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Glossary

adaptation

A characteristic or feature of a plant or animal that helps it survive, adaptations evolve over long time periods e.g. birds that become flightles

anthropogenic

Caused by people e.g. ocean acidification is caused by people increasing carbon dioxide emissions since the industrial revolutions

atmosphere

The air around us

biodiversity

The range or variety of living things in a particular area

biologist

A person who studies living things

biosphere

The part of the Earth system to do with all living things

braided river

A type of river that form a network of many branches within a channel. They occur only where a very specific combination of climate and geology allows rivers to form ever-changing and highly dynamic ‘braided’ channels across a wide gravelly riverbed. They have steep gradients and fast flows.

carbon

A natural chemical element found in all living, or once living things

carbon cycle

Just as the "water cycle" describes the transfer of water molecules between rivers, oceans, land and the atmosphere, the "carbon cycle" refers to the flow of carbon through different parts of the Earth system – including the air and the bodies of plants and animals

carbon dioxide

When a carbon atom joins with two oxygen atoms, a lot of carbon dioxide comes from burning things containing carbon

chemical compounds

Molecules made up of different types of atoms bonded together

climate

The average weather over many years

climate change

Rapid change in climate due to human activity (mainly burning fossil fuels) increasing heat trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

climate model

A computer model used to predict future climate change and the impacts of these changes

community

All the living things in a particular area

condensation

The process of changing water from a gas to a liquid is called condensation

continent

One of the seven large areas of land on earth

cryosphere

The frozen part of the Earth system. Where water is in solid form, including sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (there is overlap between the cryosphere and hydrosphere which includes all water on the Earth's surface)

ecosystem

This is all the living (e.g. animals, plants) and non-living (e.g. light, water) things within a particular area

endemic

A native species found nowhere else in the world

evaporation

The process of changing water from a liquid to a gas is called evaporation

fluorinated gases

Man-made gases containing fluorine that can stay in the atmosphere for centuries and contribute to a global greenhouse effect.

fossil

When a plant or animal or parts of a plant or animal are preserved in rocks

glacier

A river of ice

glacial recession

When a glacier shrinks as melting exceeds the amount of snow that accumulates

global cooling

When the average temperature on earth naturally falls

global warming

When the average temperature on earth naturally rises

greenhouse effect

The way the earth is warmed by its atmosphere

greenhouse gases

Gases which trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere

humidity

Amount of moisture in the air described as a percentage

hydrosphere

All the waters on the Earth's surface, such as lakes and seas

hypothesis

An explanation of why things happen that can be tested by scientists

Ice Age

A period when the earth's climate is colder

ice sheet

A large area of ice formed when glaciers join together

ice shelf

A large area of floating ice, formed when glaciers flow out to sea

iceberg

Part of a glacier or ice shelf that has broken off and floated away

Industrial Revolution

A period when the invention of machines led to a rapid increase in industry in Britain in the late 1700s

lithosphere

The solid rocky layer covering the surface of the Earth including the crust and upper mantle

mass

The quantity of matter contained in an object

matter

Anything that takes up space and has mass - everything around us

meteorologist

A person who studies the atmosphere and especially the weather

meteorological

To do with the atmosphere, especially weather

methane

A greenhouse gas CH4 produced from the breakdown of once living things

microorganism

an organism too small to see with the naked eye

molecule

A group of atoms bonded together

nitrous oxide

Sometimes called laughing gas, a greenhouse gas produced by bacteria and by people through agriculture

ocean acidification

The lowering of the pH of the oceans due to their absorbtion of carbon dioxide

ocean current

Large flows of water in the oceans

organism

A living thing

ozone

A gas made up of three oxygen atoms which is naturally present in the upper atmosphere, it helps protect Earth from harmful UV radiation

particles

A very small amount of something, or the smallest possible part of something

pH

A measure of how acidic (or alkaline) a substance is

photosynthesis

The process that plants carry out to harness the sun's energy and carbon dioxide to make sugars for food

pressure

The force of something upon a surface eg air pressure is the force or weight of air above a particular point on the Earth's surface

pressure ridge

A fold or buckle in ice, often where ice collides with land

radiation

Energy that comes from a source and travels through some material or space. Light, heat and sound are forms of radiation

salinity

The amount of salt in sea water

sea ice

Sea ice is formed on the ocean surface when the water temperature falls to –2 degrees Celsius. It floats because it is less dense than sea water

solar activity

activity on the sun's surface such as flares and sunspots

sunspots

darker, cooler areas on the sun's surface

weather

Day to day changes in the atmosphere