Environmental Glossary

• Abiotic / Biotic

  non-living / living components,
• Ablation

  Removal by vaporization, chipping, erosive processes etc
• Absorption


  A substance captures and transforms energy.
• Abyssal plain


  flat region of the ocean floor

  
• Accumulation

  The acquisition or gradual gathering of something.
• Acid mine drainage

  Outflow of acidic water from metal mines and coal mines.

  • contaminated drinking water
  • corroding effects

  
• Acid precipitation


  Includes rain, snow, fog, hail or even dust that is acidic.

  • meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH).

  
• Adiabatic / diabatic

  no heat transfer / heat transfer
• Aerated zone / Unsaturated zone

  The subsurface zone between the ground surface and the water table, where the pores in soil and rock contain both air and water.

  
• Aerosol

  Suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in air or another gas.

  
• Agriculture

  crop and livestock production

  • farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to live in cities.
• Air

  invisible mixture of gases that surrounds Earth.

  • Air also contains solids and liquids.
  • Solids: pollen, dust, and soot.
  • Nitrogen (78%)
  • Oxygen (21%)
  • Carbon dioxide (0.04%)
  • Argon (0.93%)
  • Trace amounts
• Air pressure

  atmospheric / barometric pressure

  Force per unit area exerted against a surface by the weight of the air above that surface.
• Air Mass

  A large body of air with generally uniform temperature and humidity.

  
• Albedo

  Fraction of light that is reflected by a body or surface.

  
• Allopatric speciation


  Occurs when a species separates into two separate groups that are isolated from one another.

  
• Alluvial fan

  A triangle-shaped deposit of gravel, sand, and even smaller pieces of sediment, such as silt.

  
• Alluvium


  loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings.

  
• Andesite

  • extrusive rock
  • intermediate
  • magma erupts onto the surface and crystallizes quickly

  
• Angiosperms


  Flowering plant

  The seeds of angiosperms develop in the ovaries of flowers and are surrounded by a protective fruit.

  
• Gymnosperm

  Flora which seeds are usually formed in unisexual cones, and the plants lack fruits and flowers.

  
• Antarctic Bottom Water

  (AABW)

  • produced around Antarctica, sinks along the Antarctic continental slope
  • plays a primary role in the climate system
  • drives ocean circulation
  • assists in carbon capture and storage
  • carries oxygen to the deep ocean.

  
• Anthropocentric

  human-centered, the belief that human beings are the central or most important entity on the planet.
• Anthroposphere

  refers to that part of the Earth system that is made or modified by humans for use in human activities and human habitats.
• Anticyclone

  a region of high atmospheric pressure relative to the surrounding air.

  • high pressure
  • usually nice weather
• Aphotic zone


  The portion of a lake or ocean where there is little or no sunlight.

  • "no" life

  
• Aquaculture

  Cultivating freshwater, brackish water and saltwater populations under controlled or semi-natural conditions.

  • water agriculture

  
• Aqueous

  pertaining to, related to, similar to, or dissolved in, water.
• Aquiclude

  any geological formation that absorbs and holds water but does not transmit it at a sufficient rate to supply springs, wells, etc.

  
• Aquifer

  a body of rock and/or sediment that holds groundwater.

  
• Arable soil / land

  any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops
• Archean eon

  • Precambrian
  • the beginning of the rock record
  • frequency of meteorite impacts slowed
  • Earth cooled
  • clouds formed
• Asteroid

  small, rocky objects that orbit the Sun

  • S-types ("stony") are made up of silicate materials and nickel-iron.
  • M-types are metallic (nickel-iron).

  
• Asthenosphere

  denser, weaker layer beneath the lithospheric mantle.

  • lies between about 100 kilometers beneath Earth's surface.

  Temperature and pressure are so high,

  • rocks soften and partly melt, becoming semi-molten.

  
• Atmosphere

  Made of the layers of gases surrounding a planet or other celestial body.

  
• Atom

  a particle of matter that uniquely defines a chemical element.

  • central nucleus
  • nucleus is positively charged
  • surrounded by one or more negatively charged electrons

  
• Autotroph


  an organism that can produce its own food using light, water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals.

  
• Barometer


  a scientific instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure, also called barometric pressure.
• Batholith


  A large body of igneous rock formed beneath the Earth's surface by the intrusion and solidification of magma.

  
• Sediment bed / bedding

  arrangement of sedimentary rocks in beds or layers of varying thickness and character.