Weather and Climate

• Anthropogenic 


  Caused by humans
• Climate


  The average weather calculated over a 30 year period
• Climate change 


  A change in the earth’s temperature. This can be a warming or cooling.
• Dendrochronology


  The study of tree rings.
• Enhanced greenhouse effect


  Human activities are making the warming of the atmosphere more extreme due to emitting more greenhouse gases from fossil fuels
• Extreme weather


  Unexpected, severe or unseasonal weather
• Glacial


  A period of global cooling when ice covered large areas of land.
• Global warming


  The recent increase in earth’s temperature, as a result of human activity
• Greenhouse effect


  The natural warming of the Earth’s atmosphere due to the existence of greenhouse gases e.g. from volcanic eruptions.
• HIC

  High income country
• Interglacial

  A period of warming, where there was less ice on the Earth.
• IPCC

  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change = The scientific group who measure anthropogenic climate change and predict it’s future effects.
• LIC

  Low income country
• Long term climate change

  Climate change that has happened within the last thousands of years.
• Orbital theory

  Changes in the earth’s temperature caused by changes in the orbit, wobble or tilt of the planet.
• Quaternary period

  The last 2.6 million years of geological time
• Refugee

  Somebody that has to flee their country because they are in danger.
• Short term climate change

  Climate change that has to flee their country because they are in danger.
• Solar output

  The amount of solar radiation being released by the sun.
• Storm hydrograph


  A graph that shows the flooding of a river after intense rainfall. It has important features e.g. rising limb, falling limb, lag time and peak discharge (in Cumecs).
• Stratosphere 


  A layer of the atmosphere between the troposphere and mesosphere.
• Sun spots


  When the sun sends out intense heat due to magnetic storms on the sun’s surface.
• Sustainable


  Meeting the needs of people now and in the future.
• Thermal expansion


  Warming of the earth‘s oceans, increases the volume it occupies, leading to sea level rise.
• Unprecedented 


  When we are currently seeing something that has not been seen before
• Weather 


  The day to day changes in the condition of the atmosphere