The process in which chemical energy is used to make organic compounds from inorganic compounds, such as the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite by nitrifying bacteria. Compare photosynthesis. …
An autotrophicorganism (such as certain bacteria and blue‐green algae) that obtains energy from inorganic substances by oxidation. …
A nuclear power plant in the Ukraine (former Soviet Union) that was the site of the world's worst nuclear power accident in 1986 . One of the four nuclear reactors at the plant was badly damaged by a chemical explosion after it seriously overheated and went out of control. Highly radioactive and dangerous fission products poured out uncontrollably into the atmosphere over a period of ten days whi…
A dark‐coloured soil that is common under grassland in cool, temperate climates. It is a productive, well‐developed soil with a thick A‐horizon which is rich in organic matter and exchangeable calcium, and a zone of calcium carbonate accumulation beneath it. Also known as dark earth . …
A hard, fine grained siliceous sedimentary rock composed of interlocking quartz crystals, that varies in colour between white, pink, brown, and grey, and is made from the skeletons of microscopic marine organisms. …
A disease of American chestnut trees caused by a fungus ( Cryphonectria parasitica ) that was accidentally introduced to the USA around 1900 ? 8 ., either in imported chestnut lumber or in imported chestnut trees. By 1940 the disease had made the American chestnut virtually extinct. …
A type of soil that has a relatively thick, dark brown A‐horizon over a lighter coloured B‐horizon. …
A North American hot desert, which is located mostly in Mexico but extends into southern New Mexico and Western Texas. …
A fine, pure clay which is non‐plastic and takes the form of a white powdery material made by the chemical decomposition of feldspar in granite. Also known as kaolin . …
Non‐scientific expression for the meltdown of a nuclear reactor, based on the science‐fiction idea that an immensely hot damaged reactor could vaporize (melt) its way through the centre of the Earth from the USA to China. …
A warm, dry adiabatic wind that blows down the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in North America. See also foehn, Santa Anna. …
A local environmental movement that began in India in the early 1980s, when a group of village women engaged in direct action to save the forest on which their livelihoods depended by literally hugging the trees in order to prevent deforestation. See also eco‐activism. …
A long chain of carbohydrates (a polysaccharide) that is used for structural support in invertebrates, for example in insect cuticle. …
An insecticide that works by stopping the formation of chitin, so that when the insect starts to moult it dies. …
1 The anions that are formed when the element chlorine picks up an electron. 2 The salts of hydrochloric acid that contain chloride ions. …
An organic solvent that contains chlorine atoms. Such solvents are used in aerosol spray containers, highway paint, and dry cleaning fluids. …
1 The addition of chlorine to drinking water, sewage, or industrial waste in order to disinfect it or to oxidize unwanted compounds within it. 2 The addition of chlorine atoms to compounds by chemical reactions. …
A highly reactive halogen gas that is added to drinking water to kill bacteria and algae, and used as a raw material for products such as plastics, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides. It is a very toxicbiocide, poisonous to fish and invertebrates, persistent in the environment, and important in the destruction of ozone. …
A compound (such as carbon tetrachloride) that contains carbon and chlorine and destroysozone. …
A group of odourless, inert, synthetic, non‐toxic, and easily liquefied chemical compounds consisting of chlorine, fluorine, and carbon. They are very long‐lasting (50 to 200 years) and very efficient absorbers of infrared radiation. Until the early 1990s CFCs were widely used as propellants in aerosol cans, as refrigerants in refrigerators and air conditioners, and in the manufacture of foam …
A systemic form of insecticide that works by disrupting the central nervous system of an insect. …
A green pigment that exists in plants and transforms light energy into chemical energy in photosynthesis. …
A structure that is found in some cells of plants and contains chlorophyll. …
A discoloration of plant leaves from green to pale green or yellow, where production of chlorophyll is prevented. It is caused by disease, lack of essential nutrients, or exposure to various air pollutants. …
An acute infectious disease caused by a bacterium that is transmitted in drinking water contaminated by faeces. It causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea, leading to dehydration and death if left untreated. …
A map showing discrete areas, such as counties, soil units, and vegetation types. Uniform conditions are assured within each map unit. …
An analytical technique that is used for the chemical separation of mixtures and substances. …
A naturally occurring, hard, brittle, greyish, non‐toxic heavy metal, that is resistant to corrosion and tarnishing. It enters surface waters in wastewater from electroplating operations, leather tanning industries, and textile manufacturing, and is harmful to aquatic organisms. One of eleven pollutants of concern, it is corrosive to skin and carcinogenic in humans. …
A package of genes in the nucleus of a cell, composed of DNA and proteins, which contains the genetic information for that cell. Humans normally have 46 chromosomes in 23 pairs, and children get half of their chromosomes from each parent. …
Long‐lasting or taking a long time to manifest itself. Contrast acute. …
An adverse effect on a human or animal (for example, of exposure to a toxin) that can result from either one acute exposure or a period of continuous, low‐level exposure. …
Continuous or repeated exposure of a human or animal to a hazardous substance over a long period of time, usually at least seven years. Contrast acute exposure. …
A persistent or long‐lasting intermittent disease of the respiratory tract. …
The effects of repeated or long‐term exposure to a toxic substance, which can often become apparent only after many years. Contrast acute toxicity. …
The order of events according to time. See also absolute chronology, relative chronology. …
A sequence of soils that changes gradually from one to the other through time. …
The organization of layers of rock or sediment into units, based on age or time. …
The pupa of a butterfly or moth, which is not covered in silk. Contrast cocoon. …
A steep‐sided conical hill that is built of coarse ash material throw out of a volcano by escaping gases. …
Biological activity that occurs at 24‐hour intervals, related to sleep cycles. See also diurnal. …
The circular outer edge of a depression in the surface of a water table that is caused by pumping water from a well. See also cone of influence, cone of depression. …
The idea that all livings things need other living things to exist and prosper, and so they are all linked together. …
Found throughout the high latitude forests of the northern hemisphere, in North America and Eurasia. …
Found in an area around either the North Pole or the South Pole. …
Bowl‐shaped depression in an upland area, that has been eroded by glacial quarrying processes at the head of valleys in which glaciers form. There are many regional names for a cirque, including corrie (Scotland) and cwm (Wales). …
High‐altitude ice clouds that appear very thin and wispy. …
A thin, cirruscloud characterized by thin, white patches that contain ice crystals and look like cotton wool. These clouds are high, stretching between about 6000 and 12?000 metres (20?000 to 40?000 feet). They often mark the leading edge of a frontal system and indicate that major weather changes are likely. …
A thin, white, cirruscloud that appears in layers and looks like a flat sheet. Sometimes it covers the whole sky and is so thin it can hardly be seen. These clouds are high, stretching between about 6000 and 12?000 metres (20?000 to 40?000 feet), and they contain ice crystals which can refract moonlight and shine like a halo. They are often associated with weather changes. …
High, thin, wispy, feather‐like clouds, usually between about 6000 and 12?000 metres (20?000 to 40?000 feet), that are composed of ice crystals which diffuse sunlight or moonlight. Cirrus clouds are associated with fair weather, but thick cirrus clouds bring rapid weather changes. …
A small tank that is used to store water for a home or farm, and is often used to store rain water. …
See Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. …
Species that are listed under the 1975 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which cannot be commercially traded as live specimens or wildlife products because they are endangered or threatened with extinction. …
A large, densely populated urban settlement, larger than a town, which can include two or more independent administrative districts within it and usually has suburbs. …
A group of species which are all descended from a single common ancestor. …
A method of classifying organisms into groups (taxa) that is based on order of evolutionary branching rather than on present similarties and differences. Also known as phylogenetic systematics . …
The definition of species as a lineage of populations between two speciation events (phylogenetic branch points), based on the branch points not on how much change has occurred between them. See also biological species concept, ecological species concept, phenetic species concept, recognition species concept. …
The development of a new clade by the splitting of a single lineage into two distinct lineages which are taxonomically different. See also adaptive radiation, speciation. …
A branching tree diagram, based on cladistics, that shows the apparent sequence of branching by which individual clades have come into being and charts the emergence of a particular taxon or taxa. It shows the sequence but ignores the time‐scale of evolutionary divergence. …
The clearing action that happens during water treatment when solids settle out. It can be speeded up by centrifugal action and chemically induced coagulation. …
A tank, used in water treatment, in which solids settle to the bottom and are removed as sludge. Also known as settling basin and sedimentation basin . …
The degree of transparency of a liquid such as water. …
US legislation that authorized technical and financial assistance to states for forest fire control and for production and distribution of forest tree seedlings. Some sections of the act were repealed by the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act ( 1978 ). …
1 In taxonomy, a group of related and similar orders. It is the category above an order and below a phylum, so each phylum comprises more than one class, and each class comprises more than one order. 2 A person's ranking in a social hierarchy, largely based on access to wealth and influence. …
A North American term for a lawsuit in which one or more parties file a complaint seeking damages for injury or loss on behalf of themselves and all other people that have an identical interest in the alleged wrong doing …
A geographical area designated by the US Clean Air Act where only a small amount of deterioration, or an increase in deterioration, of air quality is permitted. Examples include national parks, wilderness areas, monuments, and other areas of special national and cultural significance. …
An economic theory based on the principles that both individuals and society prosper most with a minimum of political intervention, and that the allocation of a scarce resource is best decided through competition for supply and demand of goods and services in the marketplace. This is the foundation of modern, western economic theory and the basis for capitalism. Compare ecological economics, envir…
A means of arranging species on the basis of degree of evolutionary relatedness, in which members of a particular group share a more recent common ancestor with one another than with the members of any other group. This classification is based on order of evolutionary branching rather than on present similarities and differences. The most common system of taxonomy for classifying organisms was dev…
A substance that has a global warming potential of less than 0.2, including hydrofluorocarbons. …
One of several groups of chemicals that have a global warming potential of 0.2 or higher, including chlorofluorocarbons and halons. …
An individual mineral grain, constituent, or fragment of broken down rock. …
Often refers to fragmentary sedimentary rocks that are made up of fragments of pre‐existing rocks (clasts). …
A fine‐grained mineral soil or sediment with a particle size of less than 0.002?mm (greater than 9.0 on the phi (?) scale). …
A highly compacted clay soil horizon. See also hardpan. …
Any soil material that contains more than 40% clay, less than 45% sand, and less than 40% silt. …
US legislation that gave the Environmental Protection Agency authority to set standards for air quality and to control the emission of air pollutants from industries, power plants, and cars, in order to protect public health. The act was passed in 1963 and revised in 1970 and 1990 . See also acid rain program, prevention of significant deterioration, national emissions standards for hazardous…
US legislation that built on the Clean Air Act ( 1963 ) and expanded the federal role in setting and enforcing ambient air quality standards, including regulating land management practices to achieve and maintain such standards. It set emissions standards for stationary sources (such as factories and power plants), motor vehicles (automobiles and trucks), criteria pollutants (including lead, ozone…
US legislation that amended the Clean Air Act ( 1963 ) by establishing the national goal of preventing any future reduction of visibility of Class I federal areas (which include all International Parks, all National Wilderness Areas that exceed 5000 acres, all National Memorial Parks that exceed 5000 acres, and all National Parks that exceed 6000 acres) from air pollution caused by humans. …
US legislation that builds on the Clean Air Act Amendments ( 1977 ) in an attempt to reduce smog and air pollution, particularly by dealing with problems such as acid rain and ozone depletion. The law allows the Environment Protection Agency to set limits on how much of a particular pollutant can be in the air anywhere in the USA, but it allows individual states to have stronger pollution controls…
One of the flexibility mechanisms defined in the Kyoto Protocol for dealing with air pollution by greenhouse gases. This involves a project between a developed country and a developing county in which the former is helped to comply with its emissions reduction commitments in return for providing the latter with financing and technology to help with sustainable development. See also emissions tradi…
Alternative fuels such as gasohol, natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas, which emit less pollution than conventional fuels such as gasoline and diesel. …
The treatment or remediation of an area of material that has been contaminated with a hazardous substance. See also corrective action, environmental restoration. …
US legislation that regulates water pollution. It gave the Environment Protection Agency the right to set and enforce uniform national standards of water quality in order to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of US surface waters. …
A sky condition of less than one‐tenth cloud cover. …
The erratic movement of air masses without any visual signs (such as clouds), which is caused when bodies of air moving at widely different speeds meet. It can cause violent shaking of aircraft. …
A patch of land that has been cleared of vegetation in order to prevent the spread of wildfires. …
1 A forest management technique in which all or most of the trees are felled and removed at one time. 2 A previously forested area after all or most of the trees have been removed by clearcutting. …
The practice of felling and removing most or all of the trees in a stand of forest at the same time. See also deforestation. …
1 A relatively small treeless area in the middle of a wood or forest. 2 The process of disposing of undergrowth and debris left after trees have been felled and trimmed, usually by burning it. …
A service or organization associated with an exchange between a large number of traders, where trades are confirmed, matched, and settled. …
An international network of agencies that work together to implement the United Nations Framework Convention on Biological Diversity by compiling and exchanging information on biodiversity around the world, and by promoting technical and scientific cooperation at all levels. …
An initiative from US President George Bush that is designed to create a mandatory programme that would dramatically reduce emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and mercury from power plants, by setting a national limit on each pollutant. …
A reservoir for the storage of previously treated potable water, before it is distributed to users. …
The ability of a mineral or rock to split (cleave) along planes of weakness. …
The smooth flat surface along which minerals or rocks tend to break (cleavage). …
An association between species that is found in some social organisms, in which one species steals food from the stores of another species but does not live or nest close to it. Also known as lestobiosis . …
A very steep, high face of rock, sediment, or soil, which might be vertical or even overhanging. …
See Climate, Long Range Investigation, Mapping and Prediction project. …
The long‐term average weather conditions of a place, in terms of precipitation, temperature, humidity, sunshine, and wind velocity and phenomena such as fog, frost, and hail storms. These are determined by factors that are fixed through time, such as latitude, position relative to oceans or continents, and altitude. Climate changes from place to place, but much more slowly than weather because c…
Any natural or induced change in climate, either globally or in a particular area. Examples include the natural climate change that has caused ice ages in the past, and global warming that is now being caused by rising concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. By ad 1700 most of the standard meteorological instruments that are used to measure temperature, precipitation, and other cli…
See United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. …
A tax on the use of energy in industry, commerce, and the public sector in the UK, which is designed to encourage these sectors to make more efficient use of energy and to assist the UK to meet its reduced greenhouse gas emissions commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. There are different rates of levy for electricity generated from gas, coal, and liquefied petroleum gas. The levy came into effect …
A series of international meetings held in Bonn, Germany between 1995 and 1997 to decide how best to address the problems associated with greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. It led to the Kyoto Protocol. …
A US non‐profit anti‐environmentalfront group, backed by self‐interested funders including the coal industry, railways, and utilities, which has strongly opposed the Kyoto Protocol and actively worked behind the scenes against most US government efforts to address climate change. …
The delay or time it takes for any factor that promotes climate change (such as an increase or decrease in greenhouse gas emissions) to produce a change that can be measured. Delay is often caused by adjustment and feedback in complex environmental systems. …
An international research project during the 1970s and 1980s that reconstructed the Earth's climate over the last million years and produced maps of sea‐surface temperature at various periods, based on analysis of proxy data from ocean sediment cores. …
A simulation of how the climate system works, usually using large and complex computer programs that are based on mathematical equations derived from knowledge of the physics that governs the Earth?atmosphere system. See also general circulation model. …
Changes of the climate that can occur as a result of either natural processes (such as volcanic eruptions, El Ni?o?Southern Oscillation events, or sunspot activity) or human activities (such as the effects of pollution and deforestation). See also climate change. …
A measure of how rapidly and strongly the Earth's climate is likely to react to increases or decreases in radiation (radiative forcing), such as those caused by the greenhouse effect, and reach a new equilibrium state. See also sensitivity. …
The five interacting environmental systems (atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere) that are responsible for the climate and its variations. …
An area with generally consistent climatic characteristics. From the equator towards the poles there are the tropical, mid‐latitude, subpolar, and arctic climates. …
A climatic event or situation from the past that displays similar characteristics to one occurring in the present. Comparing the two is often helpful in projecting how the present event might develop in the future. See also analogue. …
The deviation or departure of a particular climatic variable from the norm, as defined over a specified period of time. …
The warm, moist climatic phase during the Holocene, between about 7500 and 5200 years ago, when average global temperatures were 1?2?C warmer than they are today, glaciers and ice sheets receded greatly from their post‐glacial maximum, and the meltwater raised sea level by about three metres. Also known as the Atlantic Period . See also altithermal, hypsithermal. …
The study of climate, climate processes, and climate change. …
The natural vegetation that exists in an area at the end of a succession. This develops over a long enough period of time without major environmental change or human interference, for example woodland in a temperate area. Climax is indicated by a community of vegetation that is stable, self‐maintaining, and self‐reproducing and in equilibrium with its environment. Its species composition is st…
A forest community that represents the final stage (climax community) of natural forest succession for its environment. …
A vine or climbing plant that grows up surrounding structures such as the branches of trees and shrubs for support and in order to raise its foliage and flowers above the ground. …
A gradual change in a plant population within a given species over a geographical area. It is genetically based and shows adaptation to an environmental gradient. …
A group of species that has a similar diet but is different from other such groups. …
A compact mass of soil produced by disturbance such as digging or ploughing. …
A genetically identical copy of an organism, derived from creating or reproducing a group of cells or DNA molecules from a single parent or ancestor. Most plants, fungi, algae, and many other organisms naturally reproduce by making clones of themselves. …
The process of making genetically identical copies (clones) of a gene or organism. Cloning is an essential element in genetic engineering and biotechnology. Growing cuttings from a plant is a traditional form of cloning. …
An area that is closed to people, where specified activities are temporarily restricted, or where resource extraction (including harvesting) is temporarily or permanently banned, except by special permit for specific purposes. …
A woodland or forest in which tree crowns spread over at least 20% of the ground, often touch one another, and shade out light the forest floor. See also crown closure. …
A specified period of time each year during which particular game species (such as certain fish) cannot be legally caught. …
A system that can exchange energy but not matter with its surroundings. The global water cycle is a closed system because there is a fixed amount of material (water) within the system, and the circulation of water is maintained by energy from the Sun (which is imported across the system boundary). Contrast open system. …
The reuse of wastewater for purposes other than drinking in an enclosed process. …
Any technique that is used to aid the reintroduction and establishment of viable populations of a species into its natural habitat, such as artificial nesting boxes. …
1 Any structure that is designed to close off the opening of a container and prevent loss of its contents. 2 In North America, the process of preparing a landfill site for closure, which involves covering it with soil and vegetation such as grass. …
A mass of water droplets and ice crystals in the air, formed by condensation of water vapour around nuclei such as dust, salt, and soil particles as a mass of air rises and cools. There are three main types of cloud: stratus, cumulus, and cirrus. …
The lowest level in the atmosphere that contains cloud droplets and at which clouds can be seen. The bottom of a cloud. …
A sudden, heavy shower of rain, that is usually intense but short‐lasting. …
Aerosols (including sea salts and byproducts of combustion) on which water vapour condenses to form cloud droplets. …
The extent of cloud in the sky at a given place and time, which is usually measured in eighths. A coverage of four‐eighths means that half the sky is covered by cloud. …
The top of a cloud layer, usually viewed from an aircraft. …
A particle of liquid water that is created by the condensation of water vapour onto a cloud condensation nucleus. Cloud droplets are usually smaller than raindrops. …
A high mountain forest in which the temperature remains uniformly cool and fog or mist keep vegetation permanently damp. It is covered in cloud for most of the day. …
The deliberate introduction of artificial substances (usually silver iodide or dry ice) into a cloud in order to change the way it develops or to increase precipitation, as a form of weather modification. Also known as artificial rain . …
A row of clouds that are aligned parallel to the wind. …
Clouds are usually classified by height into low, middle, and high. Low clouds, which form from ground level up to about 2000 metres, include stratus, cumulus, cumulonimbus, nimbostratus, and stratocumulus. Middle clouds, which form between 2500 and 6000 metres, include altostratus and altocumulus. High clouds, which form above 6000 metres and up to about 10?600?metres, include cirrocumulus, cirro…
The state of the sky when nine‐tenths or more is covered by clouds. …
A non‐profit, non‐governmental, global think‐tank that brings together scientists, business people, and bureaucrats who share an interest in tackling what the Club calls the world problematique. One of its most famous reports is Limits to Growth. …
A type of open space zoning that allows a developer to reduce the minimum residential lot size below that required in the zoning ordinance, if the land so gained is preserved as permanent open space for the community. …
A number of birds that are hatched at the same time. …
Any chemical that helps colloidal particles to group together irreversibly to form larger masses. For example, chemicals such as lime, alum, and iron salts are often added to wastewater to help settle out impurities. …
The process in which colloidal particles group together irreversibly to form larger clusters. …
A carbonaceous deposit that forms from the remains of fossil plants. The plants are deposited initially as peat, which (after compaction and burial) undergoes physical and chemical changes and is progressively turned into coal, to produce the coal series. Coal is the dirtiest of the fossil fuels when burned, and it contributes to the atmosphere a significant amount of particles and aerosols, green…
The physical or chemical treatment of coal before it is burned, in order to remove some of its sulphur content and thus help to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions (to reduce acid rain). See also coal washing. …
The conversion, by heating and partial combustion, of coal into gases such as methane and carbon monoxide. It is an efficient fuel that produces less air pollution than burning unmodified coal. Coal gasification was a major energy source in the 19th and early 20th centuries but production declined after the availability of natural gas increased in the 1970s. Coal tar was a byproduct. …
A US non‐profit anti‐environmentalfront group, based in Washington, DC, that was ?created to preserve the freedom of Americans to choose motor vehicles that meet their needs and their freedom to travel?. It claims a membership of more than 40?000 state and local organizations and individuals, including vehicle and tyre manufacturers. …
The conversion of coal into a liquid hydrocarbon fuel such as synthetic gasoline or methanol. …
A stratigraphic unit that usually contains coal, occurring in the upper Carboniferous in Europe (the Pennsylvanian in North America). …
The different types of coal, ranging from peat, through bitumen and lignite, to anthracite. Successive coals in the series contains less moisture, fewer volatiles, and more carbon. …
A thick black liquid hydrocarbon that is distilled from coal and contains organic chemicals. See also coal gasification. …
A coal cleaning technology that involves crushing coal and washing soluble sulphur compounds out of it with water or other solvents. …
An approach to the conservation of biodiversity that involves maintaining a diversity of structures within stands and a diversity of ecosystems across the landscape, in order to meet most of the habitat requirements of most of the native species. See also fine filter approach. …
Bits of wood, including rotting logs and stumps, that provide habitat for plants, animals, and insects, and nutrients for soil development. …
1 A rock that has large (five millimetres to three centimetres) grains or crystals. 2 Ecological processes or factors that occur in large patches relative to the activity patterns of an organism. See also fine‐grained. …
The zone where the land meets the sea, which is the boundary between terrestrial and marineenvironmental systems. …
Any activity that is designed to protect a coastal area from erosion and/or flooding. Examples include engineering schemes such as sea walls and embankments. Also known as coastal protection . …
The flooding of coastal areas by seawater, usually caused by unusually high tides and/or storm surges. …
Fish (such as mackerel, anchovies, and sardines) that live in the sea at or near the surface of the water but remain relatively close to the coast. …
A low‐lying, relatively flat area of land beside the sea. …
The action of natural forces on the shore and the nearshore sea bed. …
A coral reef that is located close to the coast. Contrast fringing reef. …
A seasonal process that occurs along many coasts, especially on the western sides of continents, that involves the rising to the surface of cold water from the deep ocean. This brings nutrients (particularly nitrates and phosphates) to the surface, which filters down through the food chain. …
A wetland habitat (such as a tidal marsh, lagoon, tidal flat, or mangrove swamp) that is found along a coastline and is covered with saltwater from the ocean for all or part of the year. …
The shallow part of the ocean that extends from the high‐tide mark on land to the edge of the continental shelf, and in which marine and terrestrialenvironmental systems interact with one another. Contrast open sea. …
US legislation designed to encourage 30 seacoast and Great Lakes states to develop coastal management programmes. The Act established a method for the federal government to approve states' plans and funding for approved plans, and it requires federal actions to be consistent with the states' plans. …
The line that separates land from sea. Also known as shoreline . …
A magnetic metallic element that is soluble in water. It is one of eight trace elements that plants and animals require, and an important catalyst in nitrogen fixation. …
A rock or particle of sediment that has a particle size between 64 and 256 millimetres (?6.0 to ?8.0 on the phi (?) scale). …
A covering that protects the eggs and larvae of invertebrates, such as the spinning of a silk sheath by larvae of moths, in which pupae develop. Contrast chrysalis. …
Trees or shrubs with crowns that receive full light from above but relatively little from the sides, and whose crowns usually form the general level of the canopy. …
A thick‐walled container, usually made of lead, that is used for the safe transport of radioactive materials. Also known as a cask . …
The generation of two different and useful forms of energy (usually electricity and steam or hot water) at the same time, from a single fuel source. Also known as combined heat and power . …
The force of attraction which holds like molecules together. …
A hard, dry carbon substance that is produced by heating coal to a very high temperature in the absence of air. …
1 A notch or natural pass cut through a mountain ridge, usually by glacial erosion, such as an ar?te between two back‐to‐back cirques. 2 A region of low atmospheric pressure that is found between two high‐pressure and two low‐pressure systems. …
Senior scientist and director of the Wildlife and Contaminants project at the World Wildlife Fund, pioneer of low‐dose toxicity research, and co‐author of the book Our Stolen Future. Regarded by some as a latter‐day Rachel Carson . …
A climate that has temperatures of 10? to 20?C for up to four months a year, and is cooler over the rest of the year, as found in places like the Arctic and Antarctica. The two biomes associated with cold climates are the tundra and the taiga. …
A desertbiome that is hot or warm in the summer and cold in the winter, such as the Gobi Desert. Contrast hot desert. …
A frontal boundary between two air masses, where the cooler, denser mass advances, pushing under and replacing the warmer one. Often associated with steady precipitation followed by showers. Contrast warm front. See also front, frontal lifting. …
The place that has the lowest annual mean temperature in its hemisphere. …
The region of cold air in a depression that is in contact with the surface. …
An animal whose body temperature changes with the external environment, and is not internally regulated. Also known as an ectotherm . Contrast warm‐blooded. …
A lake or stream that supports species of fish (such as salmon and trout) which are intolerant of sustained water temperatures higher than about 21?C in the summer. …
Bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella that live in the gastrointestinal tracts of vertebrates and indicate the presence of faeces in water, exposure to which causes diseases such as cholera. …
A measure of the purity of water based on a count of how many faecal bacteria are present within a given volume of it. …
A coal mine and associated coal processing facilities. …
A theory of chemical reactivity. Collision theory assumes that, in order for reaction to occur, molecules must collide with at least some minimum energy and with proper orientation. …
The zone along which adjacent convergent crustal plates push into each other. See also plate tectonics. …
A suspension in a liquid of tiny particles, that neither dissolve nor settle. …
Composed of or relating to colluvium. Compare alluvial. …
Loosely compacted sediment that has moved downhill and accumulated on the lower slopes and at the bottom of a hill, as a result of weathering, erosion, and mass movement processes. Also known as colluvial deposit . Compare alluvium. …
1 The establishment of a new colony. 2 The arrival and establishment of plants and animals on a new area of land. See also island biogeography, succession. …
1 A group of organisms of the same species that live together, such as algae, seabirds, or people. See also aggregation. 2 A geographical area that is politically controlled by a distant country. …
A sewer system that carries both sewage and storm‐water runoff. …
Burning (rapid oxidation) of fuel, which releases energy in the form of heat and light, and also releases pollutants (such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulates). …
A place where combustion takes place, for example in an incinerator or an internal combustion engine. See also furnace. …
A condensation nucleus that is formed as a result of combustion. …
A small astronomical object similar to an asteroid but made largely of ice. …
An approach to environmental regulation that relies on the ability of the state to regulate (control) the behaviour of individuals, companies, and other groups by setting and imposing controls, rather than by market‐based mechanisms. Control is usually exercised through legislation, introduction of regulations that require specific action, and setting targets and defining how to meet them, somet…
A form of symbiosis between two different species in which one benefits and the other neither benefits nor is harmed. An example is epiphytes such as orchids, which use other plants for support. …
Values or benefits that can be measured by a common standard (for example in dollars or cubic metres) and objectively compared. Contrast incommensurable. …
A North American category of land use that covers land used primarily for buying, selling, and processing goods and services. This includes sites for stores, factories, shopping centres, and industrial parks. …
A nuclear reactor that is used for commercial purposes to generate electricity, rather than for military purposes or scientific research. …
Non‐manufacturing parts of the economy, which includes leisure and recreation, health, and education. See also industrial sector, residential sector, transportation sector. …
In forest management, cutting and selling trees that are large enough to be sold as products (for example as poles or fence posts), which thins the forest and helps to improve the health and rate of growth of the crop trees that remain. …
All solid waste that is generated by businesses (which includes stores, markets, office buildings, restaurants, shopping centres, and theatres). …
A facility that accepts waste (for treatment, storage, disposal, or transfer) from a variety of sources, unlike a private facility which usually manages waste that it generates itself. …
The hunting of whales in order to sell whale products. …
Mixed waste materials that can be recycled and are collected together. …
1 The shredding or pulverizing of waste in order to reduce its size, as used in solid waste management and wastewater treatment. 2 The extraction of valuable minerals from their ores by crushing and grinding. …
1 The granting of authority to undertake certain functions (for example, to open and operate a nuclear plant that has been built). Contrast decommission. 2 A special group that has been set up and authorized to consider some particular matter, such as the Independent Commission on International Development and the Commission on Sustainable Development. …
See United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. …
The environmental change that will inevitably occur at some time in the future as a result of human activities that have already taken place because of lags (such as climate lags) in environmental systems, or that are likely to occur in a business‐as‐usual scenario. Also known as environmental commitment . See also equilibrium warming commitment. …
The period of time, defined in the Kyoto Protocol, during which a country's average level of emissions of greenhouse gases must be kept within the agreed emission targets. The first Commitment Period covers 2008 ? 12 . Also known as Budget Period or Compliance Period . …
A set of regulations and practices, adopted by members states of the European Union, designed to provide a common, unified policy framework for agriculture. The overall aim is to increase farm productivity, stabilize markets, ensure a fair standard of living for farmers, guarantee regular supplies, and ensure reasonable prices for consumers. See also set‐aside. …
A species from which two or more different species have evolved. …
US cellular biologist (born 1917 ), author of Science and Survival, proposer of the four ?laws of ecology?, and an influential writer who helped to initiate the modern environmental movement. …
An unwritten body of law that is based on general custom and usage, and which is recognized and enforced by the courts. …
The original (pre‐ 1994 ) name for the European Union. …
The familiar, non‐scientific name for a species of plant or animal, which is widely used. This can vary within and between countries, so there may be many common names for a particular species. Compare latin name. …