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496 assessment of climate change in the southwest united statesradiative forcing – changes in the balance of radiated energy between different layers ofthe atmosphere. Positive forcing warms the climate system while negative forcing coolsthe system.resilience strategies – management strategies that enhance the capacity to withstandand recover from emergencies and disastersreturn flow – water left over from irrigating a crop that does not evaporate but returns toa surface flow (such as an acequia or canal) or to a groundwater sourcerevetment – facings of masonry or other hardened surface built to protect an embankmentrisk – likelihood of harm plus the consequencerisk-based framing – planning based on the pros and cons of a given set of possibilities.For the National Climate Assessment, risk-based framing includes assessment of a riskin terms of the likelihood of its occurrence and the magnitude of the impact associatedwith the risk.robust – can refer to a scientific finding or a method that can stand up to a wide range ofcritique; in the context of climate adaptation planning, a robust adaptation strategy willbe successful across a wide range of possible future conditionsrunoff efficiency – the ratio of precipitation that infiltrates as groundwater as comparedto runoff; a high runoff efficiency means that the precipitation will soak into the soil andpercolate down into the groundwater, thus saving water within a region, as opposed toa low runoff efficiency, which would result in precipitation being quickly diverted out ofa region, as occurs during a high intensity rainfall and flash floodsalmonid – species of fish that spawn in freshwater but may spend a portion of their lifein the oceanSanta Anas – strong, hot, gusty, and dry winds in Southern California that periodicallyblow from the inland deserts during the otherwise cool, moist fall and winter there,contributing to fire riskscenario – A scenario is a coherent, internally consistent and plausible description of apossible future state of the world. It is not a forecast; rather, each scenario is one alternativeimage of how the future can unfold.scenario planning – a process designed for managing into the future under conditionsof high uncertainty and lack of control. The objective of scenario planning is to developand test decisions under a variety of plausible futures.seasonality – with reference to climate, the characteristic weather and climate attributesof a particular time of year. Scientists often refer to shifts in seasonality, such as a frequentlyrecurring delay in the onset of the first winter snowfallsea-surface temperature (SST) – the temperature of the water close to the ocean’s surface,a measurement which can vary between 1 mm (.04 inches) and 20 m (3.3 feet) belowthe ocean surfacesediment – Transported and deposited particles derived from rocks, soil, or biologicalmaterial, that forms in layers on the earth’s surface. Also the layer of soil, sand, and mineralsat the bottom of surface water, such as streams, lakes, and rivers.