Solar Energy — page 5 of 11

Solar Energy terms

401. Fresnel - Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) (CLFR) See Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR)
402. 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…
403. 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…
404. Fugitive Dust The dust released from any source other than a definable point source such as stack, chimney, or vent.
405. 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…
406. Full-time equivalent (FTE) (FTE) Equivalent to a full-time worker/employee. For example, two people, each working half time, constitute one FTE.
407. Furbearer An animal that is hunted or farmed for its fur.
408. Gallium (Ga) (Ga) A chemical element, metallic in nature, used in making certain kinds of solar cells and semiconductor devices.
409. gap A missing section on one of the strands of double-stranded DNA. The DNA will therefore have a single-stranded region.
410. GDAs See Renewable Resource Generation Development Areas
411. Generalist (species) An organism that can survive under a wide variety of conditions, and does not specialize to live under any particular set of circumstances.
412. Geoglyphs Ground markings of a figure or shape produced by the clearing or alignment of stones.
413. Geographic air basin : A land area with generally similar meteorological and geographic conditions throughout.
414. Geographic Information System (GIS) (GIS) A set of computer tools and procedures used to collect, manage, analyze and display information associated with a specific location; a computerized…
415. Geology The science that deals with the study of the materials, processes, environments, and history of the Earth, including the rocks and their formation and…
416. Geometric spreading As the sound moves away from the source, the area that the sound energy covers becomes larger and thus sound intensity decreases.
417. Geotechnical Refers to the use of scientific methods and engineering principles to acquire, interpret, and apply knowledge of earth materials for solving engineering…
418. Geotextile mats Permeable fabrics that interact with soils in manners used to reinforce soil surfaces for erosion, as well as act as filters for water, solutes, and fine…
419. Geothermal energy Energy produced by the internal heat of the earth; geothermal heat sources include: hydrothermal convective systems; pressurized water reservoirs; hot dry…
420. Geothermal generating plant A plant in which the prime mover is a steam turbine. The turbine is driven either by steam produced from hot water or by natural steam that derives its…
421. Geothermal resources Typically underground reservoirs of hot water or steam created by heat from the Earth, but also include subsurface areas of dry hot rock.
422. GHGs See Greenhouse gases
423. GIS See Geographic information system
424. Glacial till An unsorted, unstratified mixture of fine and coarse rock debris deposited by a glacier.
425. Glare The excessive brightness from a direct light source that makes it difficult to see what one wishes to see.
426. Glint A momentary flash of light resulting from a spatially localized reflection of sunlight. See also Glare
427. Global Warming A popular term used to describe the increase in average global temperatures due to the greenhouse effect.
428. Graben (fault-bounded basins) An elongated crustal block that is relatively depressed (down dropped) between two parallel normal faults or horsts. See also Half-graben
429. Graminoid herbaceous A grass or plant of similar growth form, such as sedges, rushes, and others.
430. Grandfathered rights In Arizona, grandfathered water rights are based on historic use of groundwater for five years prior to the designation of an Active Management Area.
431. Granite A coarse-grained felsic intrusive (or plutonic) igneous rock with at least 65% silica.
432. Granodiorites A plutonic igneous rock, formed by an intrusion of silica-rich magma, which cools in batholiths or stocks below the Earth's surface.
433. Grasslands Grasslands are characterized as lands dominated by grasses rather than large shrubs or trees.
434. Graver A small tool with a sharp tip that was used to engrave bone, stone, wood, or other materials.
435. Grazing Consumption of native forage from rangelands or pastures by livestock or wildlife.
436. Grazing allotment An area where one or more livestock operators graze their livestock. An allotment generally consists of federal land but may include parcels of private or…
437. Grazing lease An authorization that permits the grazing of livestock on public lands outside the grazing districts during a specified period of time (Section 15 of the…
438. Great Basin An area covering most of Nevada and much of western Utah, as well as portions of southern Oregon and southeastern California, consisting primarily of…
439. Greenhouse gase (GHG) (GHG) Heat-trapping gases that cause global warming. Natural and human-made greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides…
440. Grid A common term referring to an electricity transmission and distribution system.
441. Ground A device used to protect the user of any electrical system or appliance from shock.
442. Ground failure Permanent ground displacement capable of damaging structures that may occur as a result of differential settlement, liquefaction, lateral spreading, or…
443. Ground fault mats Mats made of insulating materials that do not conduct electricity.
444. Ground motion (shaking) The movement of the Earth's surface from earthquakes. Ground motion is produced by seismic waves that are generated by a sudden slip on a fault and travel…
445. Groundwater All water below the surface of the land. It is water found in the pore spaces of bedrock or soil, and it reaches the land surface through springs or it…
446. Groundwater basin : (1) A general term used to define a groundwater flow system that has defined boundaries and may include permeable materials that are capable of storing…
447. Groundwater overdraft The condition in which water extractions from an aquifer exceed recharge processes in such excess as to cause substantial and sustained decreases in…
448. Groundwater recharge Inflow of water to a ground-water reservoir from the surface. Infiltration of precipitation and its movement to the water table is one form of natural…
449. Grubbing See Clearing and grubbing
450. Gypsum A soft mineral composed of hydrated calcium sulfate (CaSO4?2H20); occurs as an evaporite residue from ancient lakes in arid basins (e.g.
451. Gypsum badlands Badlands dominated by soils derived from the mineral gypsum (hydrated calcium sulfate).
452. Habitat The natural environment where people, animals and plants live. In an aquatic environment, it includes the water, topography, structure and cover present…
453. Habitat alteration A change in the particular environment or place where an organism or species lives.
454. Habitat degradation Decline in habitat quality that accompanies non-natural forms of disturbance.
455. Habitat generalist (species) See Generalist
456. Habitat type An aggregation of all land areas potentially capable of producing similar plant communities at climax.
457. Half-graben A geological term that describes a sedimentary basin where one side is bounded by a normal (extensional) fault.
458. Harassment The intentional or unintentional disturbance of individual animals causing them to flee a site or avoid use of an area.
459. Hardpan A dense, often impermeable soil horizon cemented with silica, iron oxides, calcium carbonate, or organic matter.
460. Hazardous air pollutant (HAP) (HAP) Substances that have adverse impacts on human health when present in ambient air.
461. Hazardous material Any material that poses a threat to human health and/or the environment. Hazardous materials are typically toxic, corrosive, ignitable, explosive, or…
462. Hazardous waste By-products of society that can pose a substantial or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly managed.
463. Headwater (1) The source and upper reaches of a stream; also the upper reaches of a reservoir; (2) the water upstream from a structure or point on a stream; (3) the…
464. Heat Exchanger A device used to transfer heat from a fluid (liquid or gas) to another fluid where the two fluids are physically separated.
465. Heat transfer fluid (HTF) (HTF) Fluids that transfer heat generated at the solar collectors to a heat exchanger where steam is produced to run a steam generator.
466. Heavy metals Metallic elements with high atomic weights (e.g., mercury, chromium, cadmium, arsenic, and lead); can damage living things at low concentrations and tend…
467. Hedonic – (modeling approach) The hedonic method is a regression technique used to estimate the prices of qualities or models that are not available on the market in particular…
468. Hedonic statistical framework A method of assessing the impact of various structural (number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, age, etc.
469. Heliostat A device that tracks the movement of the sun; used to orient solar concentrating systems.
470. Herbaceous The plant strata that contain soft, not woody, stemmed plants that die to the ground in winter.
471. Herbicide A chemical that kills plants.
472. Herd Area (HA) (HA) Following passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WFRHBA) in 1971, the Bureau of Land Management was directed to identify areas where wild…
473. Herd Management Area (HMA) (HMA) An area that has been designated for management of wild horses and/or burros.
474. Herpetofauna Amphibian and reptile species including frogs, toads, salamanders, turtles, lizards, and snakes.
475. Hertz (Hz) (Hz) The unit of measurement of frequency, equivalent to one cycle per second.
476. High liquefaction potential Refers to the susceptibility of soils to liquefy when subjected to sudden loading, such as intense ground shaking from an earthquake.
477. Highly discordant land use Refers to development that is at variance with the existing condition of the land. It might also be described as incongruous.
478. Historic The time period after the appearance of written records. In the New World, this generally refers to the time period after the beginning of European…
479. Historic properties Any prehistoric or historic districts, sites, buildings, structures, or objects included in, or eligible for inclusion in, the National Register of…
480. Historic resources Material remains and the landscape alterations that have occurred since the arrival of Euro-Americans.
481. Hogbacks An eroded steep ridge of resistant rocks produced by erosion of the broken edges of highly tilted strata.
482. Holocene The past 10,000 years of geologic time. The most recent epoch of the Quaternary period.
483. Horizon line The apparent line in the landscape formed by the meeting of the visible land surface and the sky.
484. Horizontal angle of view The angle of landscape viewed in sharp focus, measured along the horizon, without turning the head. See also Vertical angle of view; Angle of view
485. Horizontal field of view See Horizontal angle of view
486. Horst An elongated crustal block that is relatively raised between two parallel normal faults or grabens. See also Half-graben
487. Hunter gatherers A term applied to people whose diet is based on hunting, fishing, and gathering, as opposed to domesticating animals or plants.
488. Hunting Includes big- and small-game hunting, waterfowl hunting, and trapping.
489. Hybrid (wet-dry cooling) systems A variation on a dry cooling system. In this hybrid system, small amounts of water are sprayed as a fine mist into the flow of ambient air being directed…
490. Hydraulic gradient In an aquifer, the rate of change of total head per unit of distance of flow at a given point and in a given direction.
491. Hydro-compactable, collapsible soil (settlement) Low-density soils that undergo appreciable loss of volume when wetted or subjected to increased load (or both).
492. Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) (HFC) Man-made chemicals, many of which have been developed as alternatives to ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) for industrial, commercial, and consumer…
493. Hydrology The science dealing with the distribution, properties and circulation of water on land, in the soil, and in the atmosphere.
494. Hydrostratigraphic Grouping of rock and sedimentary units based on the capacity of the rock, sediment, or soil to transmit water.
495. Hz See Hertz
496. Igneous rock A crystalline rock formed by the cooling and solidification of molten or partly molten material (magma).
497. Impact The effect, influence, alteration, or imprint caused by an action.
498. Impermeable Refers to a rock matrix that water cannot infiltrate.
499. Impingement The entrapment of aquatic organisms on the outer part of an intake structure or against a screening device during periods of intake water withdrawal.
500. IMPLAN Input-output economic model based on economic accounts showing the flow of commodities to industries from producers and institutional consumers.