Solar Energy

Solar Energy terms

1. 100-year floodplain That area that would be covered by water during the 100-year flood event.
2. AADT See Average Annual Daily Traffic
3. Abiotic Absence of living organisms.
4. AC Armor Class or Defense.
5. Acceleration (peak horizontal) A measure of earthquake acceleration (i.e., shaking) on the ground surface expressed in g, the acceleration due to the Earth's gravity.
6. Access roads Gravel or dirt roads (rarely paved) that provide overland access to transmission line and pipeline rights-of-way (ROWs) and facilities for construction…
7. Acid deposition A comprehensive term for the various ways acidic compounds precipitate from the atmosphere and deposit onto surfaces.
8. Active Management Area (AMA) (AMA) Active Management Areas were established in Arizona to provide long-term management and conservation of limited groundwater supplies.
9. Active volcano A volcano that is erupting. Also, a volcano that is not presently erupting, but that has erupted within an historical time and is considered likely to…
10. Acute (uh-KYOOT) Symptoms or signs that begin and worsen quickly; not chronic.
11. Adequate Water Supply Program The Arizona Adequate Water Supply Program requires anyone who offers subdivided land outside of an Active Management Area for sale or lease to obtain a…
12. Adverse environmental impacts Impacts that are determined to be harmful to the environment. See also Effects
13. AERMOD A refined, steady-state plume model that incorporates air dispersion on the basis of a state-of-the-art planetary boundary layer turbulence structure and…
14. Affected Environment For an environmental impact statement, a description of the existing environment covering information necessary to assess or understand the impacts.
15. Aftershocks Earthquakes that follow the largest shock of an earthquake sequence. They are smaller than the main shock and within one to two rupture lengths distance…
16. Aggregate 1. A clump or mass formed by gathering or collecting units. 2. A body of loosely associated cells, such as a friable callus or cell suspension. 3.
17. Agricultural fires Fires ignited to meet specific management objectives on agricultural lands.
18. Air pollutant Any substance in the air which could, if in high enough concentration, harm humans, other animals, vegetation, or material.
19. Air quality Measure of the health-related and visual characteristics of the air to which the general public and the environment are exposed.
20. Air Quality Control Region (AQCR) (AQCR) An interstate or intrastate area designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the attainment and maintenance of National Ambient Air Quality…
21. Air Quality Standards The prescribed level of pollutants allowed in outside or indoor air as established by legislation.
22. Albedo (effects) The fraction of solar radiation reflected by a surface or object, often expressed as a percentage.
23. Aliquot (parts) The standard subdivisions of a section (usually 640 acres [2.6 km2]) of land, such as a half section, quarter section, or quarter-quarter section.
24. Alkali A soluble mineral salt.
25. Alkali sink A land basin in which water evaporation produces high salt concentrations that may, or may not, support salt marsh vegetation.
26. All-American Canal The All-American Canal System, located in the southeastern corner of California, consists of the Imperial Diversion Dam and Desilting Works, the…
27. All-American Roads A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation for its archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational…
28. Allotment An area of land where one or more livestock operators graze their livestock. Allotments generally consist of BLM lands but may also include other…
29. Alluvial Formed by the action of running water; of or related to river and stream deposits.
30. Alluvial fan A fan-shaped depositional landform consisting of alluvial deposits that formed where a flowing stream slows and spreads out (depositing its load)…
31. Alluvial flats Small flat areas or plains (with slopes of less than 5 or 10 feet per mile) built of fine sediments deposited during flooding events.
32. Alluvial plains Small flat areas or plains (with slopes of less than 5 or 10 feet per mile) built of fine sediments deposited during flooding events.
33. Alluvial valley An alluvium-filled basin, usually occurring between mountain ranges.
34. Alluvian fan terrace A relict landform consisting of thick gravel, sand, and boulder deposits occurring along mountain fronts.
35. Alluvium Deposits of clay, silt, sand, gravel, or other particulate materials that have been deposited by a stream or other body of running water in a streambed…
36. Alpine Refers to high mountain areas above the timberline (where trees cease to inhabit extremely cold environments).
37. Alpine tundra Vegetation in montane habitats above the tree line. Vegetation consists of perennial forbs, grasses, sedges, and short woody shrubs.
38. Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act California seismic zoning act passed in 1972, in response to the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, to prevent building across the traces of active faults.
39. Alternating current (AC) (AC) An electric current that reverses its direction at regularly recurring intervals.
40. Alternative Under the National Environmental Policy Act, a comprehensive management strategy.
41. Ambient Air The air external to a building or device.
42. Ambient Air Quality Standards Regulations prescribing the levels of airborne pollutants that may not be exceeded during a specified time in a defined area.
43. American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 (AIRFA) (AIRFA) Act requiring federal agencies to consult with tribal officials to ensure protection of religious cultural rights and practices.
44. Amphibian A cold-blooded, smooth-skinned vertebrate of the class Amphibia, such as a frog, toad, or salamander, that characteristically hatches as an aquatic larva…
45. Andesite Volcanic rock (or lava), characteristically medium dark in color and containing 54 to 62 percent silica and moderate amounts of iron and magnesium…
46. Angle of view The angle, both vertical and horizontal, between a viewer's line of sight and the landscape being viewed.
47. Animal unit A unit of measure for rangeland livestock equivalent to one mature cow or five sheep or five goats, all over 6 months of age.
48. Animal Unit Month (AUM) (AUM) A standardized unit of measurement of the amount of forage required by an animal unit for one month.
49. Anthropogenic emissions Made by people or resulting from human activities. Usually used in the context of emissions that are produced as a result of human activities.
50. Anthropomorphic Described or thought of as having human form or human attributes.
51. Anthropomorphism Ascribing human qualities, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena.
52. Application for Certification (AFC) (AFC) Document required for submission to the California Energy Commission by proponents of power-generating facilities in California that have nameplate…
53. Appropriate Management Level (AML) (AML) The maximum number of animals (wild horses or burros) sustainable on a yearlong basis.
54. Appropriation Doctrine The system of water law primarily used in the western United States under which: 1.
55. Appropriations Refers to the process of divvying out water right allotments and beneficial uses within a water management district.
56. Aquaculture Farming of aquatic organisms, including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants.
57. Aquatic biota Collective term describing the organisms living in or depending on the aquatic environment.
58. Aquatic ecosystem The distinctive ecosystem dominated by water, aquatic plants, or aquatic animals.
59. Aquatic habitats Areas associated with water that provide food and cover and other elements critical to the completion of an organism's life cycle (e.g.
60. Aquatic opportunists Species that occupy both temporary and permanent waters.
61. Aquifer A water-bearing geologic formation, sometimes confined between clay layers and sometimes on the surface.
62. Aquifer-basin-fill An aquifer located in a basin surrounded by mountains and composed of sediments and debris shed from those mountains.
63. Aquifer-carbonate rock An aquifer found in limestone and dolomite rocks. Carbonate aquifers typically produced hard water, that is, water containing relatively high levels of…
64. Aquifer-confined Soil or rock below the land surface that is saturated with water. There are layers of impermeable material both above and below it and it is under…
65. Aquifer-unconfined An aquifer whose upper water surface (water table) is at atmospheric pressure, and thus is able to rise and fall.
66. Aquifer-volcanic rock An aquifer in which the rock matrix is composed of volcanic rocks, (e.g., tuffs or basalt flows).
67. Arable lands Refers to all lands generally under rotation whether it is under temporary crops, temporarily fallowed, or used as temporary meadows.
68. Archaeological site Any location where humans have altered the terrain or discarded artifacts during prehistoric or historic times.
69. Arctic tundra A treeless area between the icecap and the tree line of Arctic regions that has permanently frozen subsoil and supports low-growing vegetation such as…
70. Area of Potential Effect (APE) (APE) The geographic area or areas within which an undertaking (project, activity, program, or practice) may cause changes in the character or use of any…
71. Area sources (emissions) Any source of air pollution that is released over a relatively small area but which cannot be classified as a point source.
72. Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) (ACEC) These areas are managed by the Bureau of Land Management and are defined by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 as having significant…
73. Arid A region that receives too little water to support agriculture without irrigation. Less than ten inches of rainfall a year is typically considered arid.
74. Arizona Water Banking Authority (AWBA) (AWBA) The AWBA was established in 1996 to increase utilization of the state's Colorado River entitlement and to develop long-term storage credits for the state.
75. Arrays See Photovoltaic (PV) array
76. Arroyo A Spanish word for brook that refers to a dry river, creek, or stream bed that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain.
77. Artesian water (artesian pressure) Groundwater that is under pressure when tapped by a well and is able to rise above the level at which it is first encountered.
78. Artifact An object produced or shaped by human beings and of archaeological or historical interest.
79. Atlatl A wood or bone shaft implement, held in one hand, and used to throw a spear. The tool functions as a lever, giving greater thrust and distance.
80. Atmosphere The gaseous envelope surrounding the Earth, which consists almost entirely of nitrogen (78.1% volume mixing ratio) and oxygen (20.
81. Atmospheric absorption Attenuation of sound during its passage through air, during which its sound energy is gradually converted into heat by a number of molecular processes in…
82. Attainment An area considered to have air quality as good as or better than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for a given pollutant.
83. Attenuation A mechanism for controlling gene expression in prokaryotes that involves premature termination of transcription.
84. Augmentation Plan A court-approved plan that allows a junior water user to divert water out of priority so long as adequate replacement is made to the affected stream…
85. Augmentation water Water used for the replacement of out of priority depletions.
86. Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) (AADT) A measurement representing the total number of vehicles passing a given location, based upon 24-hour counts taken over an entire year.
87. B.P. Before present year.
88. Background level noise Noise in the environment (other than noise emanating from the source of interest).
89. Bajada A broad sloping deposit caused by the joining together of alluvial fans. These occur on the lower slopes of mountains and are often characterized by loose…
90. Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act This Act was originally enacted in 1940 as the Bald Eagle Protection Act to protect bald eagles and later amended to include golden eagles.
91. Basalt Volcanic rock (or lava), characteristically dark in color and containing 45 to 54% silica and generally rich in iron and magnesium (mafic composition).
92. Base camp A site occupied by several families or more on either a year round or a seasonal basis.
93. Basement complex The suite of mostly crystalline igneous and/or metamorphic rocks that generally underlies the sedimentary rock sequence.
94. Basement rock The oldest rocks in a given area; a complex of metamorphic and igneous rocks that underlies the sedimentary deposits.
95. Basin : (1) A depression in the Earth's surface that collects sediment. (2) The area of land that drains to a particular river.
96. Basin-fill aquifer See Aquifer-basin fill
97. Battery A beating or wrongful physical violence. The threat to use force is an "assault;" the actual use of force is a battery, which usually includes an assault.
98. Battery capacity The maximum total electrical charge, expressed in ampere-hours, which a battery can deliver to a load under a specific set of conditions.
99. Bedrock General term referring to the solid rock or ledge underlying other unconsolidated material, i.e., soil, loose gravel, etc.
100. Bench The seat occupied by the judge. More broadly, the court itself.