ELSS Definitions

Question 1

Afforestation

Answer 1

Planting trees and vegetation in the aim of increasing forest cover

Question 2

Aquifier

Answer 2

A permeable or porous rock that stores water

Question 3

Carbon Fluxes

Answer 3

The movement of carbon between stores

Question 4

Carbon Neutral

Answer 4

A process that has no net addition of carbon dioxide to the environment

Question 5

Channel Flow

Answer 5

Water flowing in a rivulet, stream, or river

Question 6

Convectional Precipitation

Answer 6

Solar radiation heats the air above the ground, causing it to rise, cool & condense forming precipitation

Question 7

Cryosphere

Answer 7

The global water volume locked up within a frozen state (e.g ice)

Question 8

Decomposition

Answer 8

The break down of matter, often by a decomposer which releases CO2 through their own respiration

Question 9

Drainage Basin

Answer 9

The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries

Question 10

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

Answer 10

The build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, reducing the amount of solar radiation reflected into space

Question 11

Evapotranspiration

Answer 11

The combined total moisture transferred from the Earth to the atmosphere, through evaporation and transpiration

Question 12

Groundwater flow

Answer 12

Water moving horizontally through permeable or porous rock due to gravity

Question 13

Infiltration

Answer 13

The movement of water vertically through the pores in soil

Question 14

Interception

Answer 14

Raindrops are prevented from falling directly onto the ground, instead hitting the leaves of a tree or plant

Question 15

Monsoon

Answer 15

The drastic variation between wet and dry seasons for sub-tropical areas, caused by a changed prevailing wind. Can lead to annual flooding.

Question 16

Open system

Answer 16

A system that receives inputs and transfers outputs of energy or matter with other systems

Question 17

Percolation

Answer 17

Water moving vertically from soil into permeable rock

Question 18

Photosynthesis

Answer 18

The process of converting CO2 and water into glucose and oxygen. All plants and some organisms rely on this process to survive

Question 19

Phytoplankton

Answer 19

Small organisms that rely on photosynthesis to survive, so intake carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

Question 20

Respiration

Answer 20

The process of converting glucose and oxygen into carbon dioxide and energy. Some organisms rely on respiration to survive.

Question 21

Runoff

Answer 21

Water flowing over the surface of the ground e.g after precipitation or snowmelt

Question 22

Sequestration

Answer 22

The transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to stores elsewhere - living biosphere, inorganic rocks, etc

Question 23

Smart Irrigation

Answer 23

Providing crops with a water supply less than optimal, so make crops resistant to water shortages

Question 24

Storm Hydrograph

Answer 24

Variation of river discharge over a short period of time (days)

Question 25

Throughflow

Answer 25

Water moving horizontally through soil, due to gravity

Question 26

Transpiration

Answer 26

The process through which water evaporates through the stomata in plants’ leaves

Question 27

Water Conservation

Answer 27

Strategies to reduce water usage and demand

Question 28

Water Security

Answer 28

The ability to protect and access a sustainable source to adequately meet demand

Question 29

Watershed

Answer 29

The boundary between neighbouring drainage basins

Question 30

Closed System

Answer 30

A system where inputs = outputs. No stores of energy or matter leave the system.

Question 31

Dynamic Equilibrium

Answer 31

When inputs = outputs despite changing conditions

Question 32

Positive Feedback

Answer 32

When a change of events amplifies the impacts of the original event

Question 33

Negative Feedback

Answer 33

A chain of events that nullifies the impacts of the original event, leading to dynamic equilibrium