Science — page 117 of 132

13,110 terms including subtopics (0 terms filed directly here)

Science terms

Supernatural Typically referring to spiritual or religious matters, the laws of nature do not apply to this realm.
Supernova Supernova refers to several types of stellar (meaning star) explosions that produce extremely bright objects that decline to invisibility over weeks or…
Superrefraction Bending of the radar beam in the vertical which is greater than sub-standard refractive conditions.
supersaturated air A condition that occurs in the atmosphere when the relative humidity is greater that 100 percent.
Supervisory control A system used to monitor conditions and operate mechanical features associated with a facility from a location other than at the site.
Supplemental irrigation service land Irrigable land now receiving, or to receive, an additional or reregulated supply of water through facilities constructed by or to be constructed by the…
Supplementary Heat A heat source, such as a space heater, used to provide more heat than that provided by a primary heating source.
Supply Duct The duct(s) of a forced air heating/cooling system through which heated or cooled air is supplied to rooms by the action of the fan of the central heating…
Supply Side Technologies that pertain to the generation of electricity.
Suppressed weir A rectangular weir that has only the crest far removed from the channel bottom, the sides are coincident with the sides of the approach channel, so no…
Suppressor gene A gene that can suppress the action of another gene.
suppressor mutation A mutation that reverses the effect of an earlier mutation, e.g. a mutation in a gene for a tRNA that permits it to read and override an amber mutation.
suppressor-sensitive mutant An organism that can grow in the presence, but not in the absence of a second genetic factor (the suppressor).
Surcharge An extra charge applied to the premium by an insurance company, usually applied as a result of at-fault accidents or moving violations.
Surcharge Capacity The volume of a reservoir between the maximum water surface elevation for which the dam is designed and the crest of an uncontrolled spillway, or the…
Surcharge capacity (surcharge storage) The reservoir capacity provided for use in passing the inflow design flood through the reservoir.
Surf Zone Area of water between the high tide level on the beach and the seaward side of the breaking waves.
Surf Zone Forecast (SRF) - A National Weather Service routine or event driven forecast product geared toward non-boating marine users issued for an area extending from the…
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 expression Refers to the physical expression of seismic activity at the ground exterior in the form of a fault rupture or fissure.
Surface Impoundment An indented area in the land's surface, such as a pit, pond, or lagoon.
Surface marker Surface proteins that are unique to certain cell types capable of detection by antibodies or other detection methods.
Surface markers Proteins on the outside surface of a cell that are unique to certain cell types, which are visualized using antibodies or other detection methods.
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 pump A mechanism for removing water or wastewater from a sump or wet well.
Surface Runoff Precipitation, snow melt, or irrigation in excess of what can infiltrate the soil surface and be stored.
Surface rupture The breakage of ground along the surface trace of a fault caused by the intersection of the fault surface area ruptured in an earthquake with the Earth's…
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…
Surface soil Upper part of the soil ordinarily moved in tillage, or its equivalent in uncultivated soils, about 10 to 20 cm in thickness.
surface stress The vertical flux of momentum near the surface as the the ambient flow interacts with the land/water surface.
Surface texture The visual manifestations of the interplay of light and shadow created by the variations in the top of an object or landscape.
Surface vibration A method of compacting soil using a vibrating plate or vibrating smooth drum roller used on the surface of soil placed.
Surface Water Water on the Earth's surface that is directly exposed to the atmosphere, as distinguished from water in the ground (groundwater).
Surface Water Loop In this type of closed-loop geothermal heat pump installation, the fluid-filled plastic heat exchanger pipes are coiled into circles and submerged at…
Surface Weather Chart An analyzed synoptic chart of surface weather observations. A surface chart shows the distribution of sea-level pressure (therefore, the position of…
Surface wind Surface wind Wind blowing near the Earth's surface. It is measured, by convention, at a height of 10 m above ground in an area where the distance between…
Surface-based Convection Convection occurring within a surface-based layer, i.e., a layer in which the lowest portion is based at or very near the earth's surface.
Surge A rapid increase in the depth of flow.
Surge chamber A chamber or tank connected to a pipe and located at or near a valve that may quickly open or close or a pump that may suddenly start or stop.
Surge irrigation A surface irrigation technique wherein flow is applied to furrows (or less commonly, borders) intermittently during a single irrigation set.
Surplus electricity Electricity produced by cogeneration equipment in excess of the needs of an associated factory or business.
susceptible Inability to withstand injury due to biotic or. Opposite: resistance, tolerance.
Suspended The state of floating in water rather than being dissolved in it.
Suspended load (suspended sediment) Sediment that is supported by the upward components of turbulence in a stream and that stays in suspension for an appreciable length of time.
Suspended solids Waste particles suspended in water. Suspended solids can harbor harmful microorganisms and toxic chemicals.
Suspension The temporary disqualification of a firm or individual from contracting with the government or participating in government programs, pending the outcome…
suspension culture A type of culture in which cells and/or clumps of cells grow and multiply while suspended in a liquid medium.
Sustainable An ecosystem condition in which biodiversity, renewability, and resource productivity are maintained over time.
Sustainable Development Development with the goal of preserving environmental quality, natural resources and livability for present and future generations.
Sustainable Production The renewable living resources and their habitats, including, but not limited to, spawning, mating, and nursery grounds, and areas established to minimize…
Sustainable yield See Perennial/Safe/Sustainable yield
Sustained Overdraft Long-term withdrawal from the aquifer of more water than is being recharged.
Sustained Wind Wind speed determined by averaging observed values over a two-minute period.
Sustained yield The maintenance in perpetuity of regular, periodic harvest of wood resources from forest land without damaging the productivity of the land.
Sverdrup a unit of measure of volume transport equal to 106 m3/s, named in honor of the oceanographer Harald Sverdrup.
SVR 1. Severe 2. Abbreviation for Severe Thunderstorm Warning
SVRL Several
SW Stormwind
Swale A low place in a tract of land, usually moister, and often having denser vegetation than the adjacent higher land.
Swamp Cooler A popular term used for an evaporative cooling device.
Swaps An exchange of streams of payments over time according to specified terms. A common type is a fixed-for-floating swap, in which one party agrees to pay a…
Swarm (seismic swarm) A localized surge of earthquakes, with no one shock being conspicuously larger than all other shocks of the swarm.
SWD On a buoy report, Swell Direction is the compass direction from which the swell wave are coming from.
SWE Snow Water Equivalent (the amount of water content in a snowpack or snowfall).
SWEAT Casinos who are upset by players winning or having skill are said to "sweat" out their games. Also, a player who is losing and is worried.
Swell Increase of bulk in soil or rock when excavated.
Swell Direction The direction from which the swells are propagating.
Swell pressure The pressure required to maintain zero expansion.
Swept Area In reference to a wind energy conversion device, the area through which the rotor blades spin, as seen when directly facing the center of the rotor blades.
SWH On a buoy report, swell height is the vertical distance (meters) between any swell crest and the succeeding swell wave trough.
Switching station Facility equipment used to tie together two or more electric circuits through switches.
SWLY Southwesterly
SWODY1 The Day-1 Convective Outlook, sometimes called the "AC" is a guidance product issued by the Operational Guidance Branch (OGB) unit of the Storm Prediction…
SWODY2 The Day 2 Convective Outlook is very similar to the Day 1 Outlook. It is issued only twice a day, at 08Z and 18Z, and covers the period from 12Z the…
SWP On a buoy report, Swell Period is the time (usually measured in seconds) that it takes successive swell wave crests or troughs pass a fixed point.
SWRN Southwestern
SWS A rare, congenital disorder that affects the brain, skin, and eyes. Abnormal blood vessel growth occurs in the trigeminal nerve in the face and the…
SWWD Southwestward
SX Stability Index
SXN Section
symbiont An organism living in symbiosis with another, dissimilar organism.
Symbiosis The close association of two or more dissimilar organisms where both receive an advantage from the association. See Commensalism, Parasitism.
Symmetric Double Eye A concentrated ring of convection that develops outside the eye wall in symmetric, mature hurricanes.
sympatric speciation The evolution of new species by population s that inhabit the same or overlapping geographic regions.
sympodial A type of plant development in which the terminal bud of the stem stops growing due either to its abortion, or to its differentiation into a floral…
Synapsis The pairing of homologous chromosome pairs during prophase of the first meiotic division, when crossing over occurs.
synaptonemal complex (Abbreviation: SC). A ribbon-like protein aceous structure formed between paired homologous chromosome s at the end of the first meiotic prophase.
Synchronous condensers A synchronous machine running without mechanical load and supplying or absorbing reactive power.
synchronous culture A culture in which the cell cycle is synchronized for the majority of the cells present.
Synchronous Detection Radar processing that retains the received signal amplitude and phase but that removes the intermediate frequency carrier.
Synchronous Generator An electrical generator that runs at a constant speed and draws its excitation from a power source external or independent of the load or transmission…
Synchronous Inverter An electrical inverter that inverts direct current electricity to alternating current electricity, and that uses another alternating current source, such…
Synchronous Motor A type of motor designed to operate precisely at the synchronous speed with no slip in the full-load speeds (rpm).
Syncline A fold in rocks in which the strata dip inward from both sides toward the axis. Troughlike downward sag or fold in rock layers. Opposite of an anticline.
Syncytiotrophoblast A multinucleated cell formed from the cells of the trophoblast. Only a small area of the syncytiotrophoblast is evident at the start of the formation of…
syncytium A large cell-like structure formed by the joining together of two or more cells. The plural is syncytia.