ENVI-SCI_TEMINOLOGIES

• 2011 was designated by the UN General Assembly as the "Year of the Forests", hoping to highlight their key roles in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and boosting biodiversity
• Acid rain comes back to earth when sulfur dioxide in the air changes into sulfuric acid and nitrogen oxide into nitric acid
• Acidic


  The condition of water or soil that contains a sufficient amount of acid substances to lower the pH below 7.0
• Acidification


  The lowering of soil and water pH due to acid precipitation and deposition usually through precipitation
• Aerosol


  A collection of airborne particles dispersed in a gas, smoke or fog
• Afforestation


  Converting a bare or agricultural space by planting trees and plants
• Air pollution


  Happens to the Earth's atmosphere when there is an addition of harmful chemicals on it
• Alkalinity


  The capacity of bases to neutralize acids
• Amphibian


  An animal with smooth, moist skin which has gills when young and then develops lungs when older
• An Envisat satellite launched by European space Agency (ESA) on March 1, 2002 helps scientists determine variations in stratospheric ozone
• Andre Marie Ampere formulated the Law of Electromagnetism
• Angel Alcala is a Filipino biologist who is behind the invention of artificial coral reefs used for fisheries in Southeast Asia
• Aquatic ecosystem


  Consists of plants and animals interacting with water or aquatic environment
• Asbestos


  A naturally occurring soft fibrous mineral commonly used in fireproofing materials and considered to be highly carcinogenic in particulate form
• Atmospheric pressure (barometric pressure)

  The pressure exerted by atmosphere as a consequence of gravitational attraction exerted upon the "column" of air lying directly above the point in question
• Biodiversity


  The variety of life in an area that is determined by the number of different species in that area. It increases the life of the ecosystem and contributes to the health of the biosphere
• Biomagnifications


  A process in which a harmful chemical enters the food chain and gets concentrated at each level in the food chain
• Biomass fuel


  An organic matter used as fuel such as firewood
• Biome


  A large natural area that is home to certain types of plants
• Bioremediation


  The use of microorganism to remove pollutants such as oil spills in the water bodies
• Biosphere


  The portion of the earth and its atmosphere that can support life; refers to all living organism on earth and their surroundings
• Components of ecosystem


  • Biotic (living things)
  • Abiotic (nonliving things)
• Canopy


  The top layer of the rain forest formed by dense leaf- covered tree branches
• Carbon Dioxide- Oxygen Cycle


  Shows the interdependence of plants and animals for gases
• Carbon footprint


  The total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)
• Carnivores


  Consumers that eat flesh (meat)
• Carpooling


  Driving someone to a place that you are both going to minimize the amount of greenhouse gases put into the air by a car
• Catchment


  An important water management assemblages technique used to capture and retain rainwater and runoff
• Chain reaction


  The continuous splitting of atoms
• Charles A. Coulomb helped discover what a current electricity is
• Chlorofluorocarbon (chlorine-fluorine-carbon)


  Considered to be the main cause of ozone depletion. It is as stable and inexpensive super coolant used in air conditioning systems, refrigerators, aerosol sprays and cleaning agent
• Chrysalis


  A pupa (the stage between larva and an adult) enclosed in a firm case or cocoon
• Climate change


  A change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years
• Climate


  The prevalent or characteristic meteorological conditions and their extremes, of any place or region
• Cloud


  A mass of tiny droplets of water that condensed from the air
• Commensalism


  A relationship between two species in which one organism benefits while the other organism is neither benefited nor harmed
• Community succession


  The natural process by which a community of organisms in an ecosystem gradually replaces another
• Composting


  The microbiological degradation of organic matter under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions
• Condensation


  The change in form water goes through when it turns from a gas to a liquid
• Conduction


  The transfer of heat directly from one matter to another