DesiccationThe process of removing moisture; involves evaporation.
Design basisThe set of conditions, dimensions, needs, and requirements used to design a solar energy facility.
Design basis earthquake (DBE)The earthquake which the structure is required to safely withstand with repairable damage.
Design Cooling LoadThe amount of conditioned air to be supplied by a cooling system; usually the maximum amount to be delivered based on a specified number of cooling degree…
Design CriteriaThe hypothetical flood used in the sizing of the dam and the associated structures to prevent dam failure by overtopping, especially for the spillway…
Design featuresMeasures or procedures incorporated into the proposed action or alternatives which could avoid or reduce adverse impacts.
Design FloodThe largest flood that a given project is designed to safely accommodate. The reservoir inflow hydrograph used to estimate the spillway discharge capacity…
Design Heating LoadThe amount of heated air, or heating capacity, to be supplied by a heating system; usually the maximum amount to be delivered based on a specified number…
Design LifePeriod of time a system or appliance (or component of) is expected to function at its nominal or design capacity without major repair.
Design response spectraSmooth, broad-banded spectra appropriate for specifying the level of seismic design force, or displacement, for earthquake-resistant design purposes.
Design StandardsDesign standards or guidelines can serve as a community's desire to control its appearance, from within and without, through a series of standards that…
Design summaryA document that summarizes the designers' development of the design that results in the specifications.
Design TemperatureThe temperature that a system is designed to maintain (inside) or operate against (outside) under the most extreme conditions.
Design Tip Speed RatioFor a wind turbine, the ratio of the speed of the tip of a turbine blade for which the power coefficient is at maximum.
Design VoltageThe nominal voltage for which a conductor or electrical appliance is designed; the reference voltage for identification and not necessarily the precise…
Design water levelThe maximum water elevation, including the flood surcharge, that a dam is designed to be able to withstand.
Design windThe most severe wind that is reasonbly possible at a particular reservoir for generating wind setup and runup.
Designated floodwayThe channel of a water course and those portions of the adjoining flood plain required to provide for the passage of a selected flood with a small…
Designated frequency floodRefers to the probability that a flood will occur in a given year. A 100-year flood is often considered in the design of diversion dams and for…
Designated Roads and TrailsSpecific roads and trails identified by the agencies where some type of motorized vehicle use is appropriate and allowed, either seasonally or yearlong.
Designers' Operating Criteria (DOC)Detailed operating criteria which stress the designer's intended use and operation of equipment and structures in the interest of safe, proper, and…
Desired future conditionA vision of the desired future state of a specific area. A description of land and resource conditions expected to result if management goals and…
DesorptionThe release or removal of an adsorbed material from the surface of a solid adsorbent.
DestratificationThe development of vertical mixing within a lake or reservoir to eliminate (either totally or partially) separate layers of temperature, plant, or animal…
DesuperheaterAn energy saving device in a heat pump that, during the cooling cycle, recycles some of the waste heat from the house to heat domestic water.
DetectionThe first of five Early Warning System components consisting of the processes and equipment necessary to collect information about the threatening event…
Detention BasinsDetention basins are normally dry, but are designed to detain surface water temporarily during, and immediately after a runoff event.
Detention damA dam built to store streamflow or surface runoff, and to control the release of such stored water.
Detention Ponds(Extended Detention Basins) An area surrounded by an embarkment, or an excavated pit, designed to temporarily hold stormwater long enough to allow…
Detention StorageThe volume of water, other than depression storage, existing on the land surface as flowing water which has not yet reached the channel.
detergentSubstance which lowers the surface tension of a solution, improving its cleaning properties.
determinate growthGrowth determined and limited in time, with a bud or flower terminating the growth of the main axis. Once established, it is usually irreversible.
determinationProcess by which undifferentiated cells in an embryo become committed to develop into specific cell types, such as neurons, fibroblasts or muscle cells.
determinedDescribing embryonic tissue at a stage when it can develop only as a certain kind of tissue.
Detonating cordRound, flexible textile, or plastic cord with a center core of high explosive. A common use is to tie in shots using nonelectric delays (MS connectors)…
DetonationPractically instantaneous decomposition or combustion of an unstable compound, with tremendous increase in volume.
DetonatorA device to start an explosion, as a fuse or cap.
DetritusLoose natural materials, such as rock fragments or organic particles, that result directly from disintegration of rocks or organisms.
DeuteriumA special form of hydrogen (an isotope called "heavy hydrogen") that has a neutron as well as a proton in its nucleus.
Developing Gale/StormIn the high seas and offshore forecasts, a headline used in the warnings section to indicate that gale/storm force winds are not now occurring but are…
developmentThe sum total of events that contribute to the progressive elaboration of an organism. The two major aspects of development are growth and differentiation.
Development RightsDevelopment rights give property owners the right to develop land in ways that comply with local land use regulation.
developmental and reproductive effectsEffects caused by some physical, chemical, or biological agent, such as radiation, to the formation and development of a fetus, that results in one or…
deviation1. An alteration from the typical form, function or behaviour. Mutation or stress are the common reasons behind deviation. 2.
Deviator stressThe difference between the major and minor principal stresses in a triaxial test.
DewMoisture in the air that condenses on solid surfaces when the air is saturated with water vapor.
Dew pointThe temperature to which air with a given quantity of water vapor must be cooled to cause condensation of the vapor in the air.
Dew Point DepressionThe difference in degrees between the air temperature and the dew point.
Dew Point FrontA narrow zone (mesoscale feature) of extremely sharp moisture gradient and little temperature gradient. It separates moist air from dry air.
DewateringThe separation of free water from the solids portion of spent mash, sludge, or whole stillage by screening, centrifuging, filter pressing, or other means.
DEWPOn a buoy report, the dewpoint temperature taken at the same height as the air temperature measurement.
DewpointThe temperature to which air must be cooled, at constant pressure and water vapor content, in order for saturation or condensation to occur; the…
dextrinAn intermediate polysaccharide compound resulting from the hydrolysis of starch to maltose by amylase enzymes.
dGTPAbbreviation for deoxyguanosine 5'-triphosphate. dGTP is required for DNA synthesis since it is a direct precursor molecule. See: guanosine, guanylic acid.
di-deoxynucleotide(Abbreviations: ddNTP,didN). A synthetic deoxynucleotide that lacks a 3'-hydroxyl group, and is thus unable to form the 3'?
DiabaticA process which occurs with the addition or loss of heat. The opposite of adiabatic.
DiabetesAny of several diseases in which the kidneys make a large amount of urine. Diabetes usually refers to diabetes mellitus in which there is also a high…
diabetes mellitus(dye-a-BEE-teez MEL-ih-tus) A group of disorders in which there is a defect in the transfer of glucose (sugar) from the bloodstream into cells, leading to…
Diablo WindSimilar to Santa Ana winds in southern California. These winds occur below canyons in the East Bay hills (Diablo range) and in extreme cases can exceed 60…
DiagnosticAn item that is indicative of a particular time and/or cultural group.
Diagnostic ModelA computer model used to calculate air pollution concentrations. A diagnostic model produces a wind field over an area by interpolating from actual wind…
Diagnostic toolAny artifact which, because of form, shape, or function, provides chronological or manufacturing information.
diakinesisA stage of meiosis at the end of prophase I, in which the contraction of the chromosomes is almost at a maximum, pairing configurations are well defined…
dialysis(dye-AL-ih-sis) The process of filtering the blood when the kidneys are not able to cleanse it.
Diamond DustA fall of non-branched (snow crystals are branched) ice crystals in the form of needles, columns, or plates.
Diaphragm pumpA pump that moves water by reciprocating motion of a diaphragm in a chamber having inlet and outlet check valves.
Diaphragm wallA sheet, thin zone, or facing made of a relatively impervious material such as concrete, steel, wood, plastic, etc. Also see core wall.
Diaphragm-type earthfillAn embankment dam which is constructed mostly of pervious material and having a diaphragm of impermeable material which forms a water barrier.
Diaphragm.(DY-uh-fram) The thin muscle below the lungs and heart that separates the chest from the abdomen.
DiatomSingle-celled or colonial algae whose cell walls are made of silica.
diazotrophAn organism that can fix atmospheric nitrogen.
dichogamyThe condition in which the male and the female reproductive organs of a flower (or certain hermaphroditic animals) mature at different times, thereby…
dicotyledon(Abbreviation: dicot). A plant with two cotyledons . One of the two major classes of flowering plants (along with the monocotyledons ).
Dideoxynucleotide (didN)A deoxynucleotide that lacks a 3' hydroxyl group, and is thus unable to form a 3'-5' phosphodiester bond necessary for chain elongation.
Diesel engineA compression-ignition piston engine in which fuel is ignited by injecting it into air that has been heated (unlike a spark-ignition engine).
Difference of PotentialThe difference in electrical pressure (voltage) between any two points in an electrical system or between any point in an electrical system and the earth.
differential centrifugationA method for separating sub-cellular particles according to their sedimentation coefficients, which are roughly proportional to their size.
Differential compactionMay occur over a large area when the compaction of soil or deeper sediments occurs at different rates and degrees.
differential displayA method to identify mRNAs which are present at different levels in different tissues, or in response to specific treatments.
Differential MotionCloud motion that appears to differ relative to other nearby cloud elements, e.g.
Differential RotationIn solar-terrestrial terms, the change in solar rotation rate with latitude. Low latitudes rotate at a faster angular rate (approx.
Differential ThermostatA type of automatic thermostat (used on solar heating systems) that responds to temperature differences (between collectors and the storage components) so…
differentially permeableReferring to a membrane, through which different substances diffuse at different rates.
DifferentiationIn cancer, refers to how mature (developed) the cancer cells are in a tumor. Differentiated tumor cells resemble normal cells and tend to grow and spread…
Diffuse IcePoorly defined ice edge limiting an area of dispersed ice; usually on the leeward side of an area of floating ice.
diffuse insolationThe solar radiation that is scattered or reflected by atmospheric components (e.g., clouds) to the earth's surface.
diffuse shortwave irradianceAll of the solar radiation, across the wavelength range of 0.4 and 4 µm, coming directly from the sky except for solar radiation coming directly from the…