Glossary of Climate and Environmental Terms
Anticyclone
A zone of high atmospheric pressure surrounded by a series of isobars, where pressure decreases from the center outwards. It is marked on a weather map with an ‘A’. An anticyclone is formed when a mass of cold, dense air located at a certain height descends, increasing the pressure in that area.
Dryness
Although it can coincide with periods of no rain, dryness occurs when evapotranspiration is greater than total precipitation. This means the land loses more water to the atmosphere than it receives.
Continental Avenues
Continental avenues are a natural climate risk. Although they are a phenomenon that is part of the natural dynamics of the geosphere, they are the most destructive natural hazard. Their origins are hurricanes, floods, snowmelt, and flooding in the flow of rivers and streams.
River Floods
River floods are caused by rivers, which are permanent streams underway. The flooding of rivers is part of their natural dynamics. Naturally, the water leaves the channel and floods nearby areas, known as flood plains or meadows. Sediment is deposited in these areas, which are often fertile and have a high human population density.
Torrential Floods
Torrential floods are caused by floods in streams, which are irregular channels that carry water only occasionally, after heavy rains or periods of snowmelt. These channels are generally quite straight, short, and steep, reaching the mountains. This category also includes flooding in gullies, ravines, or ditches.
Destructive Plate Boundaries
Also called subduction zones, these boundaries occur where two plates of oceanic lithosphere converge. One plate is inserted under the other, sinking into the mantle and being destroyed and melted. These edges are detected in the relief of the seafloor by the presence of narrow and deep trenches of enormous depth and length. In this area of friction between plates and the formed ridges, numerous earthquake foci are located. Due to the fracture site and the fusion of the subducting plate, there are also numerous volcanic phenomena.
Passive Plate Boundaries or Transform Faults
These are boundaries where one plate slides over another laterally, without creating or destroying lithosphere. This type of fault generally only produces earthquakes. An example is the San Andreas Fault in California.
Storm
An area of low atmospheric pressure surrounded by a series of isobars, where pressure increases from the center outwards. It is marked on weather maps with a ‘B’. A storm forms when a mass of thin (warm or wet) air rises and creates a vacuum, an area of lower pressure.
Catastrophe
A catastrophe occurs when an event or phenomenon causes personal injury (disease), economic loss, or environmental damage, and such damage is severe. The severity depends on the dangerousness of the event, as well as vulnerability and exposure to the event.
Flow
The volume of water passing through a cross-section of the current per unit of time, usually expressed in m3/s. The flow of a river varies over time depending on rainfall, the relationship between infiltration and runoff, the existence of vegetation, soil type and slope at the top and on the margins, and the presence of obstacles.
Mediterranean Climate
A temperate climate characterized by hot, dry summers with little rainfall, where evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation, and mild, dry winters. Rainfall is scarce and occurs mainly in spring and autumn. Average annual temperatures range between 16 and 18°C. There are plenty of clear days and a high number of sunshine hours.
Climate
The set of average annual meteorological parameters that characterize the weather in a particular place on Earth for an extended period (20-30 years). It depends on and varies with latitude, altitude, and continentality.
Climograph
A graphic representation that simultaneously displays the mean values (over 20 to 30 years) of monthly temperature and precipitation, the basic climatic parameters, during the 12 months of the year. The climograph is a simple graphical representation that characterizes the climate of a region.
Extreme Conservatism
A development model that prioritizes the conservation of the environment over economic development, leading to proposals to halt economic development. This model is unrealistic because it does not address the need for less developed countries to eradicate poverty and achieve development equal to that of rich countries.
Hidden Costs or Inputs
These are the negative environmental impacts or negative effects produced by the economic system on the environment, society, and health, which are usually not included in the price of products. They are negative externalities, such as increased respiratory problems due to pollution in large cities.
Environmental Crisis
Environmental degradation that affects the entire planet due to the variety and quantity of environmental impacts caused by increased population, overexploitation of resources, and increased pollution and waste that exceed the capacity of the environment to renew and assimilate them.
Sustainable Development
Activity that allows for the fulfillment of human needs in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In other words, activity that exploits ecosystems at an intensity less than their carrying capacity (at a rate below the renewal rate and with a lower emission of waste than the assimilative capacity).
EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment)
An environmental review process that seeks to identify and predict the impacts (on health and ecosystems) that a project or activity will produce if executed, in order to propose preventive and corrective measures. Legislation requires an EIA prior to starting certain projects (e.g., motorways) and the issuance of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Runoff
Water that, after precipitation, does not infiltrate into the ground once the ground is saturated and begins to flow across the surface without a fixed channel. Surface runoff can quickly reach streams, raising the flow in a short time, although it is short-lived. It depends on rainfall, the existence of vegetation, and the terrain.
Stratosphere
The layer of the atmosphere between the tropopause and the stratopause, where the air is very thin. The temperature rises with altitude due to the absorption of UV radiation by the ozone layer located within it. Consequently, there are no vertical motions, and the air is disposed in strata or layers, with only horizontal movements.
Uncontrolled Exploitation
A development model that prioritizes economic development over the conservation of the environment. This model is based on the assumption that nature offers us unlimited resources and capacity to absorb waste, and that technological advances will solve any problems, such as lack of resources or pollution.
Exposure
A risk factor that represents the total population, species, or ecosystems at risk, called the value. This factor is of great importance because, faced with the same risk with the same hazard and vulnerability, the damage may be higher or lower depending on exposure.