Glossary

Abrupt Climate Change: a change in climate over a widespread area that takes place so rapidly and unexpectedly that human and natural systems have difficulty adapting. Although not considered a high probability, an abrupt climate change occurs on the scale of decades, rather than centuries, and persists for years.

Atmosphere: the gaseous envelope or layers surrounding the earth’s surface. It contains roughly 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% argon, with trace amounts of other gases including the significant greenhouse gases of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The atmosphere absorbs solar radiation and serves to moderate surface temperature and recycles water and other chemicals.

Biodiversity: the variety of organisms found within a specified geographic region.

Biodiversity hotspots: areas in which there is a disproportionate number of endemic species (species that are found nowhere else) and which are losing habitat at a high rate. Hotspots are defined according to their plant vegetation in that a hotspot has to contain at least 0.5 percent of the world’s 300,000 plant species as endemics.

Biomass: biological material, either living or recently living, that can be used as a fuel or for industrial power production.

Biome: a living community characterized by distinctive plant and animal species and maintained under the climatic conditions of the region.

Boreal forest: The circumpolar, sub arctic forest of high northern latitudes that is dominated by conifers, stretching across North America, Europe, and northern Asia (regions characterized by short summers and long, cold winters).

Bycatch: unwanted fishes and animals caught accidentally in fishing gear and discarded overboard, dead o or dying

Carbon Dioxide (CO2): a colorless, odorless, non-poisonous gas that is a normal part of the ambient air. Human activities such as fossil fuel combustion, deforestation, and the burning of wood and paper products have increased atmospheric concentrations of CO2 by approximately 30 percent since the industrial revolution.

Carbon Footprint: a representation of the effect human activities have on the climate in terms of the total amount of greenhouse gases produced (measured in units of carbon dioxide).

Carbon offset: an emission reduction credit from another organization’s project that results in less carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere than would otherwise occur.

Carbon sinks: forests as well as soils, oceans and the atmosphere store carbon, which moves among those different stores over time. Consequently, forests can act as sources or sinks at different times; sources release more carbon than they absorb while sinks soak up more carbon than they emit.

Climate: the long-term averages and statistics of atmospheric and surface variables including temperature, precipitation, wind, storm patterns, humidity, sea surface temperature and the concentration and thickness of sea ice. Climate is not the same as weather which is a short-term phenomenon.

Climate Change: changes in longer-term trends in the average climate, such as changes in average temperatures, precipitation, wind, storm patterns, humidity, sea surface temperature and the concentration and thickness of sea ice. Climate change refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a direct or indirect result of human activity.

Climate Variability: changes in atmospheric and surface patterns, such as precipitation and temperatures in the weather and climate.

Coral: a group of invertebrate animals related to sea anemones. Individual coral animals have soft bodies topped by a ring of stinging tentacles for catching food. Some kinds of coral build hard limestone skeletons; when they die, other corals build on top of one another until a reef is formed.

Deciduous Forest: forests which lose their foliage at the end of a specific season or stage of growth.

Deforestation: the removal and destruction of native forests and woodlands. Among other things, deforestation increases harmful soil erosion, adversely affects natural stream and rivers, and damages biodiversity. Deforestation is considered one of the major causes of climate change as living trees would usually remove CO2 from the atmosphere during the process of photosynthesis. It is estimated that one-fifth (1/5) of all global emissions result from deforestation and changed land use.

Ecosystem: a community of organisms and its physical environment.

Emissions: the release of substances (e.g., greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere.

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect: the increase in the natural greenhouse effect which results from changes in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases due to emissions from human activities.

Estuaries: unique areas where freshwater from rivers and streams join saltwater from the ocean. Estuary ecosystems are influenced by ocean tides and waves, but are protected from their full force by reefs, islands, or fingers of sand that create a partial barrier between ocean and land. Estuaries vary by size, shape, and volume and are more commonly known as bays, harbors, inlets, or sounds

Global Warming: the progressive gradual rise of the Earth's average surface temperature thought to be caused in part by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Global Warming Potential: a system of multipliers which have been devised to enable warming effects of different gases to be compared.

Greenhouse Effect: the insulating effect of atmospheric greenhouse gases (e.g., water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, etc.) that keeps the Earth's temperature about 60°F warmer than it would be otherwise.

Greenhouse Gas: any gas that contributes to the "greenhouse effect." There are six major greenhouse gases recognized by the Kyoto Protocol, but the three major greenhouse gases considered most pertinent to global warming are carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide

Habitat: the natural environment of an organism

Keystone species: a species whose very presence contributes to a diversity of life and whose extinction would consequently lead to the extinction of other forms of life. Keystone species help to support the ecosystem (entire community of life) of which they are a part.

Landfills: engineered areas where solid waste is placed into the land.

Mercury: a heavy, highly toxic metallic element; the only one that is liquid at room temperature.

Meteorology: the study of the atmosphere and atmospheric phenomena.

Methane (CH4): a colorless, flammable gas produced by natural processes, but there are also substantial emissions from human activities such as landfills, livestock and livestock wastes, natural gas and petroleum systems, coal mines, rice fields, and wastewater treatment. Municipal solid waste landfills are the largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States. Methane has been found to be a far more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2.

Municipal Solid Waste: is commonly known as common trash or garbage and includes such everyday items such as paper, product packaging, lawn clippings, bottles, and appliances.

Neotropical: The biogeographic region including tropical Mexico, Central America, South America, and the West Indies.

Nitrous Oxide (N2O): a colorless, non-flammable potent greenhouse gas produced by natural processes also, but there are also substantial causal emissions from human activities such as deforestation, agriculture, trash burning and fossil fuel combustion. Nitrous oxide has a very high global warming potential.

Overfishing: catching fish faster than they can reproduce to maintain healthy population levels.

Ozone layer: the protective layer in the atmosphere 15-30 km in altitude that absorbs some of the sun’s ultraviolet rays thereby reducing the amount of potentially harmful radiation that reaches the earth’s surface.

Particulate pollution: pollution made up of small liquid or solid particles suspended in the atmosphere or water supply. Rain forest: a tropical forest, usually of tall, densely growing broad-leaved evergreen trees in an area of high annual rainfall.

Riparian zone: is the green ribbon of life alongside a natural watercourse, e.g, a river or stream.

Reef: an underwater structure; something that extends up from the seafloor but does not rise above the surface of the water like an island. Coral reefs are formed from the hard skeletons of coral. There are also rocky reefs, which are piles of rock under water.

Source: any process or activity that results in the net release of greenhouse gases, aerosols, or precursors of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Species: the basic category of biological classification composed of related individuals that resemble one another who are able to breed among themselves, but are not able to breed with members of another species.

Stratosphere: the region of the Earth's atmosphere 10-50 km above the surface of the planet.

Thermal Expansion: expansion of a substance as a result of the addition of heat. In the context of climate change, thermal expansion of the world's oceans in response to global warming is considered the predominant driver of current and future sea-level rise.

Tipping point: in the context of climate change, the time threshold when global warming would continue to occur even if greenhouse gas emissions were completely halted immediately worldwide.

Troposphere: the region of the earth’s atmosphere 8-15 km above the planet’s surface.

Water Vapor (H2O): water vapor is the primary gas responsible for the greenhouse effect. It is believed that increases in temperature caused by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases will increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere, resulting in additional warming.

Weather: the short-term (i.e., hourly, daily, weekly) state of the atmosphere and surface conditions. Weather is not the same as climate which is a long-term phenomenon.