Climate change in the UKOTs an overview of the ... - JNCC - Defra

Glossary cont’d
El Niño/El Niño –
Southern Oscillation
Endangered species
Endemic/endemism
Extinct (in the wild)
Fossil fuels
Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse gases
Habitat
Ice age
Ice core
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A climatic pattern that results from the interaction between the ocean
and the atmosphere in the Pacific and the follow-on effect on global
climate. It is caused when the trade winds that blow from east to west
along the equator in the Pacific decrease in intensity (this is the
Southern Oscillation) and bring about warming of the ocean
temperature. The consequences are felt in the Pacific as well as globally.
A plant or animal is endangered when it is considered to be facing a
very high risk of extinction in the wild.
Found only in a certain strictly limited geographical region, i.e. restricted
to a specified region or locality. This can apply to a disease or to an
animal or plant species.
A plant or animal considered extinct in the wild when it is known only to
survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalised population (or
populations) well outside the range in which it previously occurred.
A fuel produced by the remains of living organisms that built up
underground over geological periods. They mainly consist of carbon
and hydrogen and are therefore also known as hydrocarbons. They are
found in different states: liquid (for example, oil), solid (for example, coal,
peat) and gaseous (for example, natural gas).
The warming effect of the Earth's atmosphere. Light energy from the sun
that passes through the Earth's atmosphere is absorbed by the Earth's
surface and re-radiated into the atmosphere as heat energy. The heat
energy is then trapped by the atmosphere, creating a situation similar to
that which occurs in a greenhouse. Greenhouse gases (see below) allow
incoming solar radiation to pass through the Earth's atmosphere, but
prevent most of the outgoing infrared radiation from the surface and
lower atmosphere from escaping into outer space. This process occurs
naturally and has kept the Earth's temperature about 15°C warmer than it
would otherwise be. Current life on Earth could not be sustained without
the natural greenhouse effect.
The atmospheric gases that absorb and emit radiation at specific
wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared radiation emitted by the
Earth’s surface, the atmosphere and clouds. Water vapour (H 2 O),
carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), methane (CH 4 ), and ozone
(O 3 ) are the primary greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The location and environmental conditions in which a particular
organism (plant, animal, fungus or bacterium) normally lives.
A period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface
and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets,
polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers.
Cylinders of ice obtained by drilling into a glacier. Since the different
layers of ice are formed over time through build-up of snow, ice cores
provide information on climate from different periods (up to almost one
million years) that can be used for research.