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Glossary of Terms
982 Glossary of Terms
Allergens Arbovirus
Antigenic substances capable of producing immediate-type Any of various viruses transmitted by arthropods and
hypersensitivity. including the causative agents of dengue fever, yellow fever,
and some types of encephalitis.
Alpine
The biogeographic zone made up of slopes above timberline Arid Regions
and characterized by the presence of rosette-forming herbaceous Ecosystems with <250 mm precipitation per year.
plants and low shrubby slow-growing woody plants.
Autotrophic
Alternative Risk Transfer Organisms independent of external sources of organic
Capital-market alternatives to traditional insurance (e.g., carbon (compounds) for provision of their own organic
catastrophe bonds). constituents, which they can manufacture entirely from
inorganic material. Plants are autotrophic (photoautotrophs)
Anadromous Species using the energy of sunlight to produce organic carbon
A species of fish, such as salmon, that spawn in freshwater compounds from inorganic carbon and water in the process
then migrate into the ocean to grow to maturity. of photosynthesis.
Anaerobic Baseflow
Living, active, or occurring in the absence of free oxygen. Sustained flow in a river or stream that is primarily produced
by groundwater runoff, delayed subsurface runoff, and/or
Anoxia lake outflow.
A deficiency of oxygen, especially of such severity as to
result in permanent damage. Baseline/Reference
The baseline (or reference) is any datum against which
Antarctic Bottomwater change is measured. It might be a “current baseline,” in
A type of water in the seas surrounding Antarctica with which case it represents observable, present-day conditions.
temperatures ranging from 0 to -0.8°C, salinities from It might also be a “future baseline,” which is a projected
34.6 to 34.7 PSU, and a density near 27.88. This is the future set of conditions excluding the driving factor of
densest water in the free ocean. interest. Alternative interpretations of the reference conditions
can give rise to multiple baselines.
Antarctic Circumpolar Current
A Southern Ocean current that flows around the entire globe Basin
driven by the circumpolar westerlies. The drainage area of a stream, river, or lake.
Anthropogenic Biodiversity
Resulting from or produced by human beings. The numbers and relative abundances of different
genes (genetic diversity), species, and ecosystems
AOGCM (communities) in a particular area. See also functional
See climate model. diversity.
Bog Catchment
A poorly drained area rich in accumulated plant material, An area that collects and drains rainwater.
frequently surrounding a body of open water and
having a characteristic flora (such as sedges, heaths, and Chagas’Disease
sphagnum). A parasitic disease caused by the Trypanosoma cruzi and
transmitted by triatomine bugs in the Americas, with two
Boreal Forest clinical periods: acute (fever, swelling of the spleen, edemas) and
Forests of pine, spruce, fir, and larch stretching from the chronic (digestive syndrome, potentially fatal heart condition).
east coast of Canada westward to Alaska and continuing
from Siberia westward across the entire extent of Russia to Cholera
the European Plain. An intestinal infection that results in frequent watery stools,
cramping abdominal pain, and eventual collapse from
Breakwater dehydration.
An offshore structure (such as a wall or jetty) that, by
breaking the force of the wave, protects a harbor, anchorage, Climate
beach, or shore area. Climate in a narrow sense is usually defined as the “average
weather,” or more rigorously, as the statistical description in
C3 Plants terms of the mean and variability of relevant quantities over
Plants that produce a three-carbon compound during a period of time ranging from months to thousands of years.
photosynthesis, including most trees and agricultural The classical period is 3 decades, as defined by the World
crops such as rice, wheat, soybeans, potatoes, and Meteorological Organization (WMO). These quantities are
vegetables. most often surface variables such as temperature,
precipitation, and wind. Climate in a wider sense is the state,
C4 Plants including a statistical description, of the climate system.
Plants that produce a four-carbon compound during
photosynthesis (mainly of tropical origin), including grasses Climate Change
and the agriculturally important crops maize, sugar cane, Climate change refers to any change in climate over time,
millet, and sorghum. whether due to natural variability or as a result of human
activity. This usage differs from that in the United Nations
Carbon Cycle Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
The term used to describe the flow of carbon (in various which defines “climate change” as: “a change of climate
forms, e.g., as in carbon dioxide) through the atmosphere, which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity
ocean, terrestrial biosphere, and lithosphere. that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and
which is in addition to natural climate variability observed
Carbon Dioxide (CO 2) over comparable time periods.” See also climate variability.
A naturally occurring gas, also a by-product of burning
fossil fuels and biomass, as well as from land-use changes Climate Model (Hierarchy)
and other industrial processes. It is the principal A numerical representation of the climate system based on
anthropogenic greenhouse gas that affects the Earth’s the physical, chemical, and biological properties of its
radiative balance. It is the reference gas against which other components, their interactions and feedback processes, and
greenhouse gases are measured and therefore has a Global accounting for all or some of its known properties. The
Warming Potential of 1. climate system can be represented by models of varying
Glossary of Terms 985
complexity (i.e., for any one component or combination of of extremes, etc.) of the climate on all temporal and spatial
components a hierarchy of models can be identified, differing scales beyond that of individual weather events. Variability
in such aspects as the number of spatial dimensions; the may be due to natural internal processes within the climate
extent to which physical, chemical, or biological processes system (internal variability), or to variations in natural or
are explicitly represented; or the level at which empirical anthropogenic external forcing (external variability). See
parameterizations are involved. Coupled atmosphere/ocean/ also climate change.
sea-ice General Circulation Models (AOGCMs) provide a
comprehensive representation of the climate system. There CO2 Fertilization
is an evolution towards more complex models with active See carbon dioxide fertilization.
chemistry and biology. Climate models are applied, as a
research tool, to study and simulate the climate, but also for Communicable Disease
operational purposes, including monthly, seasonal, and An infectious disease caused by transmission of an infective
interannual climate predictions. biological agent (virus, bacterium, protozoan, or multicellular
macroparasite).
Climate Prediction
A climate prediction or climate forecast is the result of an Coping Range
attempt to produce a most likely description or estimate of The variation in climatic stimuli that a system can absorb
the actual evolution of the climate in the future (e.g., at without producing significant impacts.
seasonal, interannual, or long-term time scales. See also
climate projection and climate scenario. Coral Bleaching
The paling in color of corals resulting from a loss of symbiotic
Climate Projection algae. Bleaching occurs in response to physiological shock in
Aprojection of the response of the climate system to emission response to abrupt changes in temperature, salinity, and turbidity.
or concentration scenarios of greenhouse gases and aerosols,
or radiative forcing scenarios, often based upon simulations Cordillera
by climate models. Climate projections are distinguished An individual mountain chain with closely connected,
from climate predictions in order to emphasize that climate distinct summits. In South America, “cordillera” refers to an
projections depend upon the emission/concentration/radiative individual mountain range.
forcing scenario used, which are based on assumptions,
concerning, for example, future socioeconomic and Cryosphere
technological developments that may or may not be realized The component of the climate system consisting of all snow,
and are therefore subject to substantial uncertainty. ice, and permafrost on and beneath the surface of the earth
and ocean.
Climate Scenario
A plausible and often simplified representation of the future Cryptosporidiosis
climate, based on an internally consistent set of climatological An opportunistic infection caused by an intestinal parasite
relationships, that has been constructed for explicit use in common in animals. Transmission occurs through ingestion
investigating the potential consequences of anthropogenic of food or water contaminated with animal feces. The parasite
climate change, often serving as input to impact models. causes severe chronic diarrhea, especially in people with HIV.
Climate projections often serve as the raw material for
constructing climate scenarios, but climate scenarios usually Deepwater Formation
require additional information such as about the observed Occurs when seawater freezes to form sea ice. The local
current climate. A “climate change scenario” is the difference release of salt and consequent increase in water density
between a climate scenario and the current climate. leads to the formation of saline coldwater that sinks to the
ocean floor. See Antarctic bottomwater.
Climate System
The climate system is the highly complex system consisting Deforestation
of five major components: the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, Conversion of forest to non-forest. For a discussion of the
the cryosphere, the land surface, and the biosphere, and the term forest and related terms such as afforestation,
interactions between them. The climate system evolves in reforestation, and deforestation, see the IPCC Special Report
time under the influence of its own internal dynamics and on Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (IPCC, 2000).
because of external forcings such as volcanic eruptions, solar
variations and human-induced forcings such as the changing Dengue Fever
composition of the atmosphere and land use. An infectious viral disease spread by mosquitoes, often
called breakbone fever because it is characterized by severe
Climate Variability pain in joints and back. Subsequent infections of the virus
Climate variability refers to variations in the mean state and may lead to dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue
other statistics (such as standard deviations, the occurrence shock syndrome (DSS), which may be fatal.
986 Glossary of Terms
Desert Edaphic
An ecosystem with <100 mm precipitation per year. Of or relating to the soil; factors inherent in the soil.
Eutrophication Feedback
The process by which a body of water (often shallow) A process that triggers changes in a second process that in
becomes (either naturally or by pollution) rich in turn influences the original one; a positive feedback
dissolved nutrients with a seasonal deficiency in dissolved intensifies the original process, and a negative feedback
oxygen. reduces it.
Evaporation Fen
The process by which a liquid becomes a gas. Low land covered wholly or partly with water unless
artificially drained.
Evapotranspiration
The combined process of evaporation from the Earth’s surface Fiber
and transpiration from vegetation. Wood, fuelwood (either woody or non-woody).
La Niña Malaria
See El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Endemic or epidemic parasitic disease caused by species of
the genus Plasmodium (protozoa) and transmitted by
Land Use mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles; produces high fever
The total of arrangements, activities, and inputs undertaken attacks and systemic disorders, and kills approximately
in a certain land-cover type (a set of human actions). The 2 million people every year.
social and economic purposes for which land is managed
(e.g., grazing, timber extraction, conservation). Market Impacts
Impacts that are linked to market transactions and directly
Landslide affect gross domestic product (GDP, a country’s national
A mass of material that has slipped downhill by gravity, accounts)—for example, changes in the supply and price of
often assisted by water when the material is saturated; rapid agricultural goods. See also non-market impacts.
movement of a mass of soil, rock, or debris down a slope.
Mass Movement
Large-Scale Singularities Applies to all unit movements of land material propelled
Abrupt and dramatic changes in systems in response to and controlled by gravity.
smooth changes in driving forces. For example, a gradual
increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations may Meningitis
lead to such large-scale singularities as slowdown or collapse Inflammation of the meninges (part of the covering of the
of the thermohaline circulation or collapse of the West brain).
Antarctic Ice Sheet. The occurrence, magnitude, and timing
of large-scale singularities are difficult to predict. Metazoan
An animal whose body consists of many cells. See also
Leaching protozoan
The removal of soil elements or applied chemicals through
percolation. Microbial Loop
Complex food web involving bacteria, single-celled animals
Legume and plants, viruses, and dissolved and particulate organic
Plants that are able to fix nitrogen from the air through a material. Dissolved and particulate material, released from
symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria (e.g., peas, beans, organisms, is utilized by bacteria, which are grazed by
alfalfa, clovers). protozoa which in turn are grazed by metazoa. Around 50%
(often more) of primary production passes through the
Limnology microbial loop rather than along the classical food chain of
Study of lakes and their biota. phytoplankton to herbivore.
Maladaptation Montane
Any changes in natural or human systems that inadvertently The biogeographic zone made up of relatively moist, cool
increase vulnerability to climatic stimuli; an adaptation that upland slopes below timberline and characterized by the
does not succeed in reducing vulnerability but increases it presence of large evergreen trees as a dominant life
instead. form.
Glossary of Terms 991
Particulates Plankton
Very small solid exhaust particles emitted during the Aquatic organisms that drift or swim weakly. See also
combustion of fossil and biomass fuels. Particulates may phytoplankton and zooplankton.
consist of a wide variety of substances. Of greatest concern
for health are particulates of less than or equal to 10 nm in Point-Source Pollution
diameter, usually designated as PM 10. Pollution resulting from any confined, discrete source, such
as a pipe, ditch, tunnel, well, container, concentrated animal-
Peat feeding operation, or floating craft. See also non-point-source
Unconsolidated soil material consisting largely of partially pollution.
decomposed organic matter accumulated under conditions
of excess moisture or other conditions that decrease Polynyas
decomposition rates. Areas of open water in pack ice or sea ice.
Pelagic Pool
Of, relating to, or living or occurring in the open sea. See reservoir.
Rangeland Salinization
Unimproved grasslands, shrublands, savannas, and tundra. The accumulation of salts in soils.
Riparian Silviculture
Relating to or living or located on the bank of a natural Development and care of forests.
watercourse (as a river) or sometimes of a lake or a tidewater.
Sink
Runoff Any process, activity, or mechanism that removes a
That part of precipitation that does not evaporate. In some greenhouse gas, an aerosol, or a precursor of a greenhouse
countries, runoff implies surface runoff only. gas or aerosol from the atmosphere.
994 Glossary of Terms
Snowpacks Submergence
A seasonal accumulation of slow-melting snow. A rise in the water level in relation to the land, so that areas
of formerly dry land become inundated; it results either
Soil Carbon Pool from a sinking of the land or from a rise of the water level.
Refers to the relevant carbon in the soil. It includes various
forms of soil organic carbon (humus) and inorganic soil Subsidence
carbon and charcoat. It excludes soil biomass (e.g., roots, The sudden sinking or gradual downward settling of the
bulbs, etc.) as well as the soil fauna (animals). Earth’s surface with little or no horizontal motion.
Source Succession
Any process, activity, or mechanism that releases a Transition in the composition of plant communities following
greenhouse gas, an aerosol, or a precursor of a greenhouse disturbance.
gas or aerosol into the atmosphere.
Surface Runoff
Southern Oscillation The water that travels over the soil surface to the nearest
A large-scale atmospheric and hydrospheric fluctuation surface stream; runoff of a drainage basin that has not
centered in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, exhibiting a pressure passed beneath the surface since precipitation.
anomaly, alternatively high over the Indian Ocean and high
over the South Pacific. Its period is slightly variable, averaging Sustainable Development
2.33 years. The variation in pressure is accompanied by Development that meets the needs of the present without
variations in wind strengths, ocean currents, sea-surface compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
temperatures, and precipitation in the surrounding areas. own needs.
Stakeholders Synoptic
Person or entity holding grants, concessions, or any other type Relating to or displaying atmospheric and weather conditions
of value that would be affected by a particular action or policy. as they exist simultaneously over a broad area.
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