with applicable laws.
- Browse Related Terms: Alternative, Cumulative effects, Decision notice, Draft environmental impact statement (DEIS), Environmental assessment (EA), Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), Mitigation, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Record of Decision (ROD)
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A document separate from but associated with an environmental impact statement (EIS) that publicly and officially discloses the responsible agency's decision on the EIS alternative to be implemented.
- Browse Related Terms: Affected environment, American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 (AIRFA), Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Cumulative impacts, Environmental assessment (EA), Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Executive Order, Federal Register, National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Record of Decision (ROD), Scoping
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A pulp mill boiler in which lignin and spent cooking liquor (black liquor) is burned to generate steam.
- Browse Related Terms: Boiler, Boiler Horsepower, Combustion efficiency, Conversion efficiency, District heating or cooling, Furnace, Geothermal energy, Heat transfer efficiency, Heating Value, Passive solar energy system, Process Heat, Recovery boiler
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A component of a solar energy facility that reflects incident sunlight to a desired location or component within the facility, allowing it to be converted to other useful forms of energy, typically heat.
- Browse Related Terms: Collector, Conditional Use Permit (CUP), Design basis, Edge-on, Flat-plate reflector (heliostat), Fresnel lens, Heliostat, Mirror, Molten salts, Receiver, Reflector, Solar collector, Solar collector array, Solar energy technology, Solar Energy Zone (SEZ), Solar tracking, specular reflection, Thermal inertia, Tracking array
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Gasoline that has altered composition or characteristics to reduce emissions of pollutants from vehicles in accordance with the Clean Air Act.
- Browse Related Terms: Air Quality Maintenance Area, attainment area, Best management practices (BMP), Centralized sewage treatment, Class I area, Class II area, Clean Air Act (CAA), Corporate average fuel economy (CAFE), Emission offset, Major source, National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Pollutants (NESHAPS), New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Nonattainment area (NAA), Null hypothesis, Opacity, Prevention of significant deterioration (PSD), Reformulated gasoline (RFG), Source Emission Reduction Plan (SERP), State Implementation Plan (SIP)