Glossary - Essential Environment - D-F Flashcards
1
Q
dam
A
Any obstruction placed in a river or stream to block the flow of water so that water can be stored in a reservoir. Dams are built to prevent floods, provide drinking water, facilitate irrigation, and generate electricity.
2
Q
Darwin, Charles (1809-1882)
A
English naturalist who proposed the concept of natural selection as a mechanism for evolution and as a way to explain the great variety of living things.
3
Q
data
A
Information, generally quantitative information.
4
Q
deciduous
A
Term describing trees that lose their leaves each fall and remain dormant during winter, when hard freezes would endanger leaves.
5
Q
decomposer
A
An organism, such as a fungus or bacterium, that breaks down leaf litter and other nonliving matter into simple constituents that can be taken up and used by plants. Compare detritivore.
6
Q
Deepwater Horizon
A
The British Petroleum offshore drilling platform that sank in 2010, creating the largest oil spill in US history.
7
Q
deep-well injection
A
A hazardous waste disposal method in which a well is drilled deep beneath an area’s water table into porous rock below an impervious soil layer. Wastes are then injected into the well, so that they will be absorbed into the porous rock and remain deep underground, isolated from groundwater and human contact. Compare surface impoundment.
8
Q
deforestation
A
The clearing and loss of forests.
9
Q
demand
A
The amount of a product people will buy at a given price if free to do so.
10
Q
demographer
A
A scientist who studies human populations.
11
Q
demographic transition
A
A theoretical model of economic and cultural change that explains the declining death rates and birth rates that occurred in Western nations as they became industrialized. The model holds that industrialization caused these rates to fall naturally by decreasing mortality and by lessening the need for large families. Parents would thereafter choose to invest in quality of life rather than quantity of children.
12
Q
demography
A
A social science that applies the principles of population ecology to the study of statistical change in human populations.
13
Q
denitrifying bacteria
A
Bacteria that convert the nitrates in soil or water to gaseous nitrogen and release it back into the atmosphere.
14
Q
density-dependent factor
A
A limiting factor whose effects on a population increase or decrease depending on the population density. Compare density-independent factor.
15
Q
density-independent factor
A
A limiting factor whose effects on a population are constant regardless of population density. Compare density-dependent factor.
16
Q
dependent variable
A
The variable that is affected by manipulation of the independent variable.
17
Q
deposition
A
The arrival of eroded soil at a new location. Compare erosion.
18
Q
desalination (desalinization)
A
The removal of salt from seawater.
19
Q
desert
A
The driest biome on Earth, with an annual precipitation of less than 25 cm. Because deserts have relatively little vegetation to insulate them from temperature extremes, sunlight readily heats them in the daytime, but daytime heat is quickly lost at night, so temperatures vary widely from day to night and in different seasons.
20
Q
desertification
A
A form of land degradation in which more than 10% of productivity is lost due to erosion, soil compaction, forest removal, overgrazing, drought, salinization, climate change, water depletion, or other factors. Severe desertification can result in the expansion of desert areas or creation of new ones. Compare soil degradation.
21
Q
detritivore
A
An organism, such as a millipede or soil insect, that scavenges the waste products or dead bodies of other community members. Compare decomposer.
22
Q
dike
A
A long raised mound of earth erected along a river bank to protect against floods by holding rising water in the main channel.
23
Q
directional drilling
A
Modern methods of drilling underground for oil and natural gas in which the drill is bent or curved as it descends, allowing many areas to be reached from single drill pad and thus reducing the environmental impact of drilling on the surface.
24
Q
distillation
A
The removal of substances dissolved in water by evaporating the water and condensing its purified vapor.
25
divergent plate boundary
Area where tectonic plates push apart from one another as magma rises upward to the surface, creating new lithosphere as it cools and spreads. A prime example is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Compare convergent plate boundary and transform plate boundary.
26
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
A double stranded nucleic acid composed of four nucleotides, each of which contains a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. DNA carries the hereditary information for living organisms and is responsible for passing traits from parents to offspring. Compare RNA.
27
dose
The amount of toxicant a test animal receives in a dose response test.
28
dose-response analysis
A set of experiments that measure the response of test animals to different doses of a toxicant. The response is generally quantified by measuring the proportion of animals exhibiting negative effects.
29
dose-response curve
A curve that plots the response of test animals to different doses of a toxicant, as a result of dose-response analysis.
30
downwelling
In the ocean, the flow of warm surface water toward the ocean floor. Down welling occurs where surface currents converge. Compare upwelling.
31
driftnet
Fishing net that spans large expanses of water, arragyed strategically to drift with currents so as to capture passing fish, and held vertical by floats at the top and weights at the bottom. Driftnetting captures substantial bycatch of dolphins, seals, sea turtles, and non target fish.
32
Dust Bowl
An area that loses huge amounts of topsoil to wind erosion as a result of drought and/or human impact; first used to name the region in the North American Great Plains severely affected by drought and topsoil loss in the 1930s. The term is now also used to describe that historical event and others like it.
33
Earthquake
A release of energy occurring as Earth relieves accumulated pressure between masses of lithosphere, and which results in shaking at the surface.
34
ecocentrism
A philosophy that considers actions in terms of their damage or benefit to the integrity of whole ecological systems, including both biotic and abiotic elements.
35
ecofeminism
A philosophy holding that the patriarchal (male-dominated) structure of society is a root cause of both social and environmental problems. Ecofeminists hold that a worldview traditionally associated with women, which interprets the world in terms of interrelationships and cooperation, is more in tune with nature than a worldview traditionally associated with men, which interprets the world in terms of hierarchies and competition.
36
ecolabeling
The practice of designating on a product's label how the product was grown harvested, or manufactured so that consumers buying it are aware of the processes involved and can differentiate between brands that use processes believed to be environmentally beneficial (or less harmful than others) and those that do not.
37
ecological economics
A developing school of economics that applies the principles of ecology and systems thinking to the description and analysis of economies. Compare environmental economics; neoclassical economics.
38
ecological footprint
The cumulative amount of land and water required to provide the raw materials a person or population consumes and to dispose of or recycle the waste that is produced.
39
ecological modeling
The practice of constructing and testing models that aim to explain and predict how ecological systems function.
40
ecological restoration
Efforts to reverse the effects of human disruption of ecological systems and to restore communities to their condition before the disruption. The practice that applies to principles of restoration ecology.
41
ecology
The science that deals with the distribution and abundance of organisms, the interactions among them, and the interactions between organisms and their abiotic environments.
42
economically recoverable
Extractable such that income from a resource's sale exceeds the costs of extracting it. Applied to fossil fuel deposits.
43
economics
The study of how we decide to use scarce resources to satisfy the demand for goods and services.
44
economy
A social system that converts resources into goods and services
45
ecosystem
All organisms and nonliving entities that occur and interact in a particular area at the same time.
46
ecosystem-based management
The attempt to manage the harvesting of resources in ways that minimize impact on the ecosystems and ecological processes that provide the resources.
47
ecosystem diversity
The number and variety of ecosystems in a particular area. One way to express biodiversity. Related concepts consider the geographic arrangement of habitats, communities, or ecosystems at the landscape level, including the sizes, shapes, and interconnectedness of patches of these entities.
48
ecosystem service
An essential service an ecosystem provides that supports life and makes economic activity possible. For example, ecosystems naturally purify air and water, cycle nutrients, provide for plants to be pollinated by animals, and serve as receptacles and recycling systems for the waste generated by our economic activity.
49
ecotone
A transitional zone where ecosystems meet.
50
ecotourism
Visitation of natural areas for tourism and recreation. Most often involves tourism by affluent people, which may generate economic benefits for less-affluent communities near natural areas and thus provide economic incentives for conservation of natural areas.
51
effective dose 50%
The amount of a toxicant it takes to affect 50% of a population of test animals. Compare threshold dose.
52
edge effect
An impact on organisms, populations, or communities that results because conditions along the edge of a habitat fragment differ from conditions in the interior.
53
effluent
Water that flows out of a facility such as a wastewater treatment plant or power plant
54
E horizon
The layer of soil that lies below the A horizon and above the B horizon. The letter "E" stands for "eluviation," meaning "loss", and the E horizon is characterized by the loss of certain minerals through leaching. It is sometimes called the "zone of leaching." Compare C horizon; O horizon; R horizon.
55
electricity
A secondary form of energy that can be transferred over long distances and applied for a variety of uses.
56
electrolysis
A process in which electrical current is passed through a compound to release ions. Electrolysis offers one way to produce hydrogen for use as fuel: Electrical current is passed through water, splitting the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen atoms.
57
electron
A negatively charged particle that surrounds the nucleus of an atom.
58
electronic waste (e-waste)
Discarded electronic products such as computers, monitors, printers, DVD players, cell phones, and other devices. Heavy metals in these products mean that this waste may be judged hazardous.
59
element
A fundamental type of matter; a chemical substance with a given set of properties, which cannot be broken down into substances with other properties. Chemists currently recognize 92 elements that occur in nature, as well as more than 20 others that have been artificially created.
60
El Nino
Strong warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean that occurs every 2 to 7 years, depressing local fish and bird populations by altering the marine food web in the area, and having widespread climatic consequences. Compare La Nina.
61
El Nino - Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
A systematic shift in atmospheric pressure, sea surface temperature, and ocean circulation in the tropical Pacific Ocean. ENSO cycles give rise to El Nino and La Nina conditions.
62
emigration
The departure of individuals from a population.
63
emissions trading system
A permit trading system in which a government issues marketable emissions permits to businesses, industries, or utilities to emit pollutants. Under a cap-and-trade system, the government determines an acceptable level of pollution and then issues permits to pollute. A polluting party receives credit for amounts it does not emit and can then sell this credit to other parties. Compare cap-and-trade.
64
Endangered Species Act (ESA)
The primary legislation, enacted in 1973, for protecting biodiversity in the US. It forbids the government and private citizens from taking actions (such as developing land) that would destroy endangered species or their habitats, and it prohibits trade in products made from endangered species.
65
endemic
Native or restricted to a particular geographic region. An endemic species occurs in one region and no where else on Earth.
66
endocrine disruptor
A toxicant that interferes with the endocrine (hormone) system.
67
endocrine system
The body's hormone system.
68
energy
An intangible phenomenon that can change the position, physical composition, or temperature of matter.
69
energy conservation
The practice of reducing energy use as a way of extending the lifetime of our fossil fuel supplies, of being less wasteful, and of reducing our impact on the environment. Conservation can result from behavioral decisions or from technologies that demonstrate energy efficiency.
70
energy efficiency
The ability to obtain a given result or amount of output while using less energy input. Technologies permitting greater energy efficiency are one main route to energy conservation.
71
energy returned on investment (EROI)
The ration determined by dividing the quantity of energy returned in the process by the quantity of energy invested in the the process. Higher EROI ratios mean that more energy is produced from each unit of energy invested. Compare net energy.
72
enhanced geothermal systems
A new approach whereby engineers drill deeply ito rock, fracture it, pump in water, and then pump it out once it is heated below ground. This approach could potentially enable us to obtain geothermal energy in any location.
73
entropy
The degree of disorder in a substance, system, or process. See second law of thermodynamics.
74
environment
The sum total of our surroundings, including all of the living things and non living things with which we interact.
75
environmental economics
A developing school of economics that modifies the principles of neoclassical economics to address environmental challenges. An environmental economist believes that we can attain sustainability within our current economic systems. Whereas ecological economists call for revolution, environmental economists call for reform.
76
environmental ethics
The application of ethical standards to environmental questions.
77
environmental health
Environmental factors that influence human health and quality of life and the health of ecological systems essential environmental quality and long-term human well-being.
78
environmental impact statement (EIS)
A report of results from detailed studies that assess the potential effects on the environment that would likely result from development projects or other actions undertaken by the government.
79
environmentalism
A social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world.
80
environmental justice
A movement based on a moral sense of fairness and equality that seeks to expand society's domain of ethical concern from men to women, from humans to nonhumans, from rich to poor, and from majority races and ethnic groups to minority ones.
81
environmental policy
Public policy that pertains to human interactions with the environment. It generally aims to regulate resource use or reduce pollution to promote human welfare and/or protect natural systems.
82
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
A US administrative agency charged with monitoring environmental quality, conducting and evaluating research, setting standards, enforcing those standards, assisting the states in meeting standards and goals, and educating the public.
83
environmental resistance
The collective force of limiting factors, which together stabilize a population size at its carrying capacity.
84
environmental science
The study of how the natural world functions and how humans and the environment interact.
85
environmental studies
An academic environmental science program that heavily incorporates the social sciences as well as the natural sciences.
86
environmental toxicology
The study of toxicants that come from or are discharged into the environment, including the study of health effects on humans, other animals, and ecosystems.
87
enzyme
A chemical that catalyzes a chemical reaction.
88
epidemiological study
A study that involves large-scale comparisons among groups of people, usually contrasting a group known to have been exposed to some toxicant and a group that has not.
89
erosion
The removal of material from one place and its transport to another by the action of wind or water.
90
estuary
An area where a river flows into the ocean, mixing fresh water with salt water.
91
ethanol
The alcohol in beer, wine, and liquor, produced as a biofuel by fermenting biomass, generally from carbohydrate rich crops such as corn.
92
ethical standard
A criterion that helps differentiate right from wrong
93
ethics
The study of good and bad, right, and wrong. The term can also refer to a person's or group's set of moral principles or values.
94
European Union (EU)
Political and economic organization formed after World War II to promote Europe's economic and social progress. As of 2011, the EU consisted of 27 member nations.
95
eutrophic
Term describing a water body that has high-nutrient and low-oxygen conditions. Compare ogliotrophic.
96
eutrophication
The process of nutrient enrichment, increased production of organic matter, and subsequent ecosystem degradation in a water body.
97
evaporation
The conversion of a substance from a liquid to a gaseous state.
98
even-aged
Condition of timber plantations generally monocultures of a single species in which all trees are of the same age. Most ecologists view plantations of even aged stands more as crop agriculture than as ecologically functional forests. Compare uneven-aged.
99
evolution
Genetically based change in the appearance, functioning, and/or behavior of organisms across generations, often by the organisms across generations, often by the process of natural selection.
100
evolutionary arms race
A duel of escalating adaptations between species. Like rival nations racing to stay ahead of one another in military technology, host and parasite may repeatedly evolve new responses to the other's latest advance.
101
exotic
Non-native to an area (as, an exotic organism)
102
experiment
An activity designed to test the validity of a hypothesis by manipulating variables.
103
explotative interaction
A species interaction in which one participant benefits while another is harmed; that is, one species exploits the other, Such interactions include predation, parasitism, and herbivory.
104
exploratory drilling
Drilling that takes place after a fossil fuel deposit has been identified, in order to gauge how mcuh of the fuel exists and whether extraction will prove worthwhile. Involves drilling small holes that descend to great depths.
105
exponential growth
The increase of a population (or of anything) by a fixed percentage each year.
106
external costs
A negative externality; a cost borne by someone not involved in an economic transaction. Examples include harm to citizens from water pollution or air pollution discharged by nearby factories.
107
extinction
The disappearance of an entire species from the face of the Earth. Compare extirpation.
108
extirpation
The disappearance of a particular population from a given area, but not the entire species globally. Compare extinction.
109
extrusive
Term for igneous rock formed when magma is ejected from a volcano and cools quickly.
110
family planning
The effort to plan the number and spacing of one's children, so as to offer children and parents the best quality of life possible.
111
farmers' market
Markets at which local farmers and food producers sell fresh locally grown items.
112
fault
A fracture in Earth's crust, at which earthquakes may occur.
113
fee and dividend
A program of carbon taxes in which proceeds from the taxes are paid to consumers as a tax refund or dividend. This way if polluters pass their costs along to consumers, consumers will not lose money.
114
feedback loop
A circular process in which a system's output serves as input to that same system. See negative feedback loop; positive feedback loop.
115
feed-in tariff
A system whereby utilities are mandated to buy power from anyone who can generate power from renewable energy sources and feed it into the electric grid. When prices are set at a premium, this can act as a powerful mechanism to promote the spread of renewable energy technologies.
116
feedlot
A huge barn or outdoor pen designed to deliver energy-rich food to animals living at extremely high densities. Also called a factory farm or concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO).
117
Ferrel cell
One of a pair of cells of convective circulation between 30 degrees and 60 degrees North and south latitude that influence global climate patterns. Compare Hadley cell; polar cell.
118
fertilizer
A substance that promotes plant growth by supplying essential nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorus.
119
first law of thermodynamics
Physical law stating that energy can change from one form to another but cannot be created or lost. The total energy in the universe remains constant and is said to be conserved.
120
flagship species
A species that has wide appeal with the public and that can be used to promote conservation efforts that also benefit other less charismatic species.
121
flexible fuel vehicle
A vehicle that runs on fuel that is a mixture of ehtanol and gasoline, such as E-85, a mix of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.
122
flooding
The spillage of water over a river's banks due to heavy rain or snowmelt.
123
floodplain
The region of land over which a river has historically wandered and periodically floods.
124
flux
The movement of nutrients among pools or reservoirs in a nutrient cycle.
125
food chain
A linear series of feeding relationships. As organisms feed on one another, energy is transferred from lower to higher trophic levels.
126
food security
An adequate, reliable, and available food supply to all people at all times.
127
food web
A visual representation of feeding interactions within an ecological community that shows an array of relationships between organisms at different trophic levels. Compare food chain.
128
forensic science
The scientific analysis of evidence to make an identification or answer a question, most often relating to a crime or accident. Conservation biologists are now employing forensic science to protect species from illegal harvesting.
129
forest
Any ecosystem characterized by a high density of trees
130
forester
Professionals who manage forests through the practice of forestry
131
forestry
The professional management of forests
132
forestry
The professional management of forests
133
forest type
Categories of forest defined by the predominant tree species
134
fossil
The remains, impression, or trace of an animal or plant of past geological ages that has been preserved in rock or sediments
135
fossil fuel
A nonrenewable natural resource such as crude oil, natural gas, or coal, produced by the decomposition and compression of organic matter from ancient life.
136
fossil record
The cumulative body of fossils worldwide, which paleontologists study to infer the history of past life on Earth.
137
Fourth Assessment Report
A 2007 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that summarizes thousands of scientific studies, documenting observed trends in surface temperature, precipitation patterns, snow and ice cover, sea levels, storm intensity, and other factors. It also predicts future changes in these phenomena under a range of emission scenarios; addresses impacts of climate change on wildlife, ecosystems, and human societies; and discusses strategies we might pursue in response. The Fourth Assessment represents the consensus of scientific climate research from around the world.
138
free rider
A party that fails to invest in controlling pollution or carrying out other environmentally responsible activites and instead relies on the efforts of other parties to do so. For example, a factory that fails to control its emissions gets a "free ride" on the efforts of other factories that do make the sacrifices necessary to reduce emissions.
139
fresh water
Water that is relatively pure, holding very few dissolved salts.
140
freshwater marsh
A type of wetland in which shallow water allows plants such as cattails to grow above the water surface. Compare swamp; bog.
141
fuel rods
Rods of uranium that supply the fuel for nuclear fission, and are kept bathed in a moderator in a nuclear reactor.
142
fungicide
A type of chemical pesticide that kills fungi.
