climate vocab
Terms
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- ice ages
- time of widespread glaciations
- Stratosphere
- The layer of the atmosphere above the troposphere and below the mesosphere
- Gaia Hypothesis
- The idea that Earth is a living system
- Hydroelectricity
- Electricity that is generated when falling water makes a turbine spin.
- coastal erosion
- wearing away of coastline by wind and waves
- Wind energy
- energy obtained from turbine engines powered by wind
- CFC's
- Chlorofluorocarbons. Any of several organic compounds composed of carbon, fluorine, chlorine, and hydrogen
- Nitrogen cycle
- a continuous series of natural processes by which nitrogen passes from air to soil to living things and back to the air by means of nitrogen fixation, nitrification, decay, and denitrification
- water cycle
- the series of conditions through which water naturally passes from water vapor in the air to being deposited (as by rain or snow) on earth's surface and finally back into the air especially as a result of evaporation
- climate
- the average weather conditions of a particular place or region over a period of years
- smog
- a thick haze caused by the action of sunlight on air polluted especially by smoke and automobile exhaust fumes
- Methane
- A colorless, nonpoisonous, flammable gas created by anaerobic decomposition of organic compounds
- biosphere
- where everything organic, including plants, animals, and humans are
- Biomass & other alternative fuels
- plant materials and animal waste used especially as a source of fuel
- geosphere/lithosphere
- the outer part of the solid earth consisting of the crust and part of the mantle
- Troposphere
- The layer of the atmosphere closest to the earth's surface
- Oxygen Cycle
- cyclic movement of oxygen in different chemical forms from the environment, to organisms, and then back to the environment.
- Geothermal energy
- Energy that is generated by converting hot water or steam from deep beneath the Earth's surface into electricity
- Solar energy
- Electricity produced from the sun's radiation
- Phosphorus cycle
- the process by which phosphorus is recycled in the ecosystem
- atmosphere
- the whole mass of air surrounding the earth
- UV Radiation
- Ultraviolet radiation. Invisible rays that are part of the energy that comes from the sun
- Photovoltaic cells
- Cells, usually made of specially-treated silicon, that transfer solar energy from the sun to electrical energy
- Carbon dioxide
- A colorless, odorless, gas produced by burning fossil fuels
- freon
- Registered trade name for the chlorofluorocarbons
- hydrosphere
- where the surface waters of the earth and the water vapor in the atmosphere are
- Tidal energy
- exploits the movement of water caused by tidal currents or the rise and fall in sea levels due to the tides.
- Nitrous Oxides
- A controlled mixture of nitrogen and oxygen gases (N2O)
- Renewable energy resources
- Resources that are continually being renewed and are unlikely to run out
- Fossil Fuels
- fuels that are formed in the earth from plant or animal remains
- aerosol
- a mixture of fine solid or liquid particles and gas
- nuclear energy
- Energy produced from changes in atomic nuclei
- Greenhouse gasses
- gases that contributes to the warming of the Earth's atmosphere by reflecting radiation from the Earth's surface, eg carbon dioxide, ozone, or water vapor
- saline intrusion
- The movement of salt water into a body of fresh water
- carbon cycle
- the cycle of carbon in living things in which carbon dioxide is used in photosynthesis to form food and growth substances and is later returned to the environment by respiration, decay, and burning
- Cryosphere
- the frozen part of the Earth's surface
- Non-renewable energy resources
- natural resources that cannot be re-made
- deforestation
- the action or process of clearing an area of forests
- DOE
- Department of Energy
- weather
- the state of the atmosphere in regard to heat or cold, wetness or dryness, calm or storm, clearness or cloudiness
- Carbon monoxide
- A colorless, odorless, highly poisonous gas formed by the incomplete combustion of carbon
- ozone layer
- Layer of gaseous ozone in the stratospheric atmosphere that protects life on earth by filtering out harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun