social science glossary Flashcards
1.5°C
a goal for limiting the amount of global warming above the pre-industrial average to 1.5°C by the end of the century
536 ce
an abnormally cold year in Europe as a result of volcanic eruptions; historian Michael McCormick recently named it the worst year to be alive.
4,250 Years Ago/2250 bce
the starting date of the Late Holocene and the date of a severe climate event that may have included droughts that strained early human civilizations across Eurasia
Akkadian Empire
an early Mesopotamian empire that lasted from around 2334 to 2218 bce
Alexander the Great (356−323 bce)
Greek king from Macedonia whose vast conquests created cultural links throughout the Mediterranean region and east as far as the Indus Valley
Andes Mountains
a long mountain range that stretches from north to south along the Pacific Rim in South America that was home to early agrarian societies
Anthropocene
according to the IPCC, “a proposed new geological epoch resulting from significant
human-driven changes to the structure and functioning of the Earth System, including
the climate system”182; in March of 2024, the International Union of Geological Sciences rejected a proposal to formally name the Anthropocene as a new geological epoch, but noted that the term will “continue to be used not only by Earth and environmental scientists but also by social scientists, politicians and economists as well as by the public at large” and “will remain an invaluable descriptor of human impact on the Earth system.”183
Archive
traditionally a storehouse of historical documents, but now also a figurative way of naming something as containing information about the past, such as the archives of nature
Atmosphere
one of the subsystems in the Earth System; the layers of gases encircling the Earth
Biosphere
one of the subsystems in the Earth System; all living organisms in and on the Earth
Black gold
a popular term that references oil, its immense value, and the fact that it, like gold, must be extracted from the earth
Bolin, Bert (1925−2007)
a Swedish meteorologist who led numerous scientific communities studying climate and was the first Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
“Carbon footprint”
a term that references a person or organization’s personal contribution to global carbon emissions
Carbon sequestration
also known as carbon capture; the act of taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and storing it
Causal mechanism
something that causes something else to occur
Climate crisis
a term summarizing the dangerous impacts of climate change
Climate determinism
a method of telling historical narratives in which climate drives social and environmental changes over time
Climate history
an academic field that uses the methods of historians and studies sources produced by human societies to reconstruct past climatic conditions
Cold War
the global political conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, and their allied nations, from around 1946 to 1991
Colonialism
a political system in which states or companies establish control over natural resources and people in distant lands
Crutzen, Paul J. (1933−2021)
a Dutch meteorologist who helped found the IPCC in 1988, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995, and coined the term “Anthropocene” in 2000
Cryosphere
a part of the hydrosphere subsystem; all the ice in the Earth System
Early Holocene Subseries/Subepoch or the
Greenlandian Stage/Age
the first of three stages of the Holocene that lasted from around 11,700 to
8,236 years ago and was characterized by warmer conditions
Earth System Science (ESS)
a relatively new approach to studying the natural world as a connected whole with a focus on the interactions between the Earth System’s subsystems: the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere
Foote, Eunice Newton (1819−1888)
an American scientist and women’s rights advocate who recognized in the mid-nineteenth century that changing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could impact the climate
Forcings
factors that are external to a climate system and influence climate change, such as
volcanic activity, solar variations, and greenhouse gases
Fossil fuels
matter—including coal, oil, and natural gas—left behind from formerly living organisms that can be burned to create energy but when burned, releases carbon into the atmosphere
Fridays for Future
a youth climate activism movement that was inspired by Greta Thunberg’s school strikes for climate in 2018 and spread organically across the world
Geological time scale
a measure of time based on the record of rocks in which change is sometimes measured at the pace of millions or billions of years
Geosphere (Lithosphere)
one of the subsystems in the Earth System; the earth and rock that comprise the
Earth
“Great Acceleration”
a term coined by environmental historian J. R. McNeill and Peter Engelke that
identifies 1950 as a date when, partly due to a rapid growth in the human population, humanity’s impact on the natural world rapidly increased, including a steep rise in fossil fuel emissions
Green New Deal
a policy proposal championed by U.S. Congressional Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Ed Markey, and others that would involve government investment in building infrastructure and incentivizing industries to help address the climate crisis
Greenhouse gas effect
a term that describes how higher concentrations of carbon dioxide and certain other gases in the atmosphere are warming temperatures in the lower levels of the atmosphere by trapping heat
Historical climatology
also known as paleoclimatology; this field reconstructs past climates utilizing methods for studying sources in nature, such as ice core sampling and dendrochronology.
History of climate and society (HCS)
a new interdisciplinary field, suggested by environmental historian Dagomar Degroot, focused on the history of the relationship between climate and human societies
Holocene
a geological interglacial period that began around 11,700 years ago, at the end of the last ice age
Hydrosphere
one of the subsystems in the Earth System; all the water in, on, and around the Earth in various forms
Indus Valley
a valley in present-day Pakistan that is home to the Indus River, was the location of some of the world’s earliest agrarian societies, and marks the eastern extent of Alexander the Great’s conquests
Industrial Revolution
a development starting in the late eighteenth century that expanded manufacturing by using machines
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)
a law passed in the United States in 2022 during the presidency of Joe Biden that provides unprecedented government funding for addressing the challenges posed by climate change
Interglacial
a geological period of warmer conditions between ice ages
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
a body of the United Nations (UN) that was formed in 1988 to offer an independent assessment of climate science and mediate between scientists and policymakers
International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme
(IGBP)
established in 1987 to study global change in the context of Earth System Science
Justice40 Initiative
a policy commitment from the overall benefits from Federal investments related to climate change and other categories to flow to underserved communities
Keeling, Charles David (1928−2005)
an American scientist who in 1958 began systematic record keeping of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii
“Keeling Curve”
a graph that represents atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations based on the records originally compiled by Charles David Keeling at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii
Kyoto Protocol
a non-binding international agreement, which was adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 2005, extending the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Late Holocene Subseries/Subepoch or the Meghalayan
Stage/Age
the third of three stages of the Holocene that began around 4,250 years ago and continues to the present
Laurentide Ice Sheet
a vast ice sheet that covered much of North America during ice ages throughout the Pleistocene and which advanced most recently from c. 95,000 to c. 20,000 years ago
Little Ice Age (LIA)
a period from around 1300 to 1850 during which cooler temperatures at various places and times resulted in cooler global temperatures on average
Mandate of heaven
an idea originating in ancient China (Zhou Dynasty) that suggests an emperor has a mandate to rule, which is evidenced by order in the universe
McNeill, J. R. (b. 1954)
an American scholar and pioneering environmental historian who popularized the idea of the “Great Acceleration”
Mesoamerica
a region spanning North and Central America that was home to early agrarian societies, including the Olmec, and later societies, including the Maya and the Aztec
Mesopotamia
a region in present-day Iraq that was home to some of the earliest agrarian societies, including the Akkadian Empire
Middle Ages
a period in Europe from the collapse of the western part of the Roman Empire in the fifth century ce until around 1500 ce
Middle Holocene Subseries/Subepoch or the
Northgrippian Stage/Age
the second of three stages of the Holocene that began around 8,236 years ago and ended 4,250 years ago and saw cooling conditions compared to the Early Holocene
Milankovitch cycles
patterns of the Earth’s movement in relation to the Sun that influence the Sun’s impact on climate over time
Modernization
a narrative of the process by which humanity or a specific group of people move from pre-modern conditions to modern conditions
Munduruku, Alessandra Korap (b. 1985)
a Brazilian environmental activist and member of the Munduruku people of the Tapajós River Middle Course who has defended portions of the Brazilian rainforest in various ways
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA)
an agency of the United States government founded in 1958 that is a global leader in
space exploration and the study of the Earth System
Negative feedback
in the context of Earth System Science, a phenomenon where climate change
causes a natural reaction that acts against the initial direction of climate change
Nile Delta
a delta spreading over hundreds of miles in the region where the Nile River reaches the Mediterranean Sea that was home to early Egyptian agrarian societies
Paris Agreement
a 2015 intergovernmental agreement with the goal of limiting the increase in global
temperatures to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels
Pleistocene
a geological epoch that started around 2.58 million years ago and was characterized by cycles of ice ages and interglacials
Positive feedback
in the context of Earth System Science, a phenomenon where climate change causes
a natural reaction that amplifies the initial direction of climate change
Precipitation
water released from clouds, including rain, snow, sleet, and hail
Proxy
something observable in nature that gives an indication of past climate conditions, such as tree rings, ice cores, or human-made records
Scale
the scope of an investigation; it can be large or small, either geographically or chronologically.
Scholarly field
a group of scholars who generally share an object of study, the type of evidence used to study the object, and methods used for analyzing that evidence
Solar minima
periods of decreased sunspot activity that follow an eleven-year cycle, but can also fall over longer stretches of time, such as occurred during certain phases of the Little Ice Age
Space Race
a competition of space exploration and technology between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
a nation whose members led a protest that delayed the construction of an oil
pipeline in North America
Stoermer, Eugene F. (1934–2012)
a biologist who, along with Paul J. Crutzen, coined the term “Anthropocene”
Subsystems
a classification within Earth System Science consisting of the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere
Thunberg, Greta (b. 2003)
a Swedish climate activist who started a school strike for climate in 2018 at the
age of fifteen and sparked a global youth climate movement known as Fridays for Future
Tipping point
a point of no return when changes in a climate system become irreversible
Triple planetary crisis
the ongoing and looming global risks related to climate change, air pollution, and biodiversity loss
United Nations (UN)
an intergovernmental organization founded in 1945 in the wake of World
War II with a continued aim of promoting peace, dignity, equality, and a healthy planet
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC, also known as UN Climate
Change)
established in 1992 as a foundation for intergovernmental action on climate change that led to the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015)
World Climate Research Programme (WCRP)
a program established in 1979 for the study of the Earth System and climate change
