Renewable Energy — page 10 of 18

Renewable Energy terms

901. Land withdrawal Withdrawals are governed by regulations issued under FLPMA, contained in 43 CFR Part 2300.
902. Landfill Gas Methane gas that forms in landfills from the decay of organic materials. The gas can be collected and used for power generation.
903. Landform Any feature of the Earth's surface having a distinct shape and origin. Landforms include major features (such as continents, ocean basins, plains…
904. Landing A cleared working area on or near a timber harvest site at which processing steps are carried out.
905. Landmark Type of reference point external to the observer. Usually a simply defined physical object.
906. Landscape A region consisting of interacting ecosystems determined by geology, soils, climate, biota, and human influences.
907. Landscape character The arrangement of a particular landscape as formed by the variety and intensity of the landscape features and the four basic elements of form, line…
908. Large woody debris Dead woody material greater than 20" in diameter on the ground or in a stream or river. It may consist of logs, trees, or parts of trees.
909. Late Archaic The period 3,000 to 1,500 years B.P.
910. Late seral species Shade tolerant species, primarily vine maple shrubs and western red cedar and western hemlock trees.
911. Late seral treatment A treatment in which late seral species will be established after thinning.
912. Late-successional forest Forest seral stages which include mature and old- growth age classes.
913. Late-successional reserve An area of forest where the management objective is to protect and enhance conditions of late successional and old-growth forest ecosystems.
914. Latite An igneous, volcanic (extrusive) rock.
915. Lava Magma that reaches the Earth's surface and issues from volcanoes.
916. Lava flow An outpouring of lava onto the land surface from a vent or fissure. Also, a solidified tongue-like or sheetlike body formed by outpouring lava.
917. Lava tubes Natural conduits through which lava moves beneath the surface of a lava flow during a volcanic eruption.
918. Law of the River A complex body of laws, court decrees, contracts, agreements, regulations and an international treaty used to govern allocation and management of Colorado…
919. Laydown area An area that has been cleared for the temporary storage of equipment and supplies.
920. Leachates Liquids percolated through waste piles. Leachate can include various minerals, organic matter, or other contaminants and can contaminate surface water or…
921. Lead A gray-white metal that is listed as a criteria air pollutant. Health effects from exposure to lead include brain and kidney damage and learning…
922. Leasable minerals Federal minerals such as coal, oil shale, oil, gas, phosphate, potash, sodium, tar sands, geothermal resources, potassium, asphaltic materials, and all…
923. Lease A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent).
924. Least cost planning (integrated resource planning) A method of power planning that recognizes load uncertainty, embodies an emphasis on risk management, and reviews all…
925. Left-lateral fault See Fault, left-lateral
926. Lek A communal mating area within which males of certain species hold small territories, which they use solely for courtship and copulation.
927. Lentic environment An aquatic ecosystem in which the water is still and not rapidly moving, such as is found in ponds and swamps.
928. Levelized Life Cycle Cost A total life cycle cost divided into equal amounts.
929. LH2O The heat (Btu) needed to vaporize and superheat one pound of water.
930. License a contract in which the owner of the patent grants another person or company permission to make, use, or sell the patented invention.
931. Life-cycle costing A method of comparing costs of equipment or buildings based on original costs plus all operating and maintenance costs over the useful life of the…
932. Light fixture An electrical device used to create artificial light and/or illumination.
933. Light pollution Any adverse effect of human-made lighting, such as excessive illumination of night-skies by artificial light.
934. Light spillage An undesirable condition in which light is cast where it is not wanted. (Also referred to as light trespass.)
935. Light trespass See Light spillage
936. lignin A group of high-molecular-weight amorphous polymers of phenylpropanoid compounds, giving strength to certain tissues. A major component of wood.
937. lignin pseudo-molecule for modeling The lignin ratio of methoxy groups to phenylpropanoid groups (MeO:C9) is used to calculate an ultimate analysis for the lignin pseudo-molecule.
938. lignin ratio of MeO to C9 Lignin empirical formulae are based on ratios of methoxy groups to phenylpropanoid groups (MeO:C9).
939. lignocellulose The combination of lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose that forms the structural framework of plant cell walls.
940. Limestone A sedimentary rock made mostly of the mineral calcite (calcium carbonate). Limestone is usually formed from shells of once-living organisms or other…
941. line See Groove
942. Lineament A straight topographic feature of regional extent that is thought to represent crustal structure.
943. Liner A relatively impermeable barrier designed to keep leachate inside a landfill. Liner materials include plastic and dense clay.
944. Liquefaction Enzymatic digestion (often by alpha-amylase) of gelatinized starch to form lower molecular weight polysaccharides.
945. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) Natural gas that has been condensed to a liquid by cooling the gas.
946. Liquid hydrocarbon One of a very large group of chemical compounds composed only of carbon and hydrogen. The largest source of hydrocarbons is petroleum.
947. Lithic Relating to stone or rock.
948. Lithic debitage Debris produced during stone (lithic) tool manufacture.
949. Lithic scatter A distribution of cultural items that consists primarily of lithic (stone) material.
950. Live bottom A material storage bin or truck with a floor which incorporates a device for removing or unloading the material contained in the bin.
951. Livestock guzzler A watering system for cattle and other livestock that maintains a set water level as water is used.
952. Livestock watering area Water used for livestock watering, feed lots, dairy operations, fish farming, and other on-farm needs.
953. Load Commissions charged on the purchase or sale of mutual fund units.
954. Load factor The ratio of average energy demand (load) to maximum demand (peak load) during a specific period.
955. Load Management To influence the demand on a power source.
956. Loam A soil consisting of an easily crumbled mixture of clay, silt, and sand.
957. Locatable Minerals Minerals or materials subject to disposal and development through the Mining Law of 1872 (as amended).
958. LODE A mineralized ledge, vein or mineral deposit in place.
959. Lode mining claim A claim based on the presumption that the valuable mineral is a part of a bed-rock lode, vein, stockwork, stratum, or intrusion and is not dominantly a…
960. Loess A group of windblown soils, largely comprising silt, weakly cemented by calcite.
961. Log choker A length of cable or chain that is wrapped around a log or harvested tree to secure the log to the winch cable of a skidder or to an overhead cable…
962. Logging residues The unused portion of wood and bark left on the ground after harvesting merchantable wood.
963. Long Ton A unit that equals 20 long hundredweight or 2,240 pounds. Used mainly in England.
964. Long-term productivity The capacity of a site to support forest ecosystems over generations of humans and trees as measured against some defined reference.
965. Low-income population Persons whose average family income is below the poverty line. The poverty line takes into account family size and age of individuals in the family.
966. Low-level magnetic fields Fields of force that are generated whenever electric current flows. The sun's average large-scale magnetic field, and the Earth's, exhibit a north and a…
967. Lower Heating Value (LHV) (LHV) The heating value is the amount of heat released during the combustion of a specific substance, usually a fuel or food.
968. lower heating value (LLV) (LLV) The heat produced by combusting one unit of a substance, at atmospheric pressure under conditions such that all water in the products remains in the form…
969. Lowest achievable emissions rate (LAER) (LAER) Used to describe air emissions control technology. A rate of emissions defined by the permitting agency.
970. Luminaire A complete lighting unit consisting of a lamp(s), housing, and connection to the power circuit.
971. Maar A volcanic crater that is produced by an explosion in an area of low relief, is generally more or less circular, and often contains a lake, pond, or marsh.
972. Macrophyte (aquatic) An aquatic plant that is large enough to be observed with the naked eye. It grows in or near water.
973. Mafic (or maphic) A term used to describe an igneous rock that has a large percentage of dark-colored minerals such as amphibole, pyroxene, and olivine.
974. Magma Molten or partially molten rock at temperatures ranging from 1,260 F to 2,880 F (700 C to 1600 C).
975. Maintenance area Any geographic region of the United States previously designated nonattainment pursuant to the CAA Amendments of 1990 and subsequently redesignated to…
976. Major source A source that emits, or has the potential to emit, a pollutant regulated under the Clean Air Act in excess of a specified rate in a nonattainment area.
977. Mammals A group of air-breathing animals whose skin is more or less covered with hair or fur and who have mammary glands.
978. Management activities Planned activities initiated by land managers to meet the desired future condition for an area.
979. Management area Management areas are specific geographical areas defined by a forest plan. Each management area has a set of objectives and a management prescription…
980. Management indicator species Species selected as ecological indicators. The welfare of a management indicator species is presumed to be an indicator of the welfare of other species…
981. Management plan A plan guiding overall management of an area administered by a federal or state agency.
982. mannan The polymer of mannose with a repeating unit of C6H10O5. Can be hydrolyzed to mannose. (Source: Voet, D.; Voet, J. G. Biochemistry.
983. mannose A hexose component of many polysaccharides, occasionally used as a carbohydrate source in plant tissue culture media.
984. Mano A stone with a flat side that was primarily held in one's hand or hands and used to grind edible substances, typically corn, grains, and nut meats.
985. Mantle The main bulk of the Earth, between the crust and core, ranging from depths of about 40 to 3,480 kilometers.
986. Mantle hot spot A region of continental or oceanic crust below which a mantle plume causes melting of the overlying crust, resulting in a broad regional topographic swell…
987. Marsh An area of low-lying wetlands dominated by grasslike plants.
988. mash A mixture of grain and other ingredients with water to prepare wort for brewing operations.
989. Mass Burn Facility A type of municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration facility in which MSW is burned with only minor presorting to remove oversize, hazardous, or explosive…
990. mass closure (%) The percent by weight of the total samples extracted from the biomass sample compared to the weight of the original sample.
991. Materials recovery facility (MRF) (MRF) A recycling facility for municipal solid waste.
992. Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) (MCL) The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs ensure that drinking water does not pose either a short-term or long-term…
993. Maximum output See Nameplate capacity
994. MBF One thousand board feet of lumber.
995. MCDB See moisture content, dry basis.
996. MCL See Maximum contaminant level
997. Mean A statistics term. The average value in a set of measurements. The mean is the sum of a set of numbers divided by how many numbers are in the set.
998. Mean annual increment The annual average growth rate for a tree, computed over its entire life cycle.
999. Mean sea level (MSL) (MSL) The arithmetic mean of hourly water elevations observed over a specific 19-year tidal epoch.
1000. Median household income Divides households into two equal segments, with one-half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more.