Envi Sci P1 terms

• albedo


  proportion of incident light/radiation reflected by a surface
• anthropogenic


  originating in human activity
• carbon footprint


  the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere by individuals/organisations
• CFC


  chlorofluorocarbon - a manmade gas which deteriorates the ozone layer
• climate modelling


  mathematical and computer simulations and codes to predict the climate
• cryosphere


  the area of the Earth's surface where water is in solid form
• El Nino


  the years in which the western winds causing warm water to be pushed away from the coast and upwellings near S-American coast changes direction
• enhanced greenhouse effect


  environmental changes from climate change by human activity
• greenhouse gas


  a gas contributing to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared organisation
• infrared


  electromagnetic radiation that has longer wavelength than visible light - we feel it as HEAT
• insolation


  amount of solar radiation reaching a given area
• methane


  colourless, odourless, flammable gas - natural gas CH4
• montreal protocol


  an international agreement to reduce and ban the production of and use of CFCs
• negative feedback


  environmental changes which causes a reduction of effect to return to original value
• North Atlantic Conveyor


  movement of layers of surface and deep water in the North Atlantic ocean which distribute heat to Europe
• NOx


  oxides of nitrogen produced through combustion - engines, power stations
• ozone


  O3=O+O2 - mostly situated in stratosphere, harmful to humans in troposphere
• polar vortex wind


  swirling cold air that surrounds both poles
• positive feedback


  environmental change which causes other changes that increases the original effect
• proxy data


  preserved physical characteristics of environment that are used as indirect measures
• stratosphere


  2nd layer of the atmosphere - ozone layer located here
• thermal stratification


  the development of warmer/cooler layers in a body of water due to varying exposure to solar between surface water and deeper water
• tropospheric ozone


  ozone in the troposphere and is a GHG
• ultraviolet


  wavelength shorter that visible light, harmful to humans
• aquifer


  a body of permeable rock which can contain/transmit ground water
• desalination


  the process of removing salt from seawater
• distillation


  purifying a liquid through process of heating/cooling
• dynamic equilibrium


  a state of balance between continuing processes
• estuary barrage


  a barrage across a river at its estuary
• greywater


  domestic wastewater (relatively clean), no faecal contamination
• groundwater


  water held underground in soil/pores and crevices of rocks
• groundwater flow


  part of streamflow that has infiltrated the ground and has been discharged into a stream channel
• hydrological cycle


  continuous movement of water on/below/above the surface
• infiltration


  permeation of a liquid into something by filtration
• inter-basin transfer


  manmade conveyance schemes which move water from 1 basin to another where water is less available
• interception


  rainfall that doesn't reach the soil
• precipitation


  any product of condensation of water that falls from clouds
• rainwater catchment


  technology that collects and stores rainwater for human use
• residence time


  the total time of fluid parcel has spent inside a control volume
• reverse osmosis


  water purification process where salt water is pushed through a partially permeable membrane to separate unwanted molecules from drinking water