Wikipedia:Glossary of climate change
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This article serves as a glossary of climate change terms.
| Contents: 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z— External links |
0-9
- 100,000-year problem - a discrepancy between the climate response and the forcing from the amount of incoming solar radiation.
A
- Albedo - An index of the "reflectiveness" of the Earth - a way of quantifying how much energy is reflected back into outer space, as opposed to that absorbed by the earth's atmosphere
- Antarctic oscillation (AAO) - a low-frequency mode of atmospheric variability of the southern hemisphere.
- Anthropogenic - literally, man-made.
- Anthropogenic climate change - climate change with the presumption of human influence, usually warming.
- Arctic oscillation (AO) - the dominant pattern of non-seasonal sea-level pressure (SLP) variations north of 20N, and it is characterized by SLP anomalies of one sign in the Arctic and anomalies of opposite sign centered about 37-45N. See also NAO.
- Arctic shrinkage - the marked decrease in Arctic sea ice and the observed melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet in recent years.
- Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) - a hypothesised mode of natural variability occurring in the North Atlantic Ocean and which has its principle expression in the sea surface temperature (SST) field.
- Atmospheric sciences - an umbrella term for the study of the atmosphere, its processes, the effects other systems have on the atmosphere, and the effects of the atmosphere on these other systems.
- Atmospheric window - refers to those parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that are, with the earth's atmosphere in its natural state, not absorbed at all.
- Attribution of recent climate change - the study of the causes of climate change.
B
- Black carbon - an aerosol - see also radiative forcing
C
- Carbon cycle - the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged between the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth.
- Carbon sequestration - proposals for removing CO2 from the atmosphere, or for preventing CO2 from fossil fuel use ever being released.
- Carbon offset - opportunity for individuals and businesses to neutralize their contribution to climate change.
- Carbon tax - a tax on energy sources which emit carbon dioxide.
- Climate - the average and variations of weather in a region over long periods of time.
- Climate change - changes of climate in general, usually with no presumption of human influence. Note, however, that there is one important exception to this: the UNFCCC defines "climate change" as anthropogenic [1].
- Climate commitment - how much future warming is "committed", even if greenhouse gas levels do not rise.
- Climate ethics - an area of research that focuses on the ethical dimensions of climate change.
- Climate refugee - a displaced person caused by climate change induced environmental disasters,
- Climate variability - climate change, with no presumption of cause.
D
- Detection and attribution - see attribution of recent climate change
E
- Eco-efficiency - creating more goods and services while using fewer resources and creating less waste and pollution.
- Earth's atmosphere - a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earth's gravity.
- Earthshine - sunlight reflected from Earth and illuminating the dark side of the Moon.
- Ecotax - fiscal policy that introduces taxes intended to promote ecologically sustainable activities via economic incentives.
- El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) - a set of specific interacting parts of a single global system of coupled ocean-atmosphere climate fluctuations that come about as a consequence of oceanic and atmospheric circulation.
- Emission standards - requirements that set specific limits to the amount of pollutants that can be released into the environment
- Enteric fermentation - fermentation that takes place in the digestive systems of ruminant animals.
- Environmental crime - crime against environmental legislation that is liable for prosecution.
F
- Fossil fuel - fossil source fuels, that is, hydrocarbons found within the top layer of the earth’s crust.
- Freon - DuPont's trade name for its odorless, colorless, nonflammable, and noncorrosive chlorofluorocarbon and hydrochlorofluorocarbon refrigerants, which are used in air conditioning and refrigeration systems.
G
- Global cooling - conjecture during the 1970s of imminent cooling of the Earth's surface and atmosphere along with a posited commencement of glaciation.
- Global climate model, also General Circulation Model or GCM - a computer model of the world's climate system, including the atmosphere and oceans.
- Global dimming - the observed decrease in surface insolation, that may have recently reversed
- Global warming - usually: the warming trend over the past century or so; also: any period in which the temperature of the earth's atmosphere increases; also the theory of such changes.
- Global warming controversy - socio-political issues surrounding the theory of global warming.
- Global warming period - any period in which the temperature of the earth's atmosphere increases
- Global warming potential - a measure of how much a given mass of greenhouse gas is estimated to contribute to global warming.
- Greenhouse effect - both natural and anthropogenic
- Greenhouse gas - gasses that cause the greenhouse effect
- Gulf Stream - a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, exits through the Strait of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
H
- Heiligendamm Process - an initiative that will institutionalize high level dialogue between the G8 countries and the five most important emerging economies, known as the O5 (Outreach 5) composed of China, Mexico, India, Brazil and South Africa; and the establishment of a common G5 + G8 platform at the OECD.
- Historical temperature record - see temperature record.
- Hockey stick controversy - a dispute over the reconstructed estimates of Northern Hemisphere mean temperature changes over the past millennium, frequently referred to as the MBH98 reconstruction.
- Holocene - a geological period, which began approximately 11,550 calendar years BP (about 9600 BC) and continued to the Anthropocene.
- Holocene Climatic Optimum - a warm period during roughly the interval 9,000 to 5,000 years B.P.
I
- Ice age - a period of long-term reduction in the temperature of Earth's climate, resulting in an expansion of the continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers.
- Ice core - a core sample from the accumulation of snow and ice over many years that have re-crystallized and have trapped air bubbles from previous time periods.
- Insolation - amount of solar radiation reaching the surface of the Earth.
- Instrumental temperature record - shows the fluctuations of the temperature of the atmosphere and the oceans as measured by temperature sensors. The longest-running quasi-global record starts in 1850.
- Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) - a cycle of 15-30 years between warm or cool waters in the north and south Pacific.
K
- Kyoto Protocol - modification to UNFCCC. See also Post-Kyoto Protocol negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions
L
- Little Ice Age - a period of cooling occurring after a warmer era known as the Medieval climate optimum.
M
- Magnetosphere -
- Maunder Minimum -
- Mauna Loa - home to the longest instrumental CO2 record.
- Medieval climate optimum - warm period from about the 10th century to about the 14th century.
- Meteorology - some of the basic science underlying climate.
- Methane - a greenhouse gas released by enteric fermentation in livestock, rice production, and fossil fuel extraction.
- Mitigation of global warming -
N
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) - a potent greenhouse gas produced primarily in agriculture, particularly by the livestock sector.
- North Atlantic Deep Water - one of the water masses of the ocean
- North Atlantic oscillation - an atmospheric climate mode
- Northwest Passage -
O
- Ozone depletion - not strongly connected to climate change
P
- Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) - a 23-year pattern of warm or cool water in the north Pacific.
- Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project
- Parameterization
- Peak oil
- Phenology
- Polar amplification - greater temperature increases in the Arctic compared to the earth as a whole. It does not apply to the Antarctic
- Proxy - a variable that can be related to one of interest (e.g. tree rings can be proxies for temperature variations)
Q
R
- Radiative forcing
- Renewable energy
- Renewable energy commercialization
- Runaway greenhouse effect — somewhat ill-defined term, associated with the idea of large irreversible temperature rises
S
- Sea level rise
- Slash and burn - form of deforestation used to clear fields for agricultural use.
- Solar variation
- Sunspot
T
U
W
- Water World - opposite concept of ice age
- World climate research programme
External links
- IPCC - glossary
