Acid Rain: Any kind of precipitation that is acid.

Active Volcano: A volcano that continues to erupt regularly.

Adaptation: A physical characteristic or behaviour that allows an organism to adjust to the conditions of a particular environment.

Afforestation: Planting of new forests on lands that historically have not contained forests.

Aftershock: Ground shaking that occurs after the main shock of an earthquake.

Agriculture: The science of producing healthy plants and animals for food and other uses.

Agriculturist: An expert in agriculture, such as a farmer or rancher.

Air mass: A large quantity of air throughout which temperature and moisture content is fairly constant.

Air pressure: Pressure exerted by the weight of air over a given area of Earth's surface.

Air pollution: The existence in the air of substances in concentrations that are unacceptable. Contaminants in the air we breathe come mainly from manufacturing industries, electric power plants, automobiles, buses, and trucks.

Algae: Simple plantlike organisms found in water or on wet surfaces.

Alps: Mountain system composed of more than fifteen principle mountain ranges that extends in an arc for almost 660 miles (1,060 kilometers) across south-central Europe.

Alternative energy: Energy derived from nontraditional sources (e.g., compressed natural gas, solar, hydroelectric, wind).

Anthropogenic: Made by people or resulting from human activities. Usually used in the context of emissions that are produced as a result of human activities.

Antarctic Circle: The imaginary boundary of the southern polar region.

Arctic Circle: The imaginary boundary of the northern polar region.

Arid: A climate in which almost no rain or snow falls.

Ash: Very small, fine fragments of lava or rock that are blasted into the air during volcanic explosions.

Asteroid: A rocky chunk of matter in orbit around the sun.

Asthenosphere: Region of the mantle below the lithosphere, composed of partially melted rock.

Atmosphere: The air surrounding the Earth, described as a series of shells or layers of different characteristics. The atmosphere, composed mainly of nitrogen and oxygen with traces of carbon dioxide, water vapour, and other gases, acts as a buffer between Earth and the sun.

Atmospheric Lifetime: The lifetime of a greenhouse gas.

Atom: One of the tiny particles of which all things are made.

Avalanche wind: A cloudlike mixture of snow particles and air pushed ahead of a slab avalanche as it races downward.

Barometer: Instrument used to measure air pressure.

Base: A solution that has a pH greater than 7; capable of reducing the amount of acid in a substance.

Basalt: A type of rock that forms from hardened lava.

Benthos: Animals that live on the bottom of the ocean regardless of water depth. Most plants live in shallow water.

Biodegradable:  Able to be broken down into non-harmful substances by the action of living organisms, especially bacteria.

Biodiesel: Biodiesel is a vegetable oil-based fuel that runs in diesel engines - cars, buses, trucks, construction equipment, boats, generators, and oil home heating units.

Biofuels: Alternative fuels that are better for earth usually made of organic materials such as corn, cane or reprocessed cooking oils such as biodiesel used for transport.

Biomass: Total dry weight of all living organisms that can be supported at each tropic level in a food chain.
Biome: An ecosystem that covers a large geographic area where plants of one type live due to the specific climate in the area.

Biosphere
The living part of the planet consisting of a thin layer that extends from just above to just below the earth's surface. The combined ecosystems of the earth.

Black carbon: Measurement of light absorption and chemical reactivity and/or thermal stability; consists of soot, charcoal, and/or possible light-absorbing refractory organic matter.

Blizzard: The most severe type of winter storm, characterized by winds of 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour or greater, large quantities of falling or blowing snow, and low temperatures.

Blocking system: A whirling air mass containing either a high-pressure system or a low-pressure system, that gets cut off from the main flow of upper-air westerlies.

Canopy layer: A forest's second layer, or roof. Consists of a network of branches and leaves, forms a covering that blocks some of the sunlight from lower plants.

Carbon dioxide: A gas found in air that is used in photosynthesis and produced by respiration; one of the green house gases.

Carbon dioxide equivalent: A metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases based upon their global warming potential.

Carbon footprint: What you leave behind for your daily life on the earth. A carbon footprint is a way of expressing the amount of CO2 emitted as a result of a person's day-to-day activities. For a business, it is the CO2 emitted as a result of its operations. Carbon footprints are usually expressed in tons of carbon dioxide emitted per year.

Carbon intensity: The amount of carbon by weight emitted per unit of energy consumed.

Carnivores: Animals that eat other animals.

Cellulose: Plant fiber

CFCs: Chlorofluorocarbon gases that are released into the atmosphere as air pollutants and that change ozone to oxygen in the ozone layer.

Chlorophyll: A green light-absorbing pigment used in photosynthesis.

Chlorofluorocarbons: Greenhouse gases covered under the 1987 Montreal Protocol and used for refrigeration, air conditioning, packaging, insulation, solvents, or aerosol propellants.

Climate: An area's weather over an extended period of time.

Climate change: Climate change refers to any significant change in measures of climate (such as temperature, precipitation, or wind) lasting for an extended period (decades or longer).

Climate system (or Earth System): The five physical components (atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere) that are responsible for the climate and its variations.

Cloud: Visible water vapour suspended in the air.

Cloudburst: The heaviest type of rain, in which rain falls at a rate of 4 inches (10 centimeters) or more per hour.

Cirrus: Thin, wispy clouds, which form at the upper layer of the atmosphere and are composed mostly of ice crystals.

Coastal flood: A flood that occurs along the coasts of a lake or ocean.

Cold desert: A desert with daytime temperatures below freezing for part of the year.

Cold front: The line behind which a cold air mass is advancing, and in front of which a warm air mass is retreating.

Comet: A body in space that has a tail and follows an orbit around the sun.

Commensalism: A relationship in which a guest organism lives on or in a host organism. The guest organism benefits from the relationship, but the host is neither helped nor harmed.

Community: A group of different populations.

Condensation: The process by which a gas, such as water vapor, changes to a liquid when cooled; also the water that results from this process.

Condense: To change from a gas to a liquid as a result of being cooled.

Coniferous forest: A forest containing coniferous plants and existing where winters are very cold, summers are brief, and rainfall is low, such as in the northern parts of North America, Europe, and Asia, and in the world's mountain regions. Also called a boreal forest, northern coniferous forest, or taiga.

Coniferous plant: A plant, usually an evergreen, whose seeds are produced in cones and that typically has needles instead of leaves.

Conserve: To protect from waste or destruction.

Consumers: Organisms (specifically, animals) that are not able to produce their own food and must eat other organisms.

Contour farming: The practice of planting crops across a hill rather than up and down the hill to prevent soil erosion by water.

Coral: Live coral is made of polyps. Dead coral is a hard, stony substance made up of the skeletons of polyps.

Core: The innermost part of the earth, center.

Crater: The bowl-shaped area around the opening at the top of a volcano.

Crest: The highest point of a wave.

Crop rotation: The practice of planting different crops each season so that the soil has time to renew itself.

Crust: The outermost layer of Earth, varying in thickness from 3.5 miles (5 kilometers) to 50 miles (80 kilometers).

Cumulus: Puffy clouds, which mark unstable air and can be found at any level in the atmosphere.

Cumulonimbus: Rain clouds, which can result in brief or less extended rainfall and thunderstorms.

Dam: A barrier built across a river or stream that blocks and controls the flow of water.

Deciduous forest: A forest containing deciduous plants and existing where temperatures are mild and rainfall is abundant.

Deciduous plant: A plant that sheds all or nearly all its leaves each year.

Decompose: To rot or decay as a result of being broken down by microorganisms

Decomposers:  Organisms such as bacteria and fungi that decompose dead plants and animals.

Deforestation: The stripping away of trees. Practices or processes that result in the conversion of forested lands for non-forest uses.

Desert: A land area that receives less than 10 inches (25 cm) of precipitation a year, that loses more water through evaporation than it gains from precipitation, and that has high summer temperatures.

Dewpoint: The temperature at which gaseous water condenses into visible water vapor, fog or clouds.

Diameter: The distance from one end to another through the center.

Dilute: To lessen the strength of a material by mixing it with another material, usually water.

Dirty fallout: Air pollutants dropped by prevailing winds.

Disperse: To spread to another location.

Distance: The measurement from one point to another.

Dormant: Inactive.

Drip irrigation: The practice of spraying water directly on the base of plants so that less water is needed to help them grow.

Drought: An extended period of unusually low rainfall.

Earth: The planet where we live

Earth day: Special day to honour earth and "going green" usually with celebrations and awareness.

Earth flow: A landslide that consists of material that is moist and full of clay, yet drier than the material in mudflows.

Earthquake: A sudden shifting of masses of rock beneath Earth's surface, which releases enormous amounts of energy and sends out shock waves that cause the ground to shake.

Earth 911 same as Earth SOS: The urgency to start taking care of our world for future generations.

Ecological community: The interaction of living organisms with their environment.

Ecologist: A scientist who studies organisms and their environment

Ecology: The study of living things in their environment.

Ecosystem: A distinct area that combines biotic communities and the abiotic environments with which they interact

Ecotone: The area where two or more ecosystems merge.

Elevation: The height above sea level.

Emergent layer: A forest's upper layer, produced by the tallest trees.

Emissions: The release of a substance (usually a gas when referring to the subject of climate change) into the atmosphere.

Endangered: In immediate danger of becoming extinct.

Enhanced greenhouse effect: The concept that the natural greenhouse effect has been effected by emissions of greenhouse gases.

Environment: The natural surroundings of an organism, which include everything, living and nonliving, that affects the organism.

Environmental impact: The result of our negative and positive actions on the environment.

Ephemeral: An organism that has a short life cycle.

Epicenter: The point on Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake, where seismic waves first appear.

Epiphyte: A plant that grows on another plant in a relation ship of commensalism.

Equator: The imaginary boundary that divides the earth in half north and south.

Erosion: The removal of soil by water or wind. This is especially harmful when the top layer of soil, called the topsoil, is stripped away, because this is the layer where plants grow.

Eruption: The release of pressure that sends lava, rocks, ash, and gases out of a volcano.

Estivate: To spend the summer in a sleeplike condition of partial or total inactivity.

Evaporate: To change from a liquid to a gas as a result of being heated.

Evergreen: A plant whose needles or leaves remain green throughout the year.

Extinction: The dying out of a species of any living thing; the complete disappearance of a species from the earth, forever.

Extinct volcano: A volcano that is never expected to erupt again.

Fauna: All the animals in a particular area.

Firestorm: Also called a blowup, it is the most explosive and violent type of wildfire.

First-order consumers: Animals that eat plants.

Fissure: A crack in Earth's surface through which volcanic materials can escape.

Flash flood: A sudden, intense, localized flooding caused by persistent, heavy rainfall or the failure of a levee or dam.

Flood: The overflow of water onto normally dry land.

Floodplain: Nearly flat land adjacent to a river that is naturally subject to periodic flooding.

Floor layer:  A forest's sixth and bottom layer, made up of lichens and mosses growing in the remains of fallen trees, branches, and leaves.

Flora: All the plants in a particular area.

Fluorocarbons: Carbon-fluorine compounds that often contain other elements such as hydrogen, chlorine, or bromine. Common fluorocarbons include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and perfluorocarbons (PFCs).

Fluid: Matter in a gas or liquid state.

Food chain:  A series of organisms linked together in the order in which they feed on each other.

Food web:  All of the interlinked food chains in a community or an ecosystem.

Forest: A biome whose main vegetation consists of large groups of trees that usually grow close enough together that their tops touch, shading the ground.

Fossils: Traces of the remains of prehistoric animals and plants.

Fossil fuel: Any deposit of fossil materials, such as petroleum, natural gas, or coal, that can be burned to produce energy.

Frostbite: The freezing of the skin.

Fumarole: A vent in Earth's surface that releases steam and other gases, but generally no lava.

Garbage: Items that are discarded also "waste". Garbage often refers to food discarded and other items to "trash" or waste".

Geothermal energy: Heat energy from within the earth.

Geologist: A scientist who studies the origin, history, and structure of Earth.

Geosphere: The soils, sediments, and rock layers of the Earth's crust, both continental and beneath the ocean floors.

Glacier: Slowly flowing masses of ice created by years of snowfall and cold temperatures.

Global: Worldwide

Global warming / climate change: The theory that the average temperatures around the world have begun to rise, and will continue to rise, because of an increase of certain gases (called greenhouse gases) in Earth's atmosphere.

Grassland: A biome whose main vegetation is grass or grass-like plants.

Go green:  Living a "green" lifestyle and caring for the earth. Recycle, reuse, reduce.

Greenhouse: A structure, usually made of glass or clear plastic, that provides a protected, controlled environment for raising plants indoors.

Greenhouse effect:
The effect of certain gasses that trap heat in the atmosphere and raise the temperature of the planet.

Greenhouse gases: Atmospheric gases, mostly carbon dioxide and water vapor, that trap the warmth from the sun, just as glass traps warmth in a greenhouse.

Ground blizzard: The drifting and blowing of snow that occurs after a snowfall has ended.

Ground fire: A fire that burns beneath layer of dead plant material on the forest floor.

Habitat: The physical place, such as a desert, forest, or single tree, where a plant or animal lives and which is usually described by its physical features; also the natural home of a community.

Halocarbons: Compounds containing either chlorine, bromine or fluorine and carbon.

Hazardous materials: Solid or liquid materials involving or exposing one to risk (as of loss or harm).

Heat wave: An extended period of high heat and humidity.
 
Heavy snow: Snowfall that reduces visibility to 0.31 mile (0.5 kilometer) and yields, on average, 4 inches (10 centimeters) or more in a twelve-hour period or 6 inches (15 centimeters) or more in a twenty-four-hour period.

Hemisphere: Half of the Earth, usually conceived as resulting from the division of the globe into two equal parts, north and south or east and west.

Herbivores: Animals that eat only plants.

Herb layer: A forest's fifth layer, found close to the ground and containing plants such as flowers, grasses, ferns, seedling trees, and shrubs.

Hibernate: To spend the winter in a sleeplike condition of partial or total inactivity.

Host: An organism on or in which a parasite lives and whose support of the parasite often leads to its own injury.

Hot desert: A desert with hot daytime temperatures for most of the year.

Hot spot: An area beneath Earth's crust where magma currents rise.

Hurricane: A storm made up of a series of tightly coiled bands of thunderstorm clouds, with a well-defined pattern of rotating winds and maximum sustained winds greater than 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour.

Hybrid vehicles: Vehicles that run on more than one source of power, such as gasoline and electricity.

Hydrocarbons: Substances containing only hydrogen and carbon. Fossil fuels are made up of hydrocarbons.

Ice core: A cylindrical section of ice removed from a glacier or an ice sheet in order to study climate patterns of the past.

Incinerate: To burn to ashes.

Igneous rock: Rock made of solidified molten material that made its way from the interior of the planet to the surface.

Infrared Radiation (IR): Infrared is electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength spans the region from about 0.7 to 1000 micrometers (longer than visible radiation, shorter than microwave radiation). Remote sensing instruments work by sensing radiation that is naturally emitted or reflected by the Earth's surface or from the atmosphere, or by sensing signals transmitted from a satellite and reflected back to it. In the visible and near-infrared regions, surface chemical composition, vegetation cover, and biological properties of surface matter can be measured.

Insolation: The amount of solar energy that reaches the earth.

Insulator: A material that does not easily gain or lose energy.

Intensity: Description of the physical damage caused by an earthquake.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): The IPCC was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organisation and the United Nations Environmental Programme.

Magma: Molten, or melted, rock within the earth.

Magnitude: The power of an earthquake.

Mantle: The part of the earth between the crust and the core.

Marine life: Plants and animals of the ocean.

Meteorology: Study of the atmosphere and its phenomena.

Meteorite: A chunk of rock and/or metal that has broken off a larger space object, such as an asteroid or a comet, and falls to Earth's surface.

Meteoroid: The term that collectively describes all forms of meteoric material, including meteors and meteorites.

Meteorologist: A scientist who studies weather and climate.

Methane (CH4): A hydrocarbon that is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential most recently estimated at 23 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Micro organisms: Living organisms so small they can only be seen through a microscope.

Midnight zone: The area of the ocean beneath the twilight zone, extending from 3,000 feet (1,000 m) down to the ocean floor, where only about 1 percent of marine life can survive.

Migrate: To move from one place to another.

Mitigation: Mitigation refers to activities, which try to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.

Molecule: The smallest part of a substance that has all the characteristics of the substance.

Monsoon: Seasonal wind that blows from land to sea during the winter and from sea to land during the summer; also, more commonly, a seasonal period of heavy rainfall.

Monsoon climate: A climate that is warm year-round with very rainy (flood-prone) summers and relatively dry winters. It encompasses much of southern and southeastern Asia, the Philippines, coastal regions of northern South America, and slices of central Africa.

Mountain: A biome of high ground with various types of vegetation depending on the elevation.

Mudflow: A landslide consisting of soil mixed with water. It is wetter than the material in an earthflow.

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW): Residential solid waste and some non-hazardous commercial, institutional, and industrial wastes. This material is generally sent to municipal landfills for disposal.

Natural gas:  Underground deposits of gases consisting of 50 to 90 percent methane (CH4) and small amounts of heavier gaseous hydrocarbon compounds such as propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10).

Natural resources:  Things from nature.

Nekton: Animals, such as fish and whales, that move independently of water currents between the bottom and surface of the ocean.

Neutral: Having a pH of 7 and thus being neither acidic nor basic.

Niche: The location and role or job for which a species is well suited within its community, including its habitat, what it eats, its activities, and its interaction with other living things

Node: Where leaves grow from a plant stem.

Non-biodegradable: Not able to be consumed and/or broken down by biological organisms. Non-biodegradable substances include plastics, aluminum, and many chemicals used in industry and agriculture.

Non-renewable resource: Resources exist in the earth that are non renewable because we are taking them away and using them at a much faster rate than they were formed. Examples are copper, aluminum, coal, and oil.

Northern Hemisphere: The area of the earth above the equator.

Northern temperate zone: The region between latitudes 23.5¡N and 66.5¡N.

Nuclear energy: Energy produced from changes in atomic nuclei.

Oceans: The largest bodies of water on earth.

Oceanography: The study and exploration of the ocean.

Offsetting: Offsetting involves calculating the total amount of carbon dioxide that will be emitted from a certain activity, for example plane travel or a conference call.

Omnivores: Animals that eat both plants and animals.

Organic: All living things, and products that are uniquely produced by living things, such as wood, leather, and sugar. 2. All chemical compounds or molecules, natural or synthetic, that contain carbon atoms as an integral part of their structure.

Organism: All living things, including people, plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi.

Oxidation: A chemical reaction involving the combination of a material with oxygen.

Oxygen: An atmospheric gas made up of two oxygen atoms that is necessary for respiration.

Oxygen cycle: The recycling of oxygen-containing gases between plants and animals.

Ozone: A form of oxygen made up of three oxygen atoms that forms the ozone layer.

Ozone cycle: The ongoing process by which ozone breaks down and re-forms in the ozone layer.

Ozone depletion: Damage to the ozone layer.

Parasite: An organism that lives on or in a host organism and that gets its food from or at the expense of its host.

Parasitism: A relationship in which one organism, a parasite, secures its nourishment by living on or inside a host organism at the expense of its host.

Permafrost: A layer of permanently frozen soil underground. An important feature of a tundra.

pH: The unit of measure for determining whether a solution is acidic, basic, or neutral.

pH scale: The scale, ranging from 0 to 14, used to measure the pH of a solution.

Photosynthesis: The process by which plants use light energy trapped by chlorophyll to change carbon dioxide and water into food.

Phytoplankton: Plant plankton.

Plankton: Small to microscopic organisms that live near the ocean's surface and are carried along by the currents. Animal plankton are called zooplankton, and plant plankton are called phytoplankton.

Plate: A large section of Earth's crust.

Pollutants: Substances that destroy the purity of air, water, or land.

Polyp: A tiny, tube like marine animal of which live coral is made, one end of which is attached to the sea bottom, to rocks, or to one another and the opposite end of which is a mouth surrounded by fingerlike, stinging tentacles.

Population: Organisms of the same species living together in a specific area; also the total count of individuals in a specific area, such as the population of a town.

Precipitation: Water that returns to the earth as rain, hail, sleet, or snow.

Precycle: Consciousness about what you buy and use and choosing products based on less waste reduction.

Predator: An animal that hunts and kills other animals for food.

Prevailing winds: Winds that blow consistently from one direction.

Producers: Organisms (specifically, plants) that can produce their own food.

Radiation: Energy transfer in the form of electromagnetic waves or particles that release energy when absorbed by an object.

Radioactive: Giving off or capable of giving off radiant energy in the form of particles or rays, as in alpha, beta, and gamma rays.

Rain forest: An evergreen woodland of the tropics distinguished by a continuous leaf canopy and an average rainfall of about 100 inches per year. Rain forests play an important role in the global environment. The Earth sustains life because of critical balances and interactions among many factors. Were there not processes at work that limit the effects of other essential processes, Earth would become uninhabitable.

Recycle: To use again.

Recycling: Collecting and reprocessing a resource so it can be used again.

Reduce: Using less.

Reforestation: Planting of forests on lands that have previously contained forests but that have been converted to some other us.

Renewable: Able to be replaced or replenished, either by the earth's natural processes or by human action. Air, water, and forests are often considered to be example of renewable resources.

Renewable energy: Known as green or environmentally-friendly energy, renewable energy comes from natural sources that won't run out. These include the wind, the sun, the waves and biofuels such as wood, manure or flaxseed oil

Renewable resource: Resources exist in the earth that are non renewable because we are taking them away and using them at a much faster rate than they were formed. Examples are copper, aluminum, coal, and oil.

Respiration: An ongoing process by which plants and animals take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide.

Reuse: Use something another time.

Richter scale: The scale developed by American seismologist Charles Richter that describes the amount of energy released by an earthquake on a scale from 1 to 10. Each whole number increase in value on the scale indicates a 10-fold increase in the energy released. Earthquakes measuring 7 to 7.9 are major and those measuring 8 or above cause widespread destruction.

River flood: The overflowing of the banks of a river or stream. It may be caused by excessive rain, the springtime melting of snow, blockage of water flow due to ice, or the failure of a dam or aqueduct.

River gauge: A vertical measuring stick immersed in a river to measure changes in water level.

Salinity: The degree of salt in water. The rise in sea level due to global warming would result in increased salinity of rivers, bays and aquifers. This would affect drinking water, agriculture and wildlife.

Sanitary landfill: A solid waste disposal area that protects the environment from leachate.

Saturated: Containing the maximum amount of water a material can hold

Savannah: A land, which is without trees but with much grass either tall or short (such as the African savannah)

Scrub: Plants, such as small trees and shrubs, that usually have many stems, unlike trees, which have one main trunk

Sea level: The level of the surface of the ocean.

Second-order consumers: Animals that eat first-order consumers.

Seismic waves: (pronounced SIZE-mic waves) Vibrations that move outward from the focus of an earthquake, causing the ground to shake.

Seismograph: An instrument used to detect and measure seismic waves.

Semiarid: Having a climate that is dry, but not as dry as a desert.

Sink: Any process, activity or mechanism, which removes a greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas or aerosol from the atmosphere.

Soil erosion: The wearing away of the soil by wind or water.

Solar energy: Energy from the sun.

Solar power: Power, usually in the form of electricity or heat, derived from the Sun's radiation.

Solar radiation: Radiation emitted by the Sun.

Solution: A mixture made by dissolving a substance in a liquid, such as water.

Southern Hemisphere: The area of the earth below the equator.

Southern temperate zone:  The region between latitudes 23.5¡S and 66.5¡S.

Species: A group of similar and related organisms.

Stern review: In 2006, economist Sir Nicholas Stern published a report - The Stern Review - on the economics of climate change.

Stomata: Tiny pores on the surface of plant leaves that can open and close to take in and give out water vapour.

Stratus: Clouds, which are produced by stable air and looks like an even blanket.

Stratonimbus: Stratus clouds which produce a steady rainfall.

Streamflow: The volume of water that moves over a designated point over a fixed period of time.

Subcanopy layer: A forest's third layer, formed by the leaves and branches of shorter trees under the canopy layer.

Sublime climate change: The change in the climate caused by global warming.

Succulent plants: Plants that have thick, fleshy leaves or stems for storing water.

Sunlight zone: The upper 488 feet (150 m) of the ocean, where sunlight penetrates and where about 90 percent of all marine life live.

Superorganism: An organism, such as coral or the Portuguese man-of-war, that appears to be one organism, but in fact is a number of colonial animals joined together.

Surface fire: A fire with a visible flame that consumes plant material and debris on the forest floor.

Temperature: A measure of the energy in a substance. The more heat energy in the substance, the higher the temperature. The Earth receives only one two-billionth of the energy the sun produces. Much of the energy that hits the Earth is reflected back into space. Most of the energy that isn't reflected is absorbed by the Earth's surface. As the surface warms, it also warms the air above it.

Third order consumers: Animals that eat first- and/or second-order consumers.

Threatened species: Wild species that is still abundant in its natural range but is likely to become endangered because of a decline in numbers.

Tidal station: A floating instrument center in the ocean that records water levels.

Top consumer: An organism at the top of a food chain.

Tornado: Rapidly spinning column of air that extends from a thunderstorm cloud to the ground. Also called twister.

Tornado cyclone: Spinning column of air that protrudes through the base of a thunderstorm cloud.

Trace gas: Any one of the less common gases found in the Earth's atmosphere.

Transpiration: The loss of water into the atmosphere through the stomata of plants.

Trash: Items that are discarded also "waste".

Tree line: The height on a mountain above which the climate is too cold for trees to grow.

Tropical rain forest: A forest that gains more water from precipitation than it loses through evaporation. Located in the tropical zone and having an average temperature between 70¡ and 85¡F (21¡ and 29¡C) and average yearly rainfall of more than 80 inches (200 cm).

Tropical zone: The region between latitudes 23.5¡S and 23.5¡N.

Tropical cyclone: Any rotating weather system that forms over tropical waters.

Tropical depression: The weakest form of tropical cyclone, characterized by rotating bands of clouds and thunderstorms with maximum sustained winds of 38 miles (61 kilometers) per hour or less.

Tropical disturbance: A cluster of thunderstorms that is beginning to rotate.

Tropical storm: A tropical cyclone weaker than a hurricane, with organized bands of rotating thunderstorms and maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 miles (63 to 117 kilometers) per hour.

Trough: The lowest point of a wave.

Tsunami: (pronounced tsoo-NAH-mee) A series of giant ocean waves caused by a large displacement of water.

Tundra: A treeless biome mainly in the north polar areas that has long frigid winters and brief summers and where grasses, mosses, lichen, low shrubs, and a few flowering plants survive.

Twilight zone: The shadowy area of the ocean, extending from the bottom of the sunlight zone down to about 3,000 feet ( l ,000 m), where plants cannot grow and where animals are less numerous and smaller.

Urban heat island: Buildup of heat in the atmosphere above an urban area.

Universe: The solar system beyond our world.

Ultraviolet Radiation: The energy range just beyond the violet end of the visible spectrum. Although ultraviolet radiation constitutes only about 5 percent of the total energy emitted from the sun, it is the major energy source for the stratosphere and mesosphere, playing a dominant role in both energy balance and chemical composition.


Vegetation: Plant life.

Vent: An opening in the surface of Earth through which molten rock, lava, ash, and gases escape.

Virga: Rain which fall in the sky but evaporates before it reaches the ground.

Volcano: A naturally occurring vent or fissure at the Earth's surface through which erupt molten, solid, and gaseous materials. Volcanic eruptions inject large quantities of dust, gas, and aerosols into the atmosphere. A major component of volcanic clouds is sulfur dioxide, a strong absorber of ultraviolet radiation.


Waste: Waste, rubbish, trash, garbage, or junk is unwanted or undesired material.

Wastewater: Water that has been used and contains dissolved or suspended waste materials.

Water cycle: The recycling of water between the earth and the atmosphere.

Water energy: Energy from moving water.

Water vapour: The most abundant greenhouse gas, it is the water present in the atmosphere in gaseous form. Water vapor is an important part of the natural greenhouse effect.

Weather:  Atmospheric condition at any given time or place.

Weed: Any plant that grows where it is not wanted.

Wet deposits: Air pollutants that mix with moisture in the air before falling to the ground.

Wild flower: A flowering plant that grows in woods, deserts, or other natural areas.

Wind breaks: The practice of planting trees and shrubs to protect fields from soil erosion by wind.

Wind chill: The wind can reduce significantly the amount of heat your body retains. The following wind chill chart does not take into account such variables as type of clothing worn, amount of exposed flesh, and physical condition, all of which would alter body heat.

Wind energy: Energy from moving air.

Wind power: Power, usually in the form of electricity, derived from the wind.

Windward: The side of a mountain facing the direction from which the wind is blowing (in the United States, the western side). Warm air ascends, forms clouds, and yields precipitation on this side.


Zoo: Controlled environment where we visit and learn about animals.

Jet stream: The world's fastest upper-air winds. Jet streams travel in a west-to-east direction, at speeds of 80 to 190 miles (130 to 300 kilometers) per hour, around 30,000 feet (9,150 meters) above the ground. Jet streams occur where the largest differences in air temperature and air pressure exist.

Kelp: Underwater forests of tall, brown algae that grow in cool coastal waters.

Khamsin: (pronounced kahm-SENE) A hot, dry, southerly wind that originates on the Sahara and produces large sand and dust storms.

Kyoto Protocol:  Sponsored by the United Nations, the Kyoto Protocol is an agreement between countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It was established in Japan in 1997 but didn't become international law until 2004.

Lahar: (pronounced LAH-hahr) A mudflow composed of volcanic ash and water that occurs in the wake of a volcanic eruption.

Landfill: Land waste disposal site in which waste is generally spread in thin layers, compacted, and covered with a fresh layer of soil each day.

Landslide: The movement of large amounts of soil, rocks, mud, and other debris downward and outward along a slope.

Lava: Molten rock that erupts from a fissure or a vent.

Lava domes: Volcanic landmasses with bizarre shapes, made of hardened, thick, pasty layers of lava.

Lava tube: A hollow tube formed when the outer layer of lava is cooled by the air and hardens; molten lava may continue running through the tube.

Leachate:  A mixture of rainwater and other liquids that comes from garbage.

Lightening: A discharge of atmospheric electricity accompanied by a vivid flash of light. During thunderstorms, static electricity builds up within the clouds. A positive charge builds in the upper part of the cloud, while a large negative charge builds in the lower portion. When the difference between the positive and negative charges becomes great, the electrical charge jumps from one area to another, creating a lightning bolt.

Lithosphere: The component of the Earth's surface comprising the rock, soil, and sediments. It is a relatively passive component of the climate system, and its physical characteristics are treated as fixed elements in the determination of climate.

Liquid: Flowing freely like water.

Lichen: A combination of two organisms, fungus and green algae, that live in a relationship of mutualism.

Live earth: Concert for the earth held in major cities worldwide.

Vegetation: Plant life.

Vent: An opening in the surface of Earth through which molten rock, lava, ash, and gases escape.

Virga: Rain which fall in the sky but evaporates before it reaches the ground.

Volcano: A naturally occurring vent or fissure at the Earth's surface through which erupt molten, solid, and gaseous materials. Volcanic eruptions inject large quantities of dust, gas, and aerosols into the atmosphere. A major component of volcanic clouds is sulfur dioxide, a strong absorber of ultraviolet radiation.

Waste: Waste, rubbish, trash, garbage, or junk is unwanted or undesired material.

Wastewater: Water that has been used and contains dissolved or suspended waste materials.

Water cycle: The recycling of water between the earth and the atmosphere.

Water energy: Energy from moving water.

Water vapour: The most abundant greenhouse gas, it is the water present in the atmosphere in gaseous form. Water vapor is an important part of the natural greenhouse effect.

Weather:  Atmospheric condition at any given time or place.

Weed: Any plant that grows where it is not wanted.

Wet deposits: Air pollutants that mix with moisture in the air before falling to the ground.

Wild flower: A flowering plant that grows in woods, deserts, or other natural areas.

Wind breaks: The practice of planting trees and shrubs to protect fields from soil erosion by wind.

Wind chill: The wind can reduce significantly the amount of heat your body retains. The following wind chill chart does not take into account such variables as type of clothing worn, amount of exposed flesh, and physical condition, all of which would alter body heat.

Wind energy: Energy from moving air.

Wind power: Power, usually in the form of electricity, derived from the wind.

Windward: The side of a mountain facing the direction from which the wind is blowing (in the United States, the western side). Warm air ascends, forms clouds, and yields precipitation on this side.

Zoo: Controlled environment where we visit and learn about animals.