Environmental Quality

Environmental Quality

Absorption	The process of absorbing or of being absorbed -- to incorporate or take up-- to take in.
Acute, Chronic	Acute is a short, one time exposure while chronic is a continuous, low-level exposure.
Algae	Any of various chiefly aquatic, eukaryotic, photosynthetic organisms, ranging in size from single-celled forms to the giant kelp. Algae were once considered to be plants but are now classified separately because they lack true roots, stems, leaves, and embryos.
Ammonia	A pungent colorless gaseous alkaline compound of nitrogen and hydrogen NH3 that is very soluble in water and can easily be condensed to a liquid by cold and pressure.
Bacteria	Any of a group (as kingdom Prokaryotae syn. Monera) of prokaryotic unicellular round, spiral, or rod-shaped single-celled microorganisms that are often aggregated into colonies or motile by means of flagella, that live in soil, water, organic matter, or the bodies of plants and animals, and that are autotrophic, saprophytic, or parasitic in nutrition and important because of their biochemical effects and pathogenicity.
Bhopal, India	A noxious gas (methylisocyanate) blanketed the city when water had gotten into a tank containing 40 tons of MIC setting off a chemical reaction. 1754 died with over 200,000 injured.
Bioaccumulation	The presence of a chemical substance in higher concentrations in an organism than in the direct environment or in its food.
Carcinogenic	A substance that causes cancer.
Chlorine	A halogen element that is isolated as a heavy greenish yellow gas of pungent odor and is used especially as a bleach, oxidizing agent, and disinfectant in water purification.
Coliform Bacteria	Bacteria that live in the intestines (including the colon) of humans and other animals, used as a measure of the presence of feces in water or soil.
Concentration	The amount of a component in a given area or volume.
Contaminants	Something that contaminates.
DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane)	A colorless odorless water-insoluble crystalline insecticide C14H9Cl5 that tends to accumulate in ecosystems and has toxic effects on many vertebrates; became the most widely used pesticide from WWII to the 1950's; implicated in illnesses and environmental problem; now banned in US.
Disinfection	To free from infection especially by destroying harmful microorganisms.
Distillation	The process of purifying a liquid by successive evaporation and condensation.
Dose Threshold Level	Maximum level of a substance before toxic levels are reached.
Feces	Bodily waste discharged through the anus.
Hazardous Chemicals	acids, caustics, irritants, etc.Many are hazardous in high concentrations but harmless when diluted.
Heavy Metals	Mercury, lead, cadmium and nickel-highly toxic in very small quantities; can be fatal and bioaccumulate in environment-have cumulative effects in humans.
Hemoglobin	The iron-containing respiratory pigment in red blood cells of vertebrates, consisting of about 6 percent heme and 94 percent globin.
Mutagens	Agents, such as chemicals or radiation, that damage or alter genetic material (DNA) in cells.
Mutate	A change, either spontaneous or by external factors, in the genetic material of a cell, mutations in the gametes (sex cells) can be inherited by future generations of organisms.
Nitrates	a) a salt or ester of nitric acid (b) sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate used as a fertilizer.
Non-point sources	Scattered, diffuse sources of pollutants, such as runoff from fields golf courses, etc.
Oxidation	The act or process of oxidizing- to change (a compound) by increasing the proportion of the electronegative part or change (an element or ion) from a lower to a higher positive valence
Pathogen	An organism that produces disease in a host organism, disease being an alteration of one or more metabolic functions in response to the presence of the organism.
Pathogenic	To cause disease.
Pathogenic organisms	Produce disease in host organisms.
Pesticide	A chemical that kills, controls, drives away, or modifies the behavior of pests.
Phosphates	A salt or ester of a phosphoric acid (2) the trivalent anion PO43- derived from phosphoric acid H3PO4 b: an organic compound of phosphoric acid in which the acid group is bound to nitrogen or a carboxyl group in a way that permits useful energy to be released (as in metabolism)-- 3: a phosphatic material used for fertilizers.
Point sources	Specific locations of highly concentrated pollution discharge, such as factories, oils wells, etc.
Relative	Relation of one thing to another; Expressed as the ratio of the specified quantity to the total magnitude (as the value of a measured quantity) or to the mean of all the quantities involved.
Residue	What is left over or remains; the part of a molecule that remains after portion of its constituents are removed. Residues of some contaminants may remain after
Resistant	The ability of an individual or community to resist being changed by potentially disruptive events.
Routinely monitored	Regular, periodic testing
Soluble	Susceptible of being dissolved in a liquid, particularly water.
Systems	A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole.
Teratogens	Chemicals or other factors that specifically cause abnormalities during embryonic growth and development.
Thermal Pollution	Industrial discharge of heated water into a river, lake, or other body of water, causing a rise in temperature that endangers aquatic life.
Toxic	Poisonous, a substance that reacts with specific cellular components to kill cells.
Underutilized	To utilize less than fully or below the potential use.

Waste

Ash	The grayish-white to black powdery residue left when something is burned.
Biodegradable	Able to be decomposed by microorganisms.
CERCLA (Superfund) Act of 1980	Sets up a fund to clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites. Establishes strict liability which means that any individual or corporation associated with the site can be held liable for the entire cost of the cleanup, regardless of their contribution to the pollution at the site. Sets guidelines on how to clean up sites.
Clay	A fine-grained, firm earthy material that is plastic when wet and hardens when heated, consisting primarily of hydrated silicates of aluminum and widely used in making bricks, tiles, and pottery; used for liners in landfills because it is impervious.
Corrosive	Gradually destructive; steadily harmful.
Impervious	Incapable of being penetrated.
Incinerator	An apparatus, such as a furnace, for burning waste.
Intermittent	Stopping and starting at intervals.
Landfills	Land disposal sites for solid waste; operators compact refuse and cover it with a layer of dirt to minimize rodent and insect infestations, wind-blown debris, and leaching by rain.
Leachate	A product or solution formed by leaching, such as a solution containing contaminants picked up through the leaching of soil.
Love Canal	An area in Niagara Falls, NY where seepage from buried toxic wastes contaminated local soil and water. In 1968, President Carter relocated almost all the residents of Love Canal. This incident provided impetus for the 1980 Superfund legislation.
Municipal Sewage	The wastewater from households, offices, and other buildings in a city. Municipal and regional sewage systems can either be sanitary sewage only, or sanitary sewage and storm water. Municipal sewage is collected at treatment plants where solids are removed (primary sewage treatment) and then is treated by various other methods including using aerobic bacteria to remove organic wastes (secondary treatment), and advanced or tertiatry treatment with various chemical and physical processes.
Mutagenic	Causes genetic mutations.
National Priority List (NPL)	Set up by EPA as part of the Superfund program. Locates and sets priorities for cleaning up hazardous waste sites.
Organic Matter	Compounds that contain carbon and hydrogen covalently bonded together in molecules; molecules from living matter. Organic wastes in sewage and runoff from lawns and farms in fresh waters can cause oxygen-depletion and degration of water quality.
Primary Sewage Treatment	A process that removes solids from sewage before it is discharged or treated further.
Proximity	The state, quality, sense, or fact of being near or next; closeness.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)	Regulates the handling of wastes from cradle to grave. Establishes rules for the handling of such waste from the time it is generated, while it is packaged, stored, while it is transported, and how it is disposed, and the disposal sites themselves.
Secure Landfills	A landfill designed to prevent against leaking or exposure.
Sludge	A semi-solid mixture of organic and inorganic materials that settles out of wastewater at a sewage treatment plant.
Tipping fee	A fee for disposal of waste.
Waste Lagoons	A blocked-off area used for the dumping of waste products.
Waste Stream	The steady flow of varied wastes, from domestic garbage and yard wastes to industrial, commercial, and construction refuse.

Land

Contour Plowing	Plowing along hill contours-reduces erosion.
Desertification	Loss of vegetation and land degradation in dry and semi-arid areas resulting from land mismanagement or climate changes.
Drip Irrigation	Uses pipe or tubing perforated with very small holes to deliver water one drop at a time directly to the soil around each plant.This conserves water and reduces soil water logging and salinization.
Erosion	To wear away by the action of water, wind, or glacial ice. Removal of vegetation and trees can increase erosion of topsoil.
Fertilization	The process of union of two gametes whereby the somatic chromosome number is restored and the development of a new individual is initiated; addition of materials to soil to increase the available nutrient content.
Siltation	To become choked or obstructed with silt or mud.
Strip Farming	Planting different kinds of crops in alternating strips along land contours-when one crop is harvested one remains to protect the soil and reduce erosion.
Topsoil	The uppermost 3 to 10 inches of soil, layer in which organic material is mixed with mineral particles; critical for agriculture.

Water

Aqueduct	A pipe or channel designed to transport water from a remote source, usually by gravity. A bridge like structure supporting a conduit or canal passing over a river or low ground.
Aquifer	Porous, water-bearing layers of sand gravel, and rock.
Artesian wells	When water gushes out of an aquifer without being pumped; caused by pressure from the earth's crust.
Aswan High Dam	Dam across the Nile River in Egypt, which impounds one of the largest reservoirs in the world.-- the artificial lake created by the dam Called Lake Nasser inundated many villages along the Nile.-- Hydroelectric installations were added in 1960 to the Aswan Dam.
Basin	A large, bowl shaped depression in the surface of the land or ocean floor.
Black Water	Water containing human excrement whichcannot be reused without purification.
Brackish Water	Fresh and salt water combined.
Cap Rock	Last layer of material on top of a geological formation such as the Canadian Shield.
Capillary water	Water that clings in small pores, cracks, and spaces against the pull of gravity, like water held in a sponge.
Channelization	To straighten by means of a channel.
Condensation	Condensation is the change of state from a gas to a liquid. Water vapor in the air changes to liquid as it cools.
Consumptive	Of or pertaining to consumption; having the quality of consuming or dissipating. Consumptive uses of water include pumping water for irrigation or municipal uses, and evapotranspiration.
Cultural Eutrophication	An increase in biological productivity and ecosystem succession caused by human activities.
Desalinization	Removing the salt from water
Discharge rate	The amount of water that passes a fixed point in a given amount of time, usually expressed as liters or cubic feet of water per second.
Dissolved Oxygen (DO) content	The amount of oxygen dissolved In a given volume of water at a given temp and atmospheric pressure, usually expressed in parts per million.
Distillation	A process of desalinization in which water is evaporated and then recondensed.
Drought	A long period without precipitation
Drought cycle	Cycles of wet and dry years
Evaporation	Process by which liquid is changed into vapor at temperatures below boiling point
Evapotranspiration	The sum of water evaporation and plant transpiration. Actual evapotranspiration can not be any greater than precipitation, and will usually be less because some water will run off in rivers and flow to the oceans.
Flood control devices	Measures to protect areas that are easily flooded by either reducing flood flows or confining the flow; devises include dams, levees, or modifying the channel of the river or stream.Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973. This law signaled a shift in federal policy from reducing the floods through structural controls to reducing the damages by limiting the development in flood prone areas, by making federally-subsidized flood insurance available to property owners in flood-prone areas only in those communities which adopted floodplain zoning.
Gray Water	Wastewater, as from sinks and tubs, that does not contain human excrements. Such water can be reused without purification for some purposes.
Groundwater	Water in the ground.
Hard Water	Water with high mineral content.
Infiltration	The act or process of infiltrating, as of water into a porous substance, or of a fluid into the cells of an organ or part of the body.
Karst	An area of irregular limestone in which erosion has produced fissures, sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns.
Lake Effect snow	Lake-generated snow squalls form when cold air passing for long distances over the relatively warm waters of a large lake picks up moisture and heat and then drops the moisture in the form of snow upon reaching the downwind shore.
Meander	A turn or winding of a stream.
Mono Lake	Oasis in the dry Great Basin in California and a vital habitat for millions of migration and nesting birds.
Nutrient	A source of nourishment, especially a nourishing ingredient in a food.
Offset	One that balances, counteracts, or compensates
Ogallala Aquifer	Largest aquifer in North America.
Overdrawn	To take too much out, deplete resources, such as pumping water from an aquifer at a faster rate than it can be replenished, or recharged, by rainfall.
Percolation	Water slowly moves through soil and gravel into an aquifer.
Permafrost	Permanently frozen layer of soil that underlies the arctic tundra.
Pore spaces	The amount of space available for ground water due to the topography of the area.
Porosity	The ratio of the volume of all the pores in a material to the volume of the whole.
Potable Water	Drinkable by humans.
Recharge Zones	Area where water filters into aquifers
Reservoir	A natural or artificial pond or lake used for the storage and regulation of water.
Residence Time	Length of time a component spends in a particular location before it moves on through a particular process or cycle.
Reverse Osmosis	A process of desalinization where water is forced under pressure through a semipermeable membrane whose tiny pores allow water to pass but exclude most salts and minerals.
Runoff	excess water that can't be absorbed by the ground
Sink Hole	A hole or low place in land or rock, where waters sink and are lost, causing surface areas to sink in or collapse.
Spillways	A passage for surplus water to run over or around an obstruction (such as a dam).
Storm water	Water that results from a storm; can cause flooding and contamination of sewers.
Sublimation	water moves from solid to gas without being a liquid
Subsoil	The layer or bed of earth beneath the topsoil.
Tennessee Valley Authority	(TVA), federal corporation, created by the Congress of the United States in 1933 to operate Wilson Dam and to develop the Tennessee River and its tributaries in the interest of navigation, flood control, and the production and distribution of electricity -- enactments include reforestation, industrial and community development, test-demonstration farming, the development of fertilizer, and the establishment of recreational facilities -- includes a number of dams for electricity and flood control.
Three Gorges Dam	Three Gorges Dam near Yichang on the Yangtze River in China is expected to help control the flooding of the Yangtze River valley; in addition, river flows will make the Three Gorges complex the largest electricity-generating facility in the world.-- A lake about 650 km (about 400 mi) long will form behind the dam, forcing the relocation of more than 1 million people and permanently flooding many historical sites.
Topography	A detailed map of the contours of surfaces of land.
Transpiration	The process by which water is absorbed by the root system of plants, moves through the plant, and then evaporates into the atmosphere as water vapor.
Tributary	Small stream emptying into bigger river
Water table	The surface between the zone of saturation and the zone of aeration. Water seeping down from rain-soaked surfaces will sink until it reaches an impermeable or water-tight layer of rock. The water will collect above this layer, filling all the pores and cracks of the permeable portions. The top of this area of water is called the water table.
Watershed	The area of land that catches rain and snow and drains or seeps into a marsh, stream, river, lake or groundwater. Watersheds are often contained in the area of land between two ridges of high land, which divide two areas that are drained by different river systems.
Xeroscaping	Landscaping with drought resistant plants that need no watering.
Zone of Aeration	Zone immediately below the ground surface within which pore spaces are partially filled with water and partially filled with air.
Zone of Saturation	Lower levels of soil where all spaces are filled with water.

Scientific Analysis, Observing the Natural World

Hypothesis	A tentative explanation that accounts for a set of facts and can be tested for further investigation.
Qualitative	Of or concerning a trait or characteristic, property.
Quantitative	Relating to or expressed as a specified or indefinite number or amount.

Earth's Systems

Carbon Cycle	The combined processes, including photosynthesis, decomposition, and respiration, by which carbon as a component of various compounds cycles between its major reservoirs: the atmosphere, oceans, and living organisms.
Chemical Energy	that part of the energy in a substance that can be released by a chemical reaction
Chlorophyll	Any of a group of green pigments essential in photosynthesis.
Density	The quantity of something per unit measure, especially per unit length, area, or volume. The mass per unit volume of a substance under specified conditions of pressure and temperature.
Fermentation	Any of a group of chemical reactions induced by living or nonliving ferments that split complex organic compounds into relatively simple substances, especially the anaerobic conversion of sugar to carbon dioxide and alcohol by yeast.
Formula for Photosynthesis	CO₂ (from the air) + H₂O + sun's energy (light) * C₆H₁₂O₆(glucose) + O₂
High Quality Energy	Energy that can be used or converted into something else.
Kinetic Energy	The energy possessed by a body because of its motion, equal to one half the mass of the body times the square of its speed.
Low Quality Energy	Energy that is lost or cannot be used again.
Nitrogen Cycle	The circulation of nitrogen in nature, consisting of a cycle of chemical reactions in which atmospheric nitrogen is compounded, dissolved in rain, and deposited in the soil, where it is assimilated and metabolized by bacteria and plants, eventually returning to the atmosphere by bacterial decomposition of organic matter.
Phosphorous Cycle	The movement of phosphorous atoms from rocks and soil through the biosphere and hydrosphere and back to soil.
Photosynthesis	The process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source. Most forms of photosynthesis release oxygen as a byproduct.
Potential Energy	The energy of a particle or system of particles derived from position, or condition, rather than motion. A raised weight, coiled spring, or charged battery has potential energy.
Solar Energy	Energy from the sun that is converted into thermal, chemical, or electrical energy.
Spontaneous	Happening or arising without apparent external cause; self-generated. Arising from a natural inclination or impulse and not from external incitement or constraint. Unconstrained and unstudied in manner or behavior. Growing without cultivation or human labor; indigenous.

Atmosphere, Weather, Air Quality

Acid rain	Rain (and snow, fog, dust particles, etc.) containing acids that form in the atmosphere when sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides from industrial emissions and automobile exhaust combine with water.
Anthropogenic	Resulting from human activity
Asbestos	A fibrous incombustible mineral known to cause fibrosis and scarring in the lungs. Also a known carcinogenic material (lung cancer, mesothelioma).
Auto emissions standards	The standards that are set to regulate how much pollution is put out by your vehicle.
Barometric Pressure	Atmospheric pressure as indicated by a barometer.
Carbon monoxide (CO)	A colorless, odorless, highly poisonous gas, CO, formed by the incomplete combustion of carbon or a carbonaceous material, such as gasoline.
Catalytic converter	A reaction chamber typically containing a finely divided platinum-iridium catalyst into which exhaust gases from an automotive engine are passed together with excess air so that carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon pollutants are oxidized to carbon dioxide and water.
CFC (Chlorofluorocarbons)	A series of hydrocarbons containing both chlorine and fluorine. These have been used as refrigerants, blowing agents, cleaning fluids, solvents, and as fire extinguishing agents. They have been shown to cause stratospheric ozone depletion and have been banned for many uses.
Clean Air Act	Long standing federal legislation that is the legal basis for the national clean air programs, last amended in 1990.
Combustion	A chemical change, especially oxidation, accompanied by the production of heat and light.
Command and control	Requires polluters to meet specific emission-reduction targets and often requires the installation and use of specific types of equipment to reduce emissions.
Continental	Of or relating to or characteristic of a continent (one of the large landmasses of the earth).
Convection cell	The transfer of heat or other atmospheric properties by massive motion within the atmosphere, especially by such motion directed upward.
Coriolis effect	The observed effect of the Coriolis force, especially the deflection of an object moving above the earth, rightward in the northern hemisphere and leftward in the southern hemisphere.
Criteria pollutants	The 1970 amendments to the Clean Air Act required EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for certain pollutants known to be hazardous to human health. EPA has identified six criteria pollutants: sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, ozone, and particulate matter.
Dissemination	To become widely scattered (seeds).
El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO)	The formation of an El Nino is linked with the cycling of a Pacific Ocean circulation pattern known as the southern oscillation. In a normal year, a surface low pressure develops in the region of northern Australia and Indonesia and a high pressure system over the coast of Peru. As a result, the trade winds over the Pacific Ocean move strongly from east to west. The easterly flow of the trade winds carries warm surface waters westward, bringing convective storms to Indonesia and coastal Australia. Along the coast of Peru, cold bottom water wells up to the surface to replace the warm water that is pulled to the west.
Electrostatic	Of or relating to electric charges at rest or produced or caused by such charges. Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
Eye, Eye wall	The eye of a hurricane is the center where no storm activity is taking place. The wall is the area between the eye and the storm.
Fossil fuel	A hydrocarbon deposit, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas, derived from living matter of a previous geologic time and used for fuel.
Fujita Scale	A scale measuring the intensity of a tornado based on wind speed, diameter, and damage caused.
Hurricane Nor'easter	A hurricane that generates from the northeast and move southwest.
Hydroxyl radical (OH)	The monovalent group -OH in such compounds as bases and some acids and alcohols. This radical is characteristic of hydroxides, oxygen acids, alcohols, glycols, phenols, and hemiacetals.
Isobars	A line on a weather map connecting points of equal atmospheric pressure. Also called isopiestic.
Jet stream	A high-speed, meandering wind current, generally moving from a westerly direction at speeds often exceeding 400 kilometers (250 miles) per hour at altitudes of 15 to 25 kilometers (10 to 15 miles).
Latitude	The angular distance north or south of the earth's equator, measured in degrees along a meridian, as on a map or globe. A region of the earth considered in relation to its distance from the equator
Lead	A soft, malleable, ductile, bluish-white, dense metallic element, extracted chiefly from galena and used in containers and pipes for corrosives, solder and type metal, bullets, radiation shielding, paints, and antiknock compounds. Atomic number 82; atomic weight 207.19; melting point 327.5°C; boiling point 1,744°C; specific gravity 11.35; valence 2, 4.
Legionnaires Disease	An acute bacterial respiratory illness caused by the gram-negative bacterium Legionella pneumophila, a member of the family Legionellaceae. The bacteria has been found in water systems and can survive in the air conditioning systems of large buildings. Risk factors for infection include smoking, COPD, renal failure, cancer, diabetes and alcoholism.
Marine Climate	As its name suggests west coast marine climates (Cfb) are generally found on the western sides of continents in the belt of the westerly winds between roughly 40 to 60 degrees latitude. This location produces a climate that is humid, often quite rainy, with mild temperatures considering the fairly high latitudes. This is, of course, the effect of having large bodies of water to windward. Water is a great modifier of temperatures because it heats and cools slowly. The proximity of water to windward leads to much milder winter temperatures and somewhat cooler summer temperatures than are experienced at continental locations at the same latitudes. Cfb climates are considered by some to be gloomy climates, because they are the world's cloudiest climates. Distinctive kind of biological community adapted to those conditions.
Microwave	A high-frequency electromagnetic wave, one millimeter to one meter in wavelength, intermediate between infrared and short-wave radio wavelengths.
Monsoon	A wind system that influences large climatic regions and reverses direction seasonally. A wind from the southwest or south that brings heavy rainfall to southern Asia in the summer. The rain that accompanies this wind.
Montreal Protocol	Treaty, signed in 1987,that governs stratospheric ozone protection and research, and the production and use of ozone-depleting substances. It provides for the end of production of ozone-depleting substances such as CFCS. Under the Protocol, various research groups continue to assess the ozone layer. The Multilateral Fund provides resources to developing nations to promote the transition to ozone-safe technologies.
National Ambient Air Quality Standards	Health-based pollutant concentration limits established by EPA that apply to outside air.
Nor'easter	A storm blowing from the northeast.
Open burning	Uncontrolled fires in an open dump.
Orographic effect (Chinook winds)	A moist wind blowing from the sea on the NW United States coast.
Ozone (layer)	A colorless gas (O3) soluble in alkalis and cold water; a strong oxidizing agent; can be produced by electric discharge in oxygen or by the action of ultraviolet radiation on oxygen in the stratosphere (where it acts as a screen for ultraviolet radiation).
pH scale	p(otential of) H(ydrogen); the logarithm of the reciprocal of hydrogen-ion concentration in gram atoms per liter; used as a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution on a scale of 0-14 (where 7 is neutral).
PM-10	Particulates that are less than 10 microns in diameter. These particulates are present in the smoke created by burning wood.
Precipitator	Pollution control device that collects particles from an air stream.
Radon	A radioactive gaseous element formed by the disintegration of radium; the heaviest of the inert gasses; occurs naturally (especially in areas over granite) and is considered a hazard to health.
Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT)	The lowest emissions limit that a particular source can meet by the application of control technology that is reasonably available considering technological and economic feasibility.
Saffir/Simpson	A scale to measure hurricanes based on wind speeds and air pressure.
Scrubbers	An air pollution device that uses a spray of water or reactant or