Science terms starting with M

758 terms

  1. MAREP (MArine REPort) A voluntary marine observation program of the National Weather Service whose goal is to solicit meteorological and oceanographic…
  2. Margin requirement The margin requirement is the minimum amount the Federal Reserve, in Regulation T, requires you to deposit in a margin account before you can trade…
  3. Marginal Cost The cost of producing one additional unit of a product.
  4. Marginal electric generating unit In organized wholesale markets, the price of the marginal source of electricity usually sets the price of the unit providing the next increment or…
  5. Marginal land Land which, in its natural state, is not well suited for a particular purpose, such as raising crops.
  6. Marginal Visual Flight Rules (Abbrev. MVFR) - In an aviation product, refers to the general weather conditions pilots can expect at the surface.
  7. mariculture See: aquaculture.
  8. 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…
  9. Marine Environment (U.S.) ocean or coastal waters (note: coastal waters may include intertidal areas, bays, or estuaries); an area of the Great Lakes or their connecting…
  10. Marine Inversion Temperature inversion produced when cold marine air underlies warmer air.
  11. Marine Managed Area Any area of the marine environment that has been reserved by federal, state, territorial, tribal, or local laws or regulations to provide lasting…
  12. Marine Managed Areas (MMA) Inventory An earlier (2001-2007) database of U.S. aquatic, coastal, or marine sites that have been set aside for the protection of some or all of the natural and…
  13. Marine Planning Areas Distinct marine locations subject to site-specific, ongoing management or regulatory planning within fixed boundaries.
  14. Marine Protected Area Any area of the marine environment that has been reserved by federal, state, territorial, tribal, or local laws or regulations to provide lasting…
  15. Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Inventory A comprehensive inventory of U.S. marine protected areas established or managed by federal, state, or territorial agencies or programs.
  16. Marine Push A replacement of the current air mass with air from off the ocean. Temperatures are much cooler and relative humidities much higher.
  17. Marine Reserve A type of MPA where extractive uses are prohibited (also referred to as "no-take" reserve)
  18. Marine Resource Areas Broad or multiple geographic areas defined by an underlying, mapped marine resource that is afforded some degree of protection through state laws…
  19. Marine Sanctuary As defined by the U.S. government are areas of the marine environment with special national significance due to their conservation, recreational…
  20. Marine Small Craft Thunderstorm Advisory A marine warning issued by Environment Canada Atmospheric Environment Branch when the possibility of thunderstorms is greater than 40 percent.
  21. Marine Small Craft Wind Warning A marine warning issued by Environment Canada Atmospheric Environment Branch for winds which are forecasted to be in the 20-33 knot range inclusive.
  22. Marine Spatial Planning Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is a comprehensive, ecosystem-based process through which compatible human uses are objectively and transparently allocated…
  23. Marine Waters As defined by U.S. Executive Order 13158 on MPAs: Waters under tidal influence, extending to the Mean High Water mark on land, and into river mouths to a…
  24. Marine Weather Statement A National Weather Service product to provide mariners with details on significant or potentially hazardous conditions not otherwise covered in existing…
  25. Marine Zone Specific, defined over-water areas contained in the various NWS marine forecasts. These are the equivalent of "zones" in the public forecast program.
  26. Maritime Air Mass An air mass influenced by the sea. It is a secondary characteristic of an air mass classification, signified by the small "m" before the primary…
  27. Maritime Polar Air Mass An air mass characterized by cold, moist air. Abbreviated mP.
  28. Maritime Tropical Air Mass An air mass characterized by warm, moist air. Abbreviated mT.
  29. Mark-to-market Adjustment of the book value or collateral value of a security – including a security such as a multiyear contract – to reflect current market value…
  30. marker A diagnostic indication that disease may develop.
  31. marker gene A gene of known function or known location, used for marker-assisted selection or genetic studies.
  32. marker peptide A portion of fusion protein that facilitates its identification or purification.
  33. marker-assisted introgression The use of DNA markers to increase the speed and efficiency of introgression of a new allele(s) or gene(s) into a breeding population.
  34. marker-assisted selection (Abbreviation: MAS). The use of DNA markers to improve response to selection in a population.
  35. Market Traditionally, a securities market was a place - such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) - where members met to buy and sell securities.
  36. Market capitalization Value of a corporation as determined by the market price of its issued and outstanding securities.
  37. Market concentration A measure, usually an estimate, of the market share of a participant or groups of participant in the overall market or a submarket (a given region…
  38. Market liquidity The ease, or lack thereof, with which a buyer can buy or a seller can sell at a prevailing price in a marketplace.
  39. Market participant A market buyer or a market seller, or both, that meets reasonable creditworthiness standards established by the market operator.
  40. Market power The ability of any market participant with a large market share to significantly control or affect price by withholding production from the market…
  41. Market structure The rules, mechanisms and processes, under which a market operates to form prices, provide benefits and introduce risks to participants, and ultimately…
  42. Market-based rates Rates for power or electric service that are established in an unregulated, competitive market.
  43. Marketer An agent for generation projects who markets power on behalf of the generator. The marketer may also arrange transmission, firming or other ancillary…
  44. MAROB A voluntary marine observation program of the National Weather Service in the early stages of development whose goal is to solicit meteorological and…
  45. MARS Machine Assisted Reference Section
  46. Marsh An area of low-lying wetlands dominated by grasslike plants.
  47. MAS Abbreviation for marker-assisted selection.
  48. mash A mixture of grain and other ingredients with water to prepare wort for brewing operations.
  49. Masonry Material such as brick, rock, or stone.
  50. Masonry dam Any dam constructed mainly of stone, brick or concrete blocks jointed with mortar.
  51. Masonry Stove A type of heating appliance similar to a fireplace, but much more efficient and clean burning.
  52. Mass balance The application of the principle of the conservation of matter.
  53. 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…
  54. Mass care center A facility for providing emergency lodging and care for people made temporarily homeless by an emergency or disaster.
  55. mass closure (%) The percent by weight of the total samples extracted from the biomass sample compared to the weight of the original sample.
  56. Mass Concrete Any large volume of concrete cast-in-place, generally as a monolithic structure.
  57. Mass Curve A graph of the cumulative values of a hydrologic quantity (such as precipitation or runoff), generally as ordinate, plotted against time or date.
  58. Mass Defect When two subatomic particles are bound together, their bound mass is slightly different than their mass if each particle is measured separately.
  59. mass selection As practised in plant and animal breeding, the selection ofa number of individuals, on the basis of their individual phenotypes, to interbreed to form the…
  60. Mass spectrometry this technique can be used to both measure and analyze molecules under study. It involves introducing enough energy into a target molecule to cause its…
  61. Massachusetts Sustainable Design Roundtable Created by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the Division of Capital Asset Management the Roundtable explores ways in which the…
  62. MassGIS The Commonwealth's Office of Geographic and Environmental Information, within the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs…
  63. Massif A compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits.
  64. Massive head buttress dam A buttress dam in which the buttress is greatly enlarged on the upstream side to span the gap between buttresses. See solid head buttress dam.
  65. Mast cell A type of white blood cell.
  66. Master Plan The term has two meanings: 1) a permit type issued to large residential or commercial buildings that sets a building-wide standard for future changes that…
  67. Mastic A soft sealing material.
  68. Materials recovery facility (MRF) A recycling facility for municipal solid waste.
  69. maternal effect An effect attributable to a genetic contribution of the female parent of the individual being evaluated.
  70. Maternal gene product A product in the male organism of a gene from the X chromosome.
  71. maternal inheritance Inheritance controlled by non-nuclear genes (e.g. mitochrondria, chloroplast ) that are transmitted only through the female line.
  72. matric potential A water potential component, always of negative value, resulting from the presence of solid (often finely divided) surfaces; primarily responsible for…
  73. Matter-Dominated Universe When the density of matter is greater than that of any other component.
  74. maturation The formation of gametes or spores.
  75. Mauna Loa An intermittently active volcano (elevation: 13,680 feet; 4,170 meters) on the island of Hawaii.
  76. Maunder Minimum From 1645 to 1715, scientists believe there was a decrease in the total energy output from the Sun, as indicated by little or no sunspot activity.
  77. MAV AVN MOS Guidance
  78. MAX Maximum
  79. Max Parcel Level (MPL) This signifies the highest attainable level that a convective updraft can reach; therefore, it is a good indication of how tall a thunderstorm may reach.
  80. Maximum Contaminant Level (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…
  81. Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) The level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health.
  82. Maximum controllable water surface The highest reservoir water surface elevation at which gravity flows from the reservoir can be completely shut off.
  83. Maximum credible earthquake (MCE) The largest hypothetical earthquake that may be reasonably expected to occur along a given fault or other seismic source could produce under the current…
  84. Maximum demand The greatest of all demands of the load that has occurred within a specified period of time.
  85. Maximum design earthquake (MDE) The earthquake selected for design or evaluation of the structure. This earthquake would generate the most critical ground motions for evaluation of the…
  86. Maximum flood control level The highest elevation of the flood control storage.
  87. Maximum output See Nameplate capacity
  88. Maximum Spillway Discharge Spillway discharge (cfs) when reservoir is at maximum designed water surface elevation.
  89. Maximum Sustained Surface Wind When applied to a particular weather system, refers to the highest one-minute average wind (at an elevation of 10 meters with an unobstructed exposure)…
  90. Maximum Temperature This is the highest temperature recorded during a specified period of time. Common time periods include 6, 12 and 24 hours.
  91. Maximum Unambiguous Range The range from the radar at which an echo can be known unquestionably as being at that range.
  92. Maximum Unambiguous Velocity The highest radial velocity that can be measured unambiguously by a pulsed Doppler radar.
  93. Maximum unit weight The dry unit weight defined by the peak of a compaction curve. See unit weight.
  94. Maximum water surface (maximum pool) The highest acceptable water surface elevation with all factors affecting the safety of the structure considered.
  95. Maximum wave The highest wave in a wave group.
  96. MAXT High temperature for the day. Usually forecast out 7 days in advance.
  97. Mayan Long Count Calendar The basis for the doomsday predictions, which is a nonrepeating calendar with “baktun” cycles of about 400 years -- with the 13th ending, and the 14th…
  98. MB Millibar
  99. MBF One thousand board feet of lumber.
  100. MCC Mesoscale Convective Complex. A large MCS, generally round or oval-shaped, which normally reaches peak intensity at night.