Solar Energy terms starting with F

56 terms

  1. Facultative wetland vegetation species A species that can occur both in wetlands and uplands.
  2. Fall Line Direction that water flows down a hill.
  3. Fan An electrically or mechanically driven device that is used to pull air through the radiator or oil cooler.
  4. Fan apron A sloping alluvial fan surface made of sediment deposited by streams at the mouth of a canyon between a mountain and the adjacent alluvial valley floor.
  5. Fan piedmont A sloping alluvial fan surface made of sediment deposited by streams at the mouth of a canyon between a mountain and the adjacent alluvial valley floor.
  6. Fan remnant An erosional remnant (or fossil) of a once active and more extensive alluvial fan.
  7. Fan terrace See Alluvial fan terrace
  8. Fast-track Projects on public land for which the environmental review and public participation process is underway and the application could be approved by December…
  9. Fault "Fault" means adultery, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, physical abuse, domestic violence, abandonment or reckless spending.
  10. Fault block A rock mass that is bounded by normal faults. Fault blocks on either side of the fault are elevated or depressed, relative to each other.
  11. Fault plane The plane that best approximates the fracture surface of a fault.
  12. Fault trace The expression of a fault on the ground surface.
  13. Fault, left-lateral A strike-slip fault on which displacement of the block opposite the observer is to the left. See also Strike-slip fault
  14. Fault, normal A fault occurring usually as a result of extensional forces, such as when a hanging wall drops down relative to the footwall forming a graben or half…
  15. Fault, potentially active Generally denotes that a fault has shown evidence of surface displacement during Quaternary time.
  16. Fault, right-lateral A strike-slip fault on which displacement of the block opposite the observer is to the right. See also Strike-slip fault
  17. Fault, transform A strike-slip fault forming the boundary between tectonic plates (e.g., the San Andreas Fault system is a transform fault zone that marks the boundary…
  18. Fault, zoned Under the Alquist-Priolo Act, zoned faults include those that are "sufficiently active," showing evidence of surface displacement within the past 11,000…
  19. Fauna The community of animals in a specific region or habitat.
  20. Feature A large, complex artifact, or part of a site, such as a hearth, cairn, housepit, rock alignment, or activity area.
  21. Federal land Land owned by the United States, without reference to how the land was acquired or which Federal agency administers the land, including mineral and coal…
  22. Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) Act requiring the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations to manage public lands and the property located on those lands for the long term.
  23. Federal Register A daily publication which contains federal administrative rules and regulations.
  24. Fill Man-made deposits of soil and rock and/or waste material.
  25. Fire emissions Emissions caused by wildfires, prescribed fires, agricultural fires, and structural fires.
  26. Fire-cracked rock Burned rocks, typically fractured during intense heating in a fire hearth or remnants of rocks associated with cooking.
  27. Fire-tolerant species Species of plants that can withstand certain frequency and intensity of fire.
  28. First in time, first in right See Prior Appropriation Doctrine
  29. Fissure, earth or ground Surface fractures resulting from subsidence, often due to the withdrawal of groundwater and compaction of an aquifer.
  30. Flake A thin, flattened piece or chip of stone, intentionally removed from the core rock by chipping with either a stone or bone hammer.
  31. Flash Flood A sudden flood event through a valley, canyon, or wash, following a short duration, high-intensity rainfall.
  32. Flat-plate PV A type of photovoltaic solar energy technology that uses a flat plate onto which are installed solar cells.
  33. Flat-plate reflector (heliostat) One of many components of a CSP power tower facility consisting of a large nearly-flat mirror, mounted on a support structure that tracks the sun's…
  34. Flats Level or nearly level areas of land marked by little or no relief.
  35. Flats wetland A level landform composed of unconsolidated sediments, usually mud or sand. Flats are unvegetated or support sparse plant communities, often composed of…
  36. Flood irrigation Water is pumped or brought to the fields and is allowed to flow along the ground among the crops.
  37. Floodplain Any land area susceptible to being inundated by floodwaters from any source.
  38. Flora Plants, especially those of a specific region, considered as a group.
  39. FLPMA Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.
  40. Fluvial Pertaining to a river. Fluvial sediments are deposited by rivers.
  41. Flyway A seasonal route followed by birds migrating to and from their breeding areas.
  42. Footprint The land or water area covered by a project. This includes direct physical coverage (i.e.
  43. Forage Small baitfish, crayfish and other creatures that bass or other predator fish eat.
  44. Forbs Herbaceous (nonwoody), broad-leaved flowering plants; non-graminoid (grasses, sedges, and rushes) herbaceous plants. See also Graminoid herbaceous
  45. form The mass or shape of an object or objects that appears unified, such as a vegetative opening in a forest, a cliff formation, or a water tank.
  46. Fossil Remains of ancient life forms, their imprints or behavioral traces (e.g., tracks, burrows, or residues) and the rocks in which they are preserved.
  47. Fossil Fuels Fuels formed in the ground from the remains of dead plants and animals. It takes millions of years to form fossil fuels.
  48. Fragmentation Process by which habitats are increasingly subdivided into smaller units, resulting in their increased insularity as well as losses of total habitat area.
  49. Fragmentation of habitat The breaking up of a single habitat area into two or more smaller habitat patches that are separated from each other.
  50. Fresnel - Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) See Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR)
  51. Fresnel Lens An optical device for concentrating light that is made of concentric rings that are faced at different angles so that light falling on any ring is focused…
  52. Friable A term commonly used to describe a crumb-like callus. In this state, the callus is easily dissected and readily dispersed into single cells or clumps of…
  53. Fugitive Dust The dust released from any source other than a definable point source such as stack, chimney, or vent.
  54. Fujita Scale The official classification system for tornado damage. The scale ranges from F0 (gale tornado, minor damage, winds up to 72 mph) to F5 (devastating…
  55. Full-time equivalent (FTE) Equivalent to a full-time worker/employee. For example, two people, each working half time, constitute one FTE.
  56. Furbearer An animal that is hunted or farmed for its fur.