Atmosphere-Environmental Science

• El Nino is the warming of the ocean surface
• La Nina is the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperature
• ENSO stands for El Nino-southern oscillation
• Cryosphere refers to regions of the earth where water freezes in snow or ice
• Land ice is ice covering land underneath
• Ice sheet is a layer of ice covering land
• Ice cap is a glacier, thick layer of snow/ice
• Glacier is a large, perennial accumulation of ice, snow, and rock
• Sea ice is ice covering the sea
• Ice shelf is the edge of a glacier which meets the sea
• Ice lakes are lakes frozen over
• Thermal expansion is the increase in global temperature which increases sea level
• Disease vector is a carrier of a disease-causing agent from an infected individual
• Proxy data is data used to study a situation or phenomenon
• Ice core refers to cylinders of ice drilled out of glaciers
• Pollen analysis is a scientific method that archaeologists use to investigate changes in past climate and human exploitation of the landscape
• Dendrochronology is a dating technique that exploits annual growth
• Computer/climate models are computer simulations of Earth's climate system
• IPCC stands for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• LEO satellite is a Low Earth Orbiting satellite
• Troposphere is the bottom layer that contains weather
• Stratosphere is the second layer that contains the ozone layer
• Altitude refers to the elevation above ground level
• Thermal stratification involves creating layers with different temperatures
• Nuclear fusion is when two light nuclei merge to form a single heavier nucleus
• Insolation is the incoming solar radiation per unit area
• Near infrared is a portion of radiation just beyond the visible spectrum
• Far infrared consists of longer wavelengths of radiation in the infrared spectrum
• Albedo is a measure of how reflective a surface is
• Anthropogenic refers to environmental change caused or influenced by people, either directly or indirectly
• Greenhouse Effect is the process by which heat is trapped near Earth's surface by substances known as "Greenhouse Gases"
• Enhanced Greenhouse Effect occurs when extra greenhouse gases in our atmosphere trap too much of the sun's energy
• GWP stands for Global Warming Potential, which is the amount of infrared radiation a greenhouse gas absorbs compared to CO2
• Homeostasis is a self-regulating process by which a living organism can maintain internal stability while adjusting to conditions
• Dynamic equilibrium is where two or more reactions balance or can be reversible
• Jet stream refers to bands of strong wind that blow from west to east all across the globe
• North Atlantic Conveyor is a system that circulates water, bringing warm water north and cold water south
• Thermohaline Circulation is the movement of ocean currents due to differences in temperature and salinity in different regions of water
• Upwelling is a process in which deep, cold water rises toward the surface
• Geostationary satellite:

  • Locked into one position geographically
  • Used for purposes like weather monitoring