All keywords

Site that cannot be used for any purpose, being contaminated by pollutants, not necessarily radioactive. (Source: RRDA)

A vehicle that has been discarded in the environment, urban or otherwise, often found wrecked, destroyed, damaged or with a major component part stolen or missing. (Source: ISEP / MDM)

The non-living components of the environment (rocks, minerals, soil, water and climate). (Source: WRIGHT)

Physical, chemical and other non-living environmental factors. They are essential for living plants and animals of an ecosystem, providing the essential elements and nutrients that are necessary for growth. The abiotic elements also include the climatic and pedologic components of the ecosystem. (Source: LBC / WRIGHT)

The taking in of fluids or other substances by cells or tissues. (Source: LANDY)

The measurement of the amount of any chemical substance that can be safely consumed by a human being in a day. Calculations are usually based on the maximum level of a substance that can be fed to animals without producing any harmful effects. This is divided by a safety factor to allow for the differences between animals and humans and to take account of the variation in human diets. (Source: WRIGHT)

Level of risk judged to be outweighed by corresponding benefits or one that is of such a degree that it is considered to pose minimal potential for adverse effects. (Source: EPAGLOa)

Any street or narrow stretch of paved surface that leads to a specific destination, such as a main highway. (Source: RHW)

The legal right of access to administrative documents or the opportunity to avail oneself of the same. (Source: BLACKa)

The ability, right and permission to approach and use, or the general availability of resources that transmit the beliefs, customs, artistic activity and knowledge of a people. (Source: PPP / RHW)

The ability, right and permission to approach and use, or the general availability of resources that convey knowledge. (Source: RHW)

The right of citizens to access to the organs of the governments where justice is administered. (Source: BLACK)

An unexpected occurrence, failure or loss with the potential for harming human life, property or the environment. (Source: TOE / HMD)

The cause or origin of an unexpected occurrence, failure or loss with the potential for harming human life, property or the environment. (Source: OED / HMD)

Genetically engineered organisms that are released in the environment by mistake; once released they may exhibit some previously unknown pathogenicity, might take over from some naturally occurring bacteria (possibly having other positive functions which thus are lost) or pass on some unwanted trait to such indigenous bacteria. There is also concern that an uncontrolled genetic mutation could produce a form with hazardous consequences for the environment. (Source: WPRa)

Method of recording all the transactions affecting the financial condition of a business or organization.

The system of setting up, maintaining, and auditing the books of a firm and of analyzing its financial status and operating results.

A rechargeable device for storing electrical energy in the form of chemical energy, consisting of one or more separate secondary cells. (Source: CED)

A compound capable of transferring a hydrogen ion in solution. (Source: MGH)

A type of pollution which washes out of the atmosphere as dilute sulphuric and nitric acids. It tends to be a regional rather than a global phenomenon, linked to particular industrial activities and meteorological conditions. It includes rain, more than normally acidic snow, mist, sleet, fog, gas and dry particles. It upsets the balance of nature, disrupting ecosystems, and destroys forests and woodlands, plants and crops; kills aquatic life by altering the chemical balance of lakes and rivers and corrodes building materials and fabrics. The pollutants are caused principally by discharges from power station chimneys of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides released by burning fossil fuels, coal and oil. (Source: WRIGHT)

Rain having a pH less than 5.6. The acidity results from chemical reactions occurring when water, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, generally released by industrial processes, are chemically transformed into sulphuric and nitric acids. (Source: DUNSTE)

Addition of an acid to a solution until the pH falls below 7. (Source: MGH)

The state of being acid that is of being capable of transferring a hydrogen ion in solution. (Source: MGHa)

The amount of acid present in a solution, often expressed in terms of pH. (Source: CEDa)

A device employed to reject sound in a particular range of frequencies while passing sound in another range of frequencies. (Source: MGH)

The process of preventing the transmission of sound by surrounding with a nonconducting material. (Source: CED)

Physical quantity of sound measured, usually expressed in decibels. (Source: KORENa)

The characteristics found within a structure that determine the quality of sound in its relevance to hearing. (Source: KOREN)

The characteristics of a confined space that determines its ability to enable music and speech to be heard clearly within it. (Source: UVAROV)

The science of the production, transmission and effects of sound. (Source: MGH)

1) Something done voluntarily by a person, and of such a nature that certain legal consequences attach to it. 2) Documents, decrees, edicts, laws, judgments, etc. (Source: WESTS)

A group of 15 radioactive elements some of which occur naturally while others are produced in nuclear reactions. They include plutonium, americium and neptunium. The health hazard presented by the actinides, if they are released into the environment, comes from the potency of their radioactive characteristics. They are alpha-emitters, and therefore can cause intense localized damage in tissues if absorbed into the body. (Source: WRIGHT)

A radioactive element of the actinide series, occurring as a decay product of uranium. It is used as an alpha particle source and in neutron production. (Source: CED)

A collection of persons united to address specific sociopolitical or socioeconomic concerns. (Source: RHW)

A powdered, granular or pelleted form of amorphous carbon characterized by a very large surface area per unit volume because of an enormous number of fine pores. (Source: LANDY)

Sludge that has been aerated and subjected to bacterial action; used to speed breakdown of organism matter in raw sewage during secondary waste treatment. (Source: LANDY)

The involvement, either by an individual or a group of individuals, in their own governance or other activities, with the purpose of exerting influence. (Source: RHW)

The number of people available and eligible for employment within a given enterprise, region or nation. (Source: ODE)

A polymer formed by the chain addition of unsaturated monomer molecules, such as olefins, with one another without the formation of a by-product, as water; examples are polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene. (Source: MGH)

Additional packaging around the normal sales packaging. For example as protection against theft or for the purpose of advertising; the customer may leave the additional packaging in the shop for waste collection. (Source: RRDA)

Substances mixed in small quantities with another product to modify its chemical or physical state. Additives are used to make food look visually more attractive, in the case of colouring agents, as well as to preserve and extend the life of the product. (Source: WRIGHT)

A quantity of nutriments that meets fundamental nutritional requirements and is provided to a person, group or community on a continuing basis. (Source: NOV)

Substance used for sticking objects together, such as glue, cement, or paste. (Source: CED)

The management or direction of the affairs of a public or private office, business or organization. (Source: RHW)

Any governmental agency or organization charged with managing and implementing regulations, laws and government policies. (Source: BLD)

A limit or border of a geographic area under the jurisdiction of some governmental or managerial entity. (Source: RHW)

The skill, knowledge, qualification, capacity or authority to manage or direct the affairs of a public or private office, business or organization. (Source: RHW)

An independent, specialized judicial tribunal in which judges or officials are authorized by a government agency to conduct hearings and render decisions in proceedings between the government agency and the persons, businesses or other organizations that it regulates. (Source: BLD)

Any formal and legitimate step taken or decision made on matters of policy by a chief or other top-level officer within an organization. (Source: DAM)

An authoritative decree, sanction or order issued from an office with executive or managerial authority, without necessarily having the force of law or its equivalent. (Source: RHW / BLD)

Education in the theories and practices of managing an office, business or organization. (Source: RHW)

The extent, power or territory in which an office with executive or managerial authority administers justice or declares judgments. (Source: RHW / BLD)

Body of law created by administrative agencies in the form of rules, regulations, orders and decisions to carry out regulatory powers and duties of such agencies. (Source: BLACK)

Generally, any formal official imposition of penalty or fine; destruction, taking, seizure, or withholding of property; assessment of damages, reimbursement, restitution, compensation, costs, charges or fees; requirement, revocation or suspension of license; and taking other compulsory or restrictive action by organization, agency or its representative.

The physical or chemical bonding of molecules of gas, liquid or a dissolved substance to the external surface of a solid or the internal surface, if the material is porous, in a very thin layer. (Source: ALL)

A person who is fully grown, developed or of a specified age. (Source: RHW)

Any instruction or training, informal or formal, which is geared to persons of mature age, regardless of previous education, and typically offered by university extension programs, employers, correspondence courses or community groups. (Source: RHW)

The action of drawing public attention to goods, services or events, often through paid announcements in newspapers, magazines, television or radio. (Source: C / RHW)

An official notice, opinion, counsel or recommendation that is optional or at the receiver's discretion. (Source: BLD)

Exposition to the action of air. (Source: MGH)

An image of the ground surface made on a light-sensitive material and taken at a high altitude from an aircraft, spacecraft or rocket. (Source: MHD)

No definition needed.

Life common to the majority of animal and plants species requiring the presence of oxygen. (Source: LAROUSa)

A process requiring the presence of oxygen. (Source: MGH)

The introduction of air into sewage so as to provide aerobic biochemical stabilization during a detention period. (Source: KOREN)

The study of the atmospheric dispersal of airborne fungus spores, pollen grains, and microorganisms; and, more broadly, of airborne propagules of algae and protozoans, minute insects such as aphids, and pollution gases and particles which exert specific biologic effects. (Source: MGH)

Acoustic noise caused by turbulent airflow over the surface of a body. (Source: MGH)

A gaseous suspension of ultramicroscopic particles of a liquid or a solid. (Source: MGH)

Considerations, values, and judgements pertaining to the quality of the human perceptual experience (including sight, sound, smell, touch, taste, and movement) evoked by phenomena or components of the environment. (Source: UNUN)

1) Establishment of a new forest by seeding or planting of nonforested land. 2) The planting of trees on land which was previously used for other uses than forestry. 3) The planting of trees in an area, or the management of an area to allow trees to regenerate or colonize naturally, in order to produce a forest. (Source: MGH / WRIGHT / ALL)

The second largest of the continents, on the Mediterranean in the north, the Atlantic in the west, and the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean in the east. The Sahara desert divides the continent unequally into North Africa and Africa south of Sahara. The largest lake is Lake Victoria and the chief rivers are the Nile, Niger, Congo, and Zambezi. The hottest continent, Africa has vast mineral resources, many of which are still undeveloped. (Source: CED / AMHER)

An afterburner is a gadget fitted to the exhaust flues of furnaces and also to the exhaust systems of motor vehicles. They remove polluting gases and particles, which are the result of incompletely combusted fuel, by incineration and break down other chemical molecules associated with combustion into inert chemicals. (Source: WRIGHT)

The period of time that a person, animal or plant has lived or is expected to live. (Source: CED)

Extraction of crushed rock or gravel screened to sizes for use in road surfaces, concretes, or bituminous mixes. (Source: KOREN)

A coming together of minds; a coming together in opinion or determination; the coming together in accord of two minds on a given proposition. In law, a concord of understanding and intention between two or more parties with respect to the effect upon their relative rights and duties, of certain past or future facts or performances. The consent of two or more persons concerning respecting the transmission of some property, right, or benefits, with the view of contracting an obligation, a mutual obligation. The union of two or more minds in a thing done or to be done; a mutual assent to do a thing. (Source: WESTS)

An agreement, convention, or promise of two or more parties, by deed in writing, signed, and delivered, by which either of the parties pledges himself to the other that something is either done, or shall be done, or shall not be done, or stipulates for the truth of certain facts. (Source: WESTS)

The coming together in accord of two minds on a given proposition. In law, a concord of understanding and intention between two or more parties with respect to the effect upon their relative rights and duties, of certain past or future facts or performances. The consent of two or more persons concerning respecting the transmission of some property, right, or benefits, with the view of contracting an obligation, a mutual obligation. (Source: WESTS)

Industry dealing with the production, processing, and supply of agricultural food products. (Source: PHCa)

The buildings and adjacent service areas of a farm. (Source: WEBSTE)

Violent, sudden and destructive change in the environment either affecting or caused by land cultivation or the raising of crops or livestock. (Source: ISEP / APD)

An applied social science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of agricultural or farming goods and services. (Source: AGP)

Any solid, liquid or gas that enters the environment as a by-product of agricultural activities.

A discipline concerned with developing and improving the means for providing food and fiber for mankind's needs. (Source: MGH)

Machines utilized for tillage, planting, cultivation, and harvesting of crops. (Source: MGH)

No definition needed.

As defined by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, an agricultural holding is simply a basic unit for agricultural production. (Source: GOOD)

Science and technology involved in the management of water resources, in the control of erosion and in the removal of unwanted water. (Source: ECHO2)

Land used primarily for the production of plant or animal crops, including arable agriculture, dairying, pasturage, apiaries, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture, animal husbandry and the necessary lands and structures needed for packing, processing, treating, or storing the produce. (Source: DUNSTE)

No definition needed.

Agricultural law is a blend of traditional fields of law including the law of contracts, bailments, torts, criminal, environmental, property, nuisance, wills and estates, and tax law. As such, it is a gathering of statutory and common law. (Source: FREEAD)

Machines utilized for tillage, planting, cultivation and harvesting of crops. Despite its benefits in increasing yields, mechanisation has clearly had some adverse environmental effects: deep ploughing exposes more soil to wind and water erosion; crop residues can be removed as opposed to ploughing back into the soil; removal of residues can lead to a serious loss of organic content in the soil, which may increase the risk of soil erosion. (Source: MGH / DOBRIS)

The administration or handling of soil, crops and livestock. (Source: OED)

Practices and techniques employed in agriculture to improve yields and productivity. Over the last few decades they have undergone big changes: tilling, sowing and harvesting have become increasingly mechanised, and the methods of applying fertilisers and pesticides have become more sophisticated. Many changes within the agricultural system can be summed up by intensification. The result and aim of intensification has been to achieve increases in production yields and labour productivity in agriculture. (Source: DOBRIS)

Insects and mites that damage crops, weeds that compete with field crops for nutrients and water, plants that choke irrigation channels or drainage systems, rodents that eat young plants and grain, and birds that eat seedlings or stored foodstuffs. (Source: WRIGHT)

The development of plans and measures to achieve greater and more efficient output from agriculture; a sound agricultural policy should be able to reconcile three basic needs: the production of food and agricultural products, the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the socio-economic structure of rural areas. (Source: DOBRISa)

A course of action adopted by government or some other organization that determines how to deal with matters involving the cultivation of land; raising crops; feeding, breeding and raising livestock or poultry; and other farming issues. (Source: RHW)

The liquid or solid wastes from farming, including: runoff from pesticides, fertilizers, and feedlots; erosion and dust from plowing; animal manure and carcasses, crop residues, and debris. (Source: LANDY)

The output of the cultivation of the soil. (Source: RRDA)

Property of agricultural land and anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, fences, etc. (Source: WESTS)

Any deposit or holdings of farm products, fertilizers, grains, feed and other related supplies in facilities or containers, often to prevent contamination or for times when production cannot meet demand. (Source: AGP)

The buildings, machinery, facilities, related to agricultural production. (Source: RRDA)

The underrating or diminishing in value of agricultural or farming goods and services. (Source: RHW)

Unusable materials, liquid or solid, that result from agricultural practices, such as fertilizers, pesticides, crop residue (such as orchard prunings) and cattle manure. (Source: HMD / MHD)

The production of plants and animals useful to man, involving soil cultivation and the breeding and management of crops and livestock. (Source: MGH)

Large scale growing of crops and livestock grazing for profit. (Source: RRDA)

A formulated or systematic method for the management of soil, crops and livestock. (Source: OED)

Holidays organized in a farm: meals are prepared with natural products and guests are entertained with handicraft, sporting and agricultural activities. (Source: DIFID)

Any substance or mixture of substances used or intended to be used for preventing, destroying, repelling, attracting, inhibiting, or controlling any insects, rodents, birds, nematodes, bacteria, fungi, weeds or other forms of plant, animal or microbial life regarded as pests. (Source: GILP96)

The interplanting of farm crops and trees, especially leguminous species. In semiarid regions and on denuded hillsides, agroforestry helps control erosion and restores soil fertility, as well as supplying valuable food and commodities at the same time. (Source: ALL)

Industry dealing with the supply, processing and distribution of farm products. (Source: PHC)

The study of the interaction between meteorological and hydrological factors, on the one hand, and agriculture in the widest sense, including horticulture, animal husbandry and forestry, on the other. (Source: EURMET)

The monetary or material worth at which buyers and sellers agree to do business for agricultural goods and services. (Source: AGP / RHW)

The principles and procedures of soil management and of field crop and special-purpose plant improvement, management, and production. (Source: MGH)

Ecosystem dominated by the continuous agricultural intervention of man. (Source: ECHO1)

A course of action adopted and pursued by government or some other organization that promotes or determines the allocation of assistance, support or relief, often from one country to another. (Source: ODE)

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is caused by HIV-virus manifested by opportunistic infections and/or malignancies, and the mortality rate is very high. The syndrome results from a breakdown of the body's disease-fighting mechanism that leaves it defenceless against infections, such as pulmonary tuberculosis, Pneumocystis pneumonia, certain blood infections, candidiasis, invasive cervical cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma or any of over 20 other indicator diseases. No effective treatment is available. A striking feature of AIDS is the wide spectrum and frequency of infections with life-threatening pathogens seldom seen in normal hosts. The illness may begin with insidious signs and symptoms, and the process may be more diffuse than when the same conditions are seen in other immune-compromised patients. Four patterns of disease occur in AIDS patients. The pulmonary pattern, the central nervous system pattern, the gastrointestinal pattern, and the pattern of fever of unknown origin. Most patients who recover from a given opportunistic infection subsequently either have a relapse or develop a new type of infection. Many patients continue to have a wasting syndrome and experience such infections as oral thrush. Feelings of depression and isolation are common among AIDS patients and can be intensified if health care workers display fear of the syndrome. (Source: WPR) aquired immune deficiency syndrome

A predominantly mechanical mixture of a variety of individual gases forming the earth's enveloping atmosphere. (Source: MGH)

A system or process for controlling the temperature and sometimes the humidity and purity of the air in a house, etc. (Source: CED)

Air movements within the Earth's atmospheric circulation; also called planetary winds. Two main components are recognized: first, the latitudinal meridional component due to the Coriolis force (a deflecting motion or force discussed by G.G. de Coriolis in 1835. The rotation of the Earth causes a body moving across its surface to be deflected to the right in the N hemisphere and to the left in the S hemisphere); and secondly, the longitudinal component and the vertical movement, resulting largely from varying pressure distributions due to differential heating and cooling of the Earth's surface. (Source: WHIT)

Any pollutant agent or combination of such agents, including any physical, chemical, biological, radioactive substance or matter which is emitted into or otherwise enters the ambient air and can, in high enough concentrations, harm humans, animals, vegetation or material. (Source: LEE / TOE)

Presence in the atmosphere of large quantities of gases, solids and radiation produced by the burning of natural and artificial fuels, chemical and other industrial processes and nuclear explosions. (Source: GUNN)

The degree to which air is polluted; the type and maximum concentration of man-produced pollutants that should be permitted in the atmosphere. (Source: ALL / WRIGHT)

The measurement of ambient air-pollution concentrations in order to determine whether there is a problem in a given region. (Source: CONFERa)

Regulate and plan and work toward the accomplishment of completion of stated goals, objectives and mission pertaining to air quality. (Source: PORT)

Regular checking and recording of air quality in a given area. The following pollutants must be considered: carbon monoxide, benzene, butadiene, lead, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulates. (Source: DOCMMU)

Any measure, technique or design intended to reduce the risk of harm posed by either moving vehicles or projectiles above the earth's surface or pollutants to the earth's atmosphere. (Source: AHB / TOE)

The temperature of the atmosphere which represents the average kinetic energy of the molecular motion in a small region and is defined in terms of a standard or calibrated thermometer in thermal equilibrium with the air. (Source: MGH)

Aircraft moving in flight or on airport runways.

International rules and conventions relating to air transportation. (Source: DEFRA)

The use of aircraft, predominantly airplanes, to move passengers and cargo. (Source: MGH)

The physical processes at the air-water interface: momentum, heat and mass transfer across the air-water interface, mixing of surface water by wind stress and wave breaking, directional wave spectra and wave forces on offshore structures. The air-water interaction is measured by the turbulence and gas exchanges resulting from the mixing of the water column by wind. (Source: WATER / CEIS)

Noise caused by the movement of large volumes of air and the use of high-pressure air. (Source: CORBIT)

Any structure, machine, or contrivance, especially a vehicle, designed to be supported by the air, either by the dynamic action of the air upon the surfaces of the structure or object or by its own buoyancy. (Source: MGH)

The formation and discharge of gaseous and particulate pollutants into the environment, especially the stratosphere, chiefly from airplanes, helicopters and other high-altitude aircrafts. (Source: MHE)

Effective sound output of the various sources of noise associated with aircraft operation, such as propeller and engine exhaust, jet noise, and sonic boom. (Source: MGH)

A landing and taking-off area for civil aircraft, usually with surfaced runways and aircraft maintenance and passenger facilities. (Source: CED)

The activity of organizing or preparing for transportation through the atmosphere above earth's surface. (Source: RHW)

Signalling an impending danger in order to call attention to some event or condition. (Source: CED / AMHER)

A group of organic chemical compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The molecules in the series vary in chain length and are composed of a hydrocarbon plus a hydroxyl group. Alcohol includes methanol and ethanol. (Source: EIADOE)

Simple, green, aquatic plants without stems, roots or leaves. They are among the microscopic organisms that form the start of the food chain. Algae are found floating in the sea and fresh water, but they also grow on the surface of damp walls, rocks, the bark of trees and on soil. They contain chlorophyll and other pigments that let them grow by photosynthesis. On land, algae can be useful in improving the fertility of soil by nitrogen fixation. (Source: WRIGHT)

Excessive and rapid growth of algae and other aquatic plants when they are stimulated to grow too quickly by pollution. It takes place when there are too many nutrients in the water and is aggravated when accompanied by a rise in temperature. Although the algae grow quickly they soon die because they have swallowed up all the water's nutrients. As they decompose they tend to rise to the surface and form a green slime. Algal bloom have increased because higher levels of nitrogen and phosphates from agricultural areas have leached from the fields into water courses. (Source: WRIGHT)

Any substance or chemical applied to kill or control algal growth. (Source: LANDY)

Any substance composed of two or more unlike atoms held together by chemical bonds characterized by straight-chained, branched or cyclic properties. (Source: RHW)

A class of organic compounds containing only carbon and hydrogen atoms joined to form one or more rings and having the properties of both aliphatic and cyclic substances. (Source: MGH / RRDA)

The selection and detailed layout of public transport routes in the light of construction, operation, service, technology, and economic criteria. (Source: ECHO2)

Any organic compound of hydrogen and carbon characterized by a straight chain of the carbon atoms. (Source: MGH)

Hydrocarbons having an open chain of carbon atoms, whether normal or forked, saturated or unsaturated. (Source: MGH)

Any geomorphic area, often a level lake-like plain, with soil containing a high percentage of mineral salts, located especially in arid regions. (Source: MHD / RHW)

Soil that contains sufficient exchangeable sodium to interfere with water penetration and crop growth, either with or without appreciable quantities of soluble salts. (Source: LANDY)

A primary cell that uses an alkaline electrolyte, usually potassium hydroxide, and delivers about 1.5 volts at much higher current rates than the common carbon-zinc cell. Also known as alkaline-manganese cell. (Source: MGH)

Paraffins. A homologous series of saturated hydrocarbons having the general formula CnH2n+2. Their systematic names end in -ane. They are chemically inert, stable, and flammable. The first four members of the series (methane, ethane, propane, butane) are gases at ordinary temperatures; the next eleven are liquids, and form the main constituents of paraffin oil; the higher members are solids. Paraffin waxs consists mainly of higher alkanes. (Source: UVAROV)

Compound containing one or more alkyl radicals. (Source: MGH)

A land carriage so constructed that it can be used on any kind of road or rough terrain and can be operated for many purposes, such as carrying goods, transporting the injured, conveying passengers, etc. (Source: ECHO1)

Any antigen, such as pollen, a drug, or food, that induces an allergic state in humans or animals. (Source: MGH)

A condition of abnormal sensitivity in certain individuals to contact with substances such as proteins, pollens, bacteria, and certain foods. This contact may result in exaggerated physiologic responses such as hay fever, asthma, and in severe enough situations, anaphylactic shock. (Source: KOREN)

The assignment or allotment of resources to various uses in accord with a stated goal or policy. (Source: ODE)

The formulation and application of such measures as laws, economic plans, urbanism, etc., to ensure a balance between the population's needs and the country's resources. (Source: ECHO2)

Any of a large number of substances having metallic properties and consisting of two or more elements; with few exceptions, the components are usually metallic elements. (Source: MGH)

A level or gently sloping tract or a slightly undulating land surface produced by extensive deposition of alluvium, usually adjacent to a river that periodically overflows its banks; it may be situated on a flood plain, a delta, or an alluvial fan. (Source: BJGEO)

An overflowing; an inundation or flood, especially when the water is charged with much suspended material. (Source: BJGEO)

A stream of alpha particles which are ejected from many radioactive substances having a penetrating power of a few cm in air but can be stopped by a thin piece of paper. (Source: MGH / PITT)

Materials employed in the place of others which are more dangerous for the environment, such as phosphate substitutes in detergents. (Source: RRDA)

Technology that, as an alternative to resource-intensive and wasteful industry, aims to utilize resources sparingly, with minimum damage to the environment, at affordable cost and with a possible degree of control over the processes. (Source: GUNN)

1) In general, a term used to describe a topographic eminence. 2) A specific altitude or height above a given level. 3) In surveying, the term refers to the angle between the horizontal and a point at a higher level. (Source: WHIT)

A natural or synthetic oxide of aluminum widely distributed in nature, often found as a constituent part of clays, feldspars, micas and other minerals, and as a major component of bauxite. (Source: RHW / INP)

A light white metal, ductile and malleable, and a good conductor of electricity. It occurs widely in nature in clays and is the third most abundant element in the Earth's crust. It is extracted mainly from bauxite by electrolysis of a molten mixture of purified bauxite and cryolite. The metal and its alloys are used for aircraft, cooking utensils, electrical apparatus, and for many other purposes where its light weight is an advantage. Aluminium became implicated as an environmental health hazard in the 1980s on two counts. Biomedical scientists looking for possible causes of Alzheimer's disease, the premature senility indicated by loss of memory and confusion, found a circumstantial link with aluminium. The theory is a controversial one. (Source: UVAROV / WRIGHT)

A can or box made of aluminium in which material is held or carried. (Source: AMHERa)

Amount of aluminium contained in a solution. (Source: MGH)

A sector of the economy in which an aggregate of commercial enterprises is engaged in the mining and processing of aluminum. (Source: ENC)

A tiny, thin-walled, capillary-rich sac in the lungs where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. Also called air sac. (Source: AMHER)

A solution of a metal in mercury. (Source: ALL)

The landmasses and islands of North America, South America, Mexico, and Central America included in the Western Hemisphere. (Source: AMHER)

A bioassay developed by Bruce N. Ames in 1974, performed on bacteria to assess the capability of environmental chemicals to cause mutations. (Source: BIOTGL / KORENa)

One of a class of organic compounds which can be considered to be derived from ammonia by replacement of one or more hydrogens by organic radicals. (Source: MGH)

Organic compounds containing a carboxyl group (-COOH) and an amino group (-NH2). About 30 amino acids are known. They are fundamental constituents of living matter because protein molecules are made up of many amino acid molecules combined together. Amino acids are synthesized by green plants and some bacteria, but some (arginine, histidine, lysine. threonine, methionine, isoleucine, leucine, valine, phenylalanine, tryptophane) cannot be synthesized by animals and therefore are essential constituents of their diet. Proteins from specific plants may lack certain amino acids, so a vegetarian diet must include a wide range of plant products. (Source: ALL)

A colorless gaseous alkaline compound that is very soluble in water, has a characteristic pungent odour, is lighter than air, and is formed as a result of the decomposition of most nitrogenous organic material. (Source: MGH)

Addition of ammonia or ammonia compounds, especially to the soil. (Source: MGH)

The radical NH4+. (Source: MGH)

A class of vertebrate animals characterized by a moist, glandular skin, gills at some stage of development, and no amnion during the embryonic stage. (Source: MGH)

An open-air entertainment area consisting of stalls, side shows etc. (Source: CED)

A mode of life carried on in the absence of molecular oxygen. (Source: MGH)

A process from which air or oxygen not in chemical combination is excluded. (Source: MGH)

Breakdown of organic material without the presence of oxygen, a treatment which permanently removes the unpleasant odour of many organic wastes so that they can be used on agricultural land. (Source: PHC)

Examination or determination. (Source: RRDA)

No definition needed.

The branch of chemistry dealing with techniques which yield any type of information about chemical systems. (Source: MGH)

Equipment employed in analytical techniques. (Source: RRDA)

No definition needed.

The science concerned with the physical structure of animals and plants. (Source: CED)

The class of seed plants that includes all the flowering plants, characterized by the possession of flowers. The ovules, which become seeds after fertilization, are enclosed in ovaries. The xylem contains true vessels. The angiospermae are divided into two subclasses: Monocotyledoneae and Dycotiledoneae. (Source: ALL)

The art or sport of catching fish with a rod and line and a baited hook or other lure, such as a fly. (Source: CED)

Any living organism characterized by voluntary movement, the possession of cells with noncellulose cell walls and specialized sense organs enabling rapid response to stimuli, and the ingestion of complex organic substances such as plants and other animals. (Source: CED)

Behaviour of animals in their normal environment, including all the processes, both internal and external, by which they respond to changes in their environment. (Source: ALL2)

The scientific study of the natural processes of animals. (Source: CAMBa)

Areas for the conservation of rare or endangered animal species. (Source: RAMADE)

Line corridors (roads, paths, and hedgerows) which lack interior habitat but may serve as movement groups for organisms. Corridors may also provide an efficient migratory pathway for animals. The presence or absence of breaks in a corridor may be a very important factor in determining the effectiveness of its conduit and barrier functions. (Source: PARCOR)

Harm caused to the environment by animals as, for instance, in the case of overgrazing, trampling, etc. Overgrazing damage is reduced by properly located watering facilities to decrease daily travel by livestock. Rotation of grazing areas allows time for recovery of grass. Some land can be easily restored if grazing is allowed only during one season. Animals may cause damage to crops when agriculture land borders on virgin territory or game reserves. In addition wild animals may bring disease in valuable domestic herds. Cattle overstocking has caused serious degradation of habitat, and cattle raising is thus, to some extent, counterproductive. (Source: WPR)

The habit of many animal species of moving inside their habitats or of travelling, during migrations, to different biotopes, often considerable distances apart; in aquatic environments displacements can occur horizontally or vertically while in terrestrial environments animal populations that breed in the alpine or subalpine zones in summer, move to lower levels in winter; animal displacements usually follow circadian rhythms and are related to the necessity of finding breeding, resting and feeding areas. (Source: RAMADE)

Excrement from animals that may be dried and burned to generate energy or converted to liquid or gaseous fuels, such as methane, through chemical processes. (Source: GET)

A study of the relationships of animals to their environment. (Source: MGH)

Waste matter discharged from the body of an animal. (Source: CED)

Investigation carried out in animals for research purposes. (Source: LEEa)

Any crops or other food substances for animal consumption. (Source: MGHa)

Animals bred and killed for the production of food. (Source: RRDA)

The scientific study of the hereditary material of animals for theoretical and practical applications such as increased population, conservation and disease research. (Source: EEN)

The locality in which an animal naturally grows or lives. It can be either the geographical area over which it extends, or the particular station in which an animal is found. (Source: WRIGHT)

The sum of the earth's or a particular region's non-human, non-vegetable, multicellular organisms viewed as the inheritance of the present generation, especially animal species deemed worthy of preservation and protection from extinction. (Source: OED)

Any kind of shelter, refuge affording protection to animals. (Source: CEDa)

A branch of agriculture concerned with the breeding and feeding of domestic animals. (Source: MGH)

No definition needed.

Animal excreta collected from stables and barnyards with or without litter; used to enrich the soil. (Source: MGH)

Movements that particular animals carry out regularly often between breeding places and winter feeding grounds. (Source: ALL)

Noise caused by animals such as dogs kept in kennels or in private homes as pets. (Source: RRDA)

Ingestion, digestion and/or assimilation of food by animals. (Source: LBC)

Study of the normal processes and metabolic functions of animal organisms. (Source: LBC)

A group of animals inhabiting a given area. (Source: CED)

No definition needed.

No definition needed.

Precautionary actions or procedures taken to prevent or reduce the harm to sentient, non-human species, posed, in most cases, by humans. (Source: ONE / RHW)

Any substances or components left over from animal life, including body parts and, later, decomposed materials. (Source: RHW)

Any of various processes, either sexual or asexual, by which an animal produces one or more individuals similar to itself. (Source: CED)

No definition needed.

Just claims, legal guarantees or moral principles accorded to sentient, non-human species, including freedom from abuse, consumption, experimentation, use as clothing or performing for human entertainment. (Source: ONE / RHW)

A protection providing housing for animals in bad weather. (Source: RRDA)

Species belonging to the animal kingdom. (Source: RRDA)

Attempts made to prevent the extinction of threatened species and populations by reintroducing them in their natural habitat. The reintroduction of species in a region requires a preliminary study to establish the reasons of their disappearance and the modifications that might have occurred in the biotopes. (Source: RBGKEWa / RAMADE)

A filament or threadlike strand derived from animals that manufacturers use to produce clothes or other goods that require weaving, knitting or felting, which include silk, wool, mohair and other forms of animal hair. (Source: INP / RHW)

The process or act of exchanging, buying or selling animals, especially livestock. (Source: RHW)

Discarded material from industries directly associated with the raising of animals, such as those wastes produced by livestock farming (manure, milk, etc.), meat production and animal testing (animal bodies, animal parts, feathers, etc.) and fur breeding (fur, blood, etc.). (Source: AWM)

An ion that is negatively charged. (Source: MGH)

Any worms of the phylum Anellida, in which the body is divided into segments both internally and externally. The group includes the earthworms, lugworm, ragworm, and leeches. (Source: CED)

The situation in which two chemicals upon interaction interfere in such a way that the action of one partially or completely inhibits the effects of the other. (Source: KOREN)

The waters, including ice shelves, that surround the continent of Antarctica, which comprise the southernmost parts of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, and also the Ross, Amundsen, Bellingshausen and Weddell seas. (Source: RHW / CIA)

An area within the Antarctic Circle that includes the fifth largest continent and its surrounding waters, consisting mostly of thick ice shelves. (Source: INP / CIA)

A continent lying chiefly within the Antarctic Circle and asymmetrically centered on the South Pole: it consists of an ice-covered plateau (some 95 percent of Antarctica is covered by an icecap averaging 1,6 km in thickness), 1800-3000 m above sea level, and mountains ranges rising to 4500 m with some volcanic peaks; average temperatures all below freezing and human settlement is confined to research station. (Source: CED / AMHER)

Action resulting from or influenced by human activity or intervention. (Source: GRAHAW)

Area of protection of the life style of societies where traditional human activities are still maintained and the exploitation of natural resources is still carried out without compromising the future availability. (Source: RRDA)

A chemical substance, produced by microorganisms and synthetically, that has the capacity to inhibit the growth of, and even to destroy, bacteria and other microorganisms. (Source: MGH)

A complex protein that is produced in response to the introduction of a specific antigen into an animal. Antibodies belong to a class of proteins called immunoglobins, which are formed by plasma cells in the blood as a defence mechanism against invasion by parasites, notably bacteria and viruses, either by killing them or rendering them harmless. (Source: ALL2)

The act of foreseeing, expecting and taking measures against possible future exposure to harm, death or a thing that causes these. (Source: ISEP)

Agent that inhibits the growth of barnacles and other marine organisms on a ship's bottom (an antifouling paint or other coating). Organo-tin compounds have been the most often used agents in this application since they are effective against both soft and hard fouling organisms. However, in spite of their performance, they have a negative impact on the marine environment and their long half life in the environment, has prompted marine paint manufacturers to look for a nonpersistent alternative. (Source: CED / OLIN)

Financial reward or penalty used to incite action towards greater responsibility in reducing the presence of pollution or substances in the environment deemed harmful to human health or natural resources. (Source: ODE / TOE)

A prize or bonus given as an inducement or reward for efforts to reduce the presence of pollution or substances in the environment deemed harmful to human health or natural resources. (Source: ISEP / OED / TOE)

Old installation that do not respond to new rules for the prevention of environmental pollution and whose redevelopment requires investments for adopting technologies related to the protection of waterways, waste management, noise reduction and emission control. (Source: RRDA)

Rules for minimizing or containing the risks deriving from earthquakes. (Source: MANCOS)

Organic halogens subject to absorption. This is a measure of the amount of chlorine (and other halogens) combined with organic compounds. (Source: PORT) adsorbable organic halogens value

An apartment building in which each apartment is individually wholly owned and the common areas are jointly owned. (Source: CED)

Large-scale commercial beekeeping. (Source: MGH)

Resort to a superior court to review the decision of an inferior court or administrative agency. (Source: BLACK)

Procedure through which it is possible to resort to a superior court to review the decision of an inferior court. (Source: BLACKa)

The application of ecological principles to the solution of human problems. (Source: PARCOR)

Putting to use general principles of the science of human nourishment to address or solve specific problems. (Source: MED)

Research directed toward using knowledge gained by basic research to make things or to create situations that will serve a practical or utilitarian purpose. (Source: MGH)

Science whose results are employed in technical applications. (Source: ZINZAN)

An expert or official valuation. (Source: WEBSTE)

The way or means of entry or access. (Source: CEDa)

1) A flexible and participatory approach to developing economically viable, regionally applicable and sustainable technology. 2) Technology designed to be used in developing countries. Typical requirements are that it should: be easy to use by the unskilled; have no difficult-to-get parts; be easily repaired on the spot. Typical example: a simple windmill to pump water rather than a diesel-driven pump. The terms `alternative', `intermediate' and `appropriate' are often used interchangeably. (Source: IISD / VCN) techology transfer

Authorization or permission for setting up or making adjustments to a building or to a mechanical or electrical system or apparatus. (Source: OED)

1) The cultivation and harvest of freshwater or marine animals and plants, in ponds, tanks, cages or on protected beds. This is usually done in inland waters, estuaries or coastal waters. It is estimated that commercial fish farming accounts for more than 10% of the world's fish needs. Fish farming usually concentrates on molluscs, including oysters, mussels and clams, because they are usually immobile and fetch high prices. Shrimps and salmon are also farmed, but the stock have to be caught in the wild first, so that they can be brought up to commercial standards in pens. Aquaculture in not new. In Asia freshwater fish have been farmed for some 4.000 years, usually on small farms. 2) The use of artificial means to increase the production of aquatic organisms in fresh or salt water. (Source: WRIGHT / LANDY)

Animal having a water habitat. (Source: RRDA)

The study of the relationships among aquatic living organisms and between those organisms and their environment. (Source: ALLa)

Any watery environment, from small to large, from pond to ocean, in which plants and animals interact with the chemical and physical features of the environment. (Source: GILP96)

Waters, including wetlands, that serve as habitat for interrelated and interacting communities and populations of plants and animals. (Source: LEE)

Microorganisms having a water habitat. (Source: MGH)

Organisms which live in water. (Source: PHC)

Plants adapted for a partially or completely submerged life. (Source: LBC)

No definition needed.

A channel for supplying water; often underground, but treated architecturally on high arches when crossing valleys or low ground. (Source: HARRIS)

Layers of rock, sand or gravel that can absorb water and allow it to flow. An aquifer acts as a groundwater reservoir when the underlying rock is impermeable. This may be tapped by wells for domestic, agricultural or industrial use. A serious environmental problem arises when the aquifer is contaminated by the seepage of sewage or toxins from waste dumps. If the groundwater in coastal areas is over-used salt water can seep into the aquifer. (Source: WRIGHT)

Growing crops as opposed to dairy farming, cattle farming, etc. (Source: PHC)

Collection of trees from different parts of the world, grown for scientific study. (Source: PHC)

The planting and care of woody plants, especially trees. (Source: AMHER)

Any location containing significant relics and artifacts of past culture. (Source: LANDY)

The scientific study of the material remains of the cultures of historical or prehistorical peoples. (Source: MGH)

A chain of many islands including the waters that surround them. (Source: DOE)

The art and science of designing and building structures, or large groups of structures, in keeping with aesthetic and functional criteria. (Source: HARRIS)

The smallest and most poorly studied of the oceans on earth. It covers an area of 14 million square km that is divided by three submarine ridges, i.e. the Alpha Ridge, the Lomonosov Ridge, and an extension of the mid-Atlantic ridge. It is also nearly landlocked, covered year-round by pack ice, and the third of its area is continental shelf. (Source: OCEAN)

The northernmost area of the earth, centered on the North Pole, that includes the Arctic Ocean, the northern reaches of Canada, Alaska, Russia, Norway and most of Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard. (Source: INP)

Area which is supposedly causing dangers to human health and environment. (Source: ECHO2)

Areas that are flooded by rising number of tourists or other kinds of pressure and suffer from insufficient or inappropriate planning and management. Damage frequently arises from a lack of understanding or interest of the value of such sites. (Source: WPR)

Lands characterized by low annual rainfall of less than 250 mm, by evaporation exceeding precipitation and a sparse vegetation. (Source: LBC)

The interacting system of a biological community and its non-living environmental surroundings in a climatic region where the annual precipitation averages less than 10 inches per year. (Source: TOE / DOE)

The weapons, ammunition and equipment, or the total force held by a military unit or state. (Source: RHW)

Change in character, form or function of the arms and equipment with which a military unit is supplied.

The military units of a state, typically divided by their differing contexts of operations, such as the army, navy, air force and marines. (Source: RHW)

Compounds characterized by the presence of at least one benzene ring. (Source: MGH)

Hydrocarbons having an unsaturated ring containing alternating double and single bonds, especially containing a benzene ring. (Source: CED)

Substance having a distinctive, usually fragrant smell. (Source: CED)

Agreement to provide refunds or payments in exchange for used bottles or packaging materials. (Source: RHW)

A toxic metalloid element, existing in several allotropic forms, that occurs principally in realgar and orpiment and as the free element. It is used in transistors, lead-based alloys, and high temperature brasses. (Source: CED)

The creation of works of beauty or other special significance. (Source: CED)

The largest phylum in the animal kingdom; adults typically have segmented body, a sclerotized integument, and many-jointed segmental limbs. (Source: MGH)

Animals characterized by the repetition of similar segments (metameres), exhibited especially by arthropods, annelids, and vertebrates in early embryonic stages and in certain specialized adult structures. (Source: MGH)

Lakes created behind manmade barriers. (Source: PARCOR)

Any man-made object placed in a near-periodic orbit in which it moves mainly under the gravitational influence of one celestial body, such as the earth, sun, another planet, or a planet's moon. (Source: MGH)

Generic name for a group of fibrous mineral silicates. It includes blue asbestos (crocidolite), white asbestos (chrysotile) and brown asbestos (amosite). After they are mined the asbestos fibres are separated from the rock and are spun into a cloth. When inhaled the fibres penetrate the lungs and the tissues of the bronchial tubes, resulting in asbestosis, a crippling lung disease. Asbestos also causes cancer of the lung and the gastro-intestinal tract, and mesothelioma, a malignant cancer of the inner lining of the chest. However, because it is a poor conductor of electricity and highly resistant to heat it has been widely used over the years in fire-fighting suits, and building and insulating materials. The fibrous form of several silicate minerals, at one time widely used for electrical and thermal insulation; the use of all forms of asbestos is now either banned or strictly controlled in many countries since it causes cancer. (Source: WRIGHT / ALL)

A hardened mixture of asbestos fibers, Portland cement and water used in relatively thin slabs for shingles, wallboard and siding. (Source: WEBSTE)

A non-malignant progressive, irreversible, lung disease, characterized by diffuse fibrosis, resulting from the inhalation of asbestos fibers. (Source: CONFER)

Association of Southeast Asian Nations. (Source: MIIS)

The incombustible matter remaining after a substance has been incinerated. (Source: MGH)

The world's largest continent. It occupies the eastern part of the Eurasian landmass and its adjacent islands and is separated from Europe by the Ural Mountains. Asia borders on the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean and Red Seas in the west. It includes the largest peninsulas of Asia Minor, India, Arabia, and Indochina and the island groups of Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Ceylon; contains the mountain ranges of the Hindu Kush, Himalayas, Pamirs, Tian Shan, Urals, and Caucasus, the great plateaus of India, Iran and Tibet, vast plains and deserts, and the valleys of many large rivers including the Mekong, Irrawaddy, Indus, Ganges, Tigris and Euphrates. (Source: AMHER / CED)

Qualitative or quantitative determination of the components of a material, such as an ore or a drug. (Source: MGH)

Conversion of nutritive material to living tissue. (Source: KOREN)

A body of persons associated for the regulation of a common economic activity by means of a special organization. (Source: SHOOX / ZINZAN)

The science of space flight. (Source: MGH)

The science concerned with celestial bodies and the observation and interpretation of the radiation received in the vicinity of the earth from the component parts of the universe. (Source: MGH)

A bound collection of maps or charts, plates, engravings or tables illustrating any subject. (Source: CCL / RHW)

The gaseous envelope surrounding the Earth in a several kilometers-thick layer. (Source: UVAROVa)

Particulate matter suspended in the air. The particulate matter may be in the form of dusts, fumes, or mist. Aerosols in the atmosphere are the form in which pollutants such as smoke are dispersed. (Source: LANDY / PHC)

The study of the production, transport, modification, and removal of atmospheric constituents in the troposphere and stratosphere. (Source: MGH)

The general movement and circulation of air, which transfers energy between different levels of the atmosphere. The mechanisms of circulation are very complicated. They involve the transfer of energy between the oceans and the atmosphere, the land and the atmosphere, as well as the different levels of the atmosphere. (Source: WRIGHT)

The Earth's atmosphere consists by volume of nitrogen (79,1%), oxygen (20,9%), carbon dioxide (about 0,03%) and traces of the noble gases (argon, krypton, xenon, helium) plus water vapour, traces of ammonia, organic matter, ozone, various salts and suspended solid particles. (Source: ALL)

The chemical abundance in the earth's atmosphere of its constituents including nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, water vapour, ozone, neon, helium, krypton, methane, hydrogen and nitrous oxide. (Source: MGH)

The removal from the remotely sensed data of the atmospheric effects caused by the scattering and absorption of sunlight by particles; the removal of these effects improves not only the quality of the observed earth surface imaging but also the accuracy of classification of the ground objects. (Source: YOUNG)

Suspended pollutants -- solid particles, liquid aerosols, etc. -- or toxic gases released into the atmosphere from a polluting source, or type of source. (Source: ISEP)

The sedimentation of dust or fine particles from the atmosphere. (Source: LEE)

A measurable quantity of the moisture content found in the earth's atmosphere. (Source: RHW)

A temperature inversion in the atmosphere in which the temperature, instead of falling, increases with height above the ground. With the colder and heavier air below, there is no tendency to form upward currents and turbulence is suppressed. Inversions are often formed in the late afternoon when the radiation emitted from the ground exceeds that received from the sinking sun. Inversions are also caused by katabatic winds, that is cold winds flowing down the hillside into a valley, and by anticyclones. In inversion layers, both vertical and horizontal diffusion is inhibited and pollutants become trapped, sometimes for long periods. Low-level discharges of pollutants are more readily trapped by inversions than high level dischargers, hence the case for high stacks. Furthermore, high level discharges into an inversion tend to remain at a high level because of the absence of vertical mixing. (Source: GILP96)

Any one of a number of strata or layers of the earth's atmosphere; temperature distribution is the most common criterion used for denoting the various shell. Also known as atmospheric shell; atmospheric region. (Source: MGH)

A simulation, pattern or plan designed to demonstrate the structure or workings of the atmosphere surrounding any object, including the Earth. (Source: APD)

A practice of continuous atmospheric sampling by various levels of government or particular industries. (Source: MGH)

A triatomic molecule of oxygen; a natural constituent of the atmosphere, with the highest concentrations in the ozone layer or stratosphere; it is found at a level between 15 and 30 km above the Earth, which prevents harmful ultraviolet B radiation, which causes skin cancer and threatens plant life, from reaching the ground. The fragile shield is being damaged by chemicals released on Earth. The main chemicals that are depleting stratospheric ozone are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are used in refrigerators, aerosols and as cleaners in many industries and halons, which are used in fire extinguishers. The damage is caused when these chemicals release highly reactive forms of chlorine and bromine. (Source: GILP96 / WRIGHT)

A concentration of fine liquid or solid particles, such as dust, smoke, mist, fumes or smog, found in the atmosphere. (Source: TOE)

The study of the physical phenomena of the atmosphere. (Source: MGH)

The presence in the air of one or more contaminants in such a concentration and of such duration as to cause a nuisance or to be injurious to human life, animal life or vegetation. (Source: LANDY)

The settling out of water from cloud in the form of dew, rain, hail, snow, etc. (Source: ALL)

Atmospheric processes are distinguished in physical and chemical processes and both types may be operating simultaneously in complicated and interdependent ways. The physical processes of transport by atmospheric winds and the formation of clouds and precipitation strongly influence the patterns and rates of acidic deposition, while chemical reactions govern the forms of the compounds deposited. (Source: PARCOR)

The atmospheric sciences study the dynamics, physics and chemistry of atmospheric phenomena and processes, including the interactions of the atmosphere with soil physics, hydrology and oceanic circulation. The research focuses on the following areas: turbulence and convection, atmospheric radiation and remote sensing, aerosol and cloud physics and chemistry, planetary atmospheres, air-sea interactions, climate, and statistical meteorology. (Source: ATS)

The gaseous area surrounding the planet is divided into several concentric spherical strata (layers, like shells) separated by narrow transition zones. The boundaries are know as pause. More than 99% of the total atmospheric mass is concentrated in the first 40 km from the Earth's surface. Atmospheric layers are characterized by differences in chemical composition that produce variations in temperature. (Source: KSW)

Herbicide belonging to the triazine group, widely employed and particularly in maize crops. It is highly toxic for phytoplancton and freshwater algae and, being highly soluble in water, it easily contaminates aquifers. (Source: RAMADE)

A distinctive feature of an object. In mapping and GIS applications, the objects are points, lines, or polygons that represent features such as sampling locations, section corners (points); roads and streams (lines); lakes, forest and soil types (polygons). These attributes can be further divided into classes such as tree species Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine) for forest types and paved and gravel for road types. Multiple attributes are generally associated with objects that are located on a single map layer. (Source: FORUMT)

Under certain circumstances, the tax law applies attribution rules to assign to one taxpayer the ownership interest of another taxpayer. (Source: WESTS)

An exhibition, performance, demonstration or lecture utilizing communication media directed at both the sense of sight and the sense of hearing. (Source: RHW)

Equipment designed to aid in learning and teaching by making use of both hearing and sight. (Source: WEBSTE)

Any means of communication transmitted to both the sense of hearing and the sense of sight, especially technologies directed to large audiences. (Source: RHW)

The periodic or continuous verification of the accounts, assets and liabilities of a company or other organization, often to confirm compliance with legal and professional standards. (Source: West's / ODE)

An official certification of competence or a transfer of the right and power to act, including permission from government to use state funds for a particular program or project. (Source: BLD / RHW)

An organized assemblage of authorized persons or officials empowered to implement and enforce laws, oversee jurisdictions, settle disputes, adjudicate or make some other legal determination. (Source: RHW / BLD)

That part of ecology which deals with individual species and their reactions to environmental factors. (Source: UNUN)

The processing, discovery and identification of data elements by automated means. (Source: RHW)

No definition needed.

A fall or slide of a large mass, as of snow or rock, down a mountainside. (Source: AMHER)

The total of measures and devices implemented to protect people, property or natural resources from avalanche conditions, including avalanche forecasting and warning, avalanche zoning, ski testing and the use of explosives and other equipment to stabilize an avalanche area. (Source: ALL / AVA)

International rules regulating air transportation. (Source: NDGIUR)

The raising, keeping, and care of birds. (Source: AMHER)

All the birds in a particular region. (Source: CED)

Term used in a variety of situations, always as the constant or natural amount of a given substance, radiation, noise, etc. (Source: KORENa)

Noise coming from source other than the noise source being monitored. (Source: KOREN)

Radiation resulting from natural sources, as opposed to man-made sources, and to which people are exposed in everyday, normal life; for example from rocks and soil. (Source: WRIGHT / MGH)

A device that removes some suspended solids from sewage. Air and bacteria decompose additional wastes filtering through the sand so that cleaner water drains from the bed. (Source: LEE)

An agent that destroys bacteria. (Source: LBC)

Contamination of water, soil and air with pathogen bacteria. (Source: RRDA)

The science and study of bacteria. (Source: MGH)

Group of single-cell micro-organisms, the smallest of the living organisms. Some are vital to sustain life, while others are responsible for causing highly dangerous human diseases, such as anthrax, tetanus and tuberculosis. Bacteria are found everywhere, in the soil, water and air. (Source: MGH / WRIGHT)

An equality between the sums total of the two sides of an account, or the excess on either side. (Source: WESTS)

A calculation to inventory material inputs versus outputs in a process system. (Source: MGH)

Considering, weighing or counterbalancing the competing political or financial concerns of different parts of society, including industries, consumers, trade unions and other groups or organizations. (Source: OED / ISEP)

The sloping side of any hollow in the ground, especially when bordering a river. (Source: CED)

Engineering work which aims at the protection of banks of a river, or slopes of embankments along it, from erosion by the current of flow, from floods, etc. (Source: ECHO1a)

Transactional business between any bank, an institution for safeguarding, exchanging, receiving and lending money, and that bank's clients or customers. (Source: OED / RHW)

A soft silvery-white metallic element of the alkaline earth group. It is used in bearing alloys and compounds are used as pigments. (Source: CED)

An elongated sand or shingle bank which lies parallel to the coastline and is not submerged by the tide. If it is high enough to permit dune growth it is termed a barrier island. (Source: WHIT)

An elongated accumulation of coral lying at low-tide level parallel to the coast but separated from it by a wide and deep lagoon or strait. The coral is thought to have formed initially on a flat surface: then as the sea-level rose in post-glacial times, thereby submerging the irregular wave-cut platform, the coral growth kept pace with the rising ocean level, so creating the great thickness witnessed today in such places as the Great Barrier Reef off the East coast of Queensland, Australia. This stretches for more than 1900 km and varies in width from about 30 km to 150 km. (Source: WHIT)

Any chemical species, ionic or molecular, capable of accepting or receiving a proton (hydrogen ion) from another substance; the other substance acts as an acid in giving of the proton; the other ion is a base. (Source: MGH)

Monitoring of long-term changes in atmospheric compositions of particular significance to the weather and the climate. (Source: YOUNG)

The minimum nutriments deemed necessary for a person of a particular age, gender, physiological condition and activity level to sustain life, health and growth. (Source: PAJ)

The state of a solution of containing an excess of hydroxyl ions. (Source: RRDA)

One of the possible consequences of the introduction of animal species in an area where they are not indigenous. Such translocation of species always involves an element of risk if not of serious danger. Newly arrived species may be highly competitive with or otherwise adversely affect native species and communities. (Source: RRDA / WPRa)

One of the possible consequences of the introduction of plant species in an area where they are not indigenous. (Source: RRDA)

A process that is not in continuous or mass production; operations are carried out with discrete quantities of material or a limited number of items. (Source: MGH)

Freshwater in which bathing is explicitly authorised or in which bathing is not prohibited and is traditionally practised by a large number of bathers. Water in such areas must meet specified quality standards relating to chemical, microbiological and physical parameters. (Source: GILP96a)

Sea waters in which bathing is explicitly authorised or in which bathing is not prohibited and is traditionally practised by a large number of bathers. Water in such areas must meet specified quality standards relating to chemical, microbiological and physical parameters. (Source: GILP96a)

All waters, inland or coastal, except those intended for therapeutic purposes or used in swimming pools, an area either in which bathing is explicitly authorised or in which bathing is not prohibited and is traditionally practised by a large number of bathers. Water in such areas must meet specified quality standards relating to chemical, microbiological and physical parameters. (Source: GILP96)

A series of cells, each containing the essentials for producing voltaic electricity, connected together. (Source: CEDa)

An open, curving indentation made by the sea or a lake into a coastline. (Source: WHIT)

The unconsolidated material that covers a gently sloping zone, typically with a concave profile, extending landward from the low-water line to the place where there is a definite change in material or physiographic from (such as a cliff), or to the line of permanent vegetation (usually the effective limit of the highest storm waves); a shore of body of water, formed and washed by waves or tides, usually covered by sand or gravel, and lacking a bare rocky surface. (Source: BJGEO)

The process of removing dirt, litter or other unsightly materials from shore line property or surrounding areas. (Source: ISEP)

The washing ashore of whales or other cetaceans that have died for natural causes, or because of highly polluted sea water or after being trapped in drift nets. (Source: WPRa)

Any of the membranous-winged insects which compose the superfamily Apoidea in the order Hymenoptera characterized by a hairy body and by sucking and chewing mouthparts. (Source: MGH)

The care, preservation and husbandry of hymenopterous insects valued for their ability to pollinate crops and other flora or for their production of honey. (Source: TOE / RHW)

Cattle bred for the production of meat. (Source: RRDA)

Any insect of the order Coleoptera, having biting mouthparts and forewings modified to form shell-like protective elytra. (Source: CED)

Any observable action or response of an organism, group or species to environmental factors. (Source: LBC)

Reactivity of a compound depending on the structure of the molecules. (Source: RRDA)

A relatively uniform series of overt activities that can be observed with some regularity. (Source: DUNSTE)

The study of the behaviour of organisms. (Source: ZINZAN / ALL)

Any pollinating insect, or any pest predator, parasite, pathogen or other biological control agent which functions naturally or as part of an integrated pest management program to control another pest. (Source: LEE)

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The bottom of a body of water often occupied by benthos. (Source: GILP96)

The interacting system of the biological communities located at the bottom of bodies of freshwater and saltwater and their non-living environmental surroundings. (Source: TOE / DOE)

Those organisms attached to, living on, in or near the sea bed, river bed or lake floor. (Source: LBC)

A colorless, liquid, flammable, aromatic hydrocarbon used to manufacture styrene and phenol. Also known as benzol. (Source: MGH)

A five-ring aromatic hydrocarbon found in coal tar, in cigarette smoke, and as a product of incomplete combustion. (Source: MGH)

A corrosion-resistant, toxic silvery-white metallic element that occurs chiefly in beryl and is used mainly in x-ray windows and in the manufacture of alloys. (Source: CED)

Name given to the ionizing radiation which is produced as a stream of high speed electrons emitted by certain types of radioactive substance when they decay. The intensity of radiation energy produced in human tissue by a beta particle is a hundred times less than that produced by an alpha radiation particle, but it travels slightly deeper into tissue. (Source: WRIGHT)

Any one of various liquids for drinking, usually excluding water. (Source: AMHER)

Data pertaining to the history, physical description, comparison, and classification of books and other works. (Source: RHW)

A coordinated assemblage of people, devices or other resources organized for the exchange of data pertaining to the history, physical description, comparison, and classification of books and other works. (Source: RHW)

A complete or selective listing of documents by a given subject, author or publisher, often including the description and identification of the editions, dates of issue, titles, authorship, publishers or other written materials. (Source: RHW / ISEP)

A vehicle with two wheels in tandem, pedals connected to the rear wheel by a chain, handlebars for steering, and a saddlelike seat.

Large wild animals that weigh typically more than 30 lb when fully grown, hunted for food, sport or profit. (Source: CORBIT / AMHER)

An international agreement, especially one dealing with a specific matter, involving two or both sides, factions, or the like. (Source: RRDA)

Waste oil that accumulates, usually in small quantities, inside the lower spaces of a ship, just inside the shell plating, and usually mixed with larger quantities of water. (Source: ERG)

Water that builds up in the bottom of a ship's bilge. (Source: MGH)

The extent to which a drug or other substance is taken up by a specific tissue or organ after administration. (Source: ZINZAN / CEDa)

1) The accumulation of pollutants in living organisms by direct adsorption or through food chains. 2) Accumulation by an organism of materials that are not an essential component or nutrient of that organism. Usually it refers to the accumulation of metals, but it can apply to bioaccumulation of persistent synthetic substances such as organochlorine compounds. Many organisms, such as plants, fungi and bacteria, will accumulate metals when grown in solutions containing them. The process can be employed usefully as a purification process to remove toxic heavy metals from waste water and contaminated land. (Source: WRIGHT)

Pollutants that become concentrated in living organisms through the consumption of food or water. (Source: KORENa)

Method based on the utilisation of a biochemical mechanism, e.g. any chemical reaction or series of reactions, usually enzyme catalysed, which produces a given physiological effect in a living organism. (Source: BIOHW)

The amount of oxygen used for biochemical oxidation by a unit volume of water at a given temperature and for a given time. BOD is an index of the degree of organic pollution in water. (Source: LBC)

Chemical processes occurring in living organisms. (Source: PHCa)

Chemical substances that occur in animals, microorganisms, and plants. (Source: GILP96a)

The study of chemical substances occurring in living organisms and the reactions and methods for identifying these substances. (Source: MGH)

A diverse group of poisonous substance including preservatives, insecticides, disinfectants and pesticides used for the control of organisms that are harmful to human or animal health or that cause damage to natural or manufactured products. (Source: GRAHAW)

The study of climate in relation to fauna and flora. (Source: LBC)

A community or natural assemblage of organisms; often used as an alternative to ecosystem but strictly is the fauna/flora association excluding physical aspects of the environment. (Source: LBC)

The quotient of the concentration of a chemical in aquatic organisms at a specific time or during a discrete time period of exposure, divided by the concentration in the surrounding water at the same time or during the same period. (Source: KOREN)

The extent to which a substance can be decomposed - or rotted - by bacteria and fungi. Implies that residues from degradation are nontoxic. One of the most misleading claims in business, because shoppers often assume a biodegradable product to be harmless. Some harmful compounds take much longer to degrade than others and the product can harm the environment while it is rotting. Biodegradation may also be incomplete, sometimes leaving residues in the environment which are more harmful than the original substance. Accumulation in the environment of nonbiodegradable (or poorly biodegradable) substances, such as some biocides, can cause serious problems. (Source: VCN)

A pollutant which can be converted by biological processes into simple inorganic molecules. (Source: RRDA)

Breaking down of a substance by microorganisms. (Source: MGH)

1) Genetic diversity: the variation between individuals and between populations within a species; species diversity: the different types of plants, animals and other life forms within a region; community or ecosystem diversity: the variety of habitats found within an area (grassland, marsh, and woodland for instance. 2) An umbrella term to describe collectively the variety and variability of nature. It encompasses three basic levels of organisation in living systems: the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels. Plant and animal species are the most commonly recognized units of biological diversity, thus public concern has been mainly devoted to conserving species diversity. (Source: WRES / GILP96)

The study of ethical problems arising from biological research and its applications in such fields as organ transplantation, genetic engineering, or artificial insemination. (Source: CED)

The distribution of settled sewage on a bed of inert granular material through which it is allowed to percolate. In doing so, the effluent is aerated thus allowing aerobic bacteria and fungi to reduce its biochemical oxygen demand. (Source: PORT)

A gaseous, liquid, or solid fuel that contains an energy content derived from a biological source. The organic matter that makes up living organisms provides a potential source of trapped energy that is beginning to be exploited to supply the ever-increasing energy demand around the world. An example of a biofuel is rapeseed oil, which can be used in place of diesel fuel in modified engines. The methyl ester of this oil, rapeseed methyl ester (RME), can be used in unmodified diesel engines and is sometimes known as biodiesel. Other biofuels include biogas and gasohol. (Source: DICCHE)

Gas, rich in methane, which is produced by the fermentation of animal dung, human sewage or crop residues in an air-tight container. It is used as a fuel, to heat stoves, lamps, run small machines and to generate electricity. The residues of biogas production are used as a low-grade organic fertilizer. Biogas fuels do not usually cause any pollution to the atmosphere, and because they come from renewable energy resources they have great potential for future use. (Source: WRIGHT)

Movement of chemical elements in a circular pathway, from organisms to physical environment, back to organisms. The process is termed a nutrient cycle if the elements concerned are trace elements, which are essential to life. A biogeochemical cycle occurs when vegetation decomposes and minerals are incorporated naturally in the humus for future plant growth. (Source: WRIGHT)

Area of the Earth's surface defined by the species of fauna and flora it contains. (Source: ALL)

The science concerned with the geographical distribution of animal and plant life. (Source: MGH)

The analysis of a substance in order to ascertain its influence on living organisms. (Source: PHCa)

Properties or features belonging to living organisms. (Source: CEDa)

The presence in the environment of living organisms or agents derived by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and mammal and bird antigens that can cause many health effects. (Source: KORENa)

A series of transformations or biological events which follow one after the other one, reaching at the end of the cycle the initial conditions, as in the life cycle of many animal and plant organisms. (Source: DELFIN)

The action of growing of living organisms. (Source: RRDA)

Biological effects include allergic reactions, respiratory disorders, hypersensitivity diseases and infectious diseases and can be caused by a variety of contaminants and pollutants. (Source: RRDA)

Effects of pollution on living systems. (Source: RRDA)

The application of engineering principles and techniques to living organisms. It is largely concerned with the design of replacement body parts, such as limbs, heart valves, etc. (Source: UVAROV)

The inheritance and preservation of the earth's or a particular region's balanced, integrated functionality as a natural habitat, with special concern for the water resources necessary to maintain the ecosystem. (Source: TOE)

A species or organism that is used to grade environmental quality or change. (Source: ALL)

The direct measurement of changes in the biological status of a habitat, based on evaluations of the number and distribution of individuals or species before and after a change. (Source: ALL)

Any living organism applied to or introduced into the environment that is intended to function as a pesticide against another organism declared to be a pest. (Source: LEE)

Viruses, bacteria, fungi, and mammal and bird antigens that may be present in the environment and cause many health effects. (Source: KORENa)

Disturbance of the ecological balance by the accidental or deliberate introduction of a foreign organism, animal or plant species into an environment. (Source: WRIGHT)

Processes concerning living organisms. (Source: CEDa)

1) The amount and rate of production which occur in a given ecosystem over a given time period. It may apply to a single organism, a population, or entire communities and ecosystems. 2) The quantity of organic matter or its equivalent in dry matter, carbon, or energy content which is accumulated during a given period of time. (Source: PARCOR / MGH)

An area of land and/or of water designated as having protected status for purposes of preserving certain biological features. Reserves are managed primarily to safeguard these features and provide opportunities for research into the problems underlying the management of natural sites and of vegetation and animal populations. Regulations are normally imposed controlling public access and disturbance. (Source: GOOD)

Wild organisms harvested for subsistence, commerce, or recreation (such as fish, game, timber or furbearers); domesticated organisms raised by agriculture, aquaculture, and silviculture; and ecosystems cropped by livestock. (Source: WPR)

The laboratory determination of the effects of substances upon specific living organisms. (Source: GILP96)

Process that uses microorganisms to decompose organic wastes either into water, carbon dioxide, and simple inorganic substances, or into simpler organic substances, such as aldehydes and acids. The purpose of a biological treatment system is to control the environment for microorganisms so that their growth and activity are enhanced, and provide a means for maintaining high concentration of the microorganisms in contact with the wastes. (Source: PARCOR)

Processes for removing impurities from waste gas based on the employing of microorganisms. (Source: BIOTGLa)

A generic term applied to processes that use microorganisms to decompose organic wastes either into water, carbon dioxide, and simple inorganic substances, such as aldehydes and acids. The purpose of biological waste treatment is to control either the environment for microorganisms so that their growth and activity are enhanced, and to provide a means for maintaining high concentrations of the microorganisms in contact with the wastes.

Types of wastewater treatment in which biochemical or bacterial action is intensified to oxidize and stabilize the unstable organic matter present. Examples of this type of treatment use intermittent sand filters, trickling filters, and activated sludge processes and sludge digestion. (Source: WWC)

The amount of ingoing and outgoing water in a system, which are assumed to be equal in the long term so that the water budget will balance. (Source: ALL)

Living organisms (or infective material derived from them) which are intended to cause disease or death in animals, plants, or man, and which depend for their effects on their ability to multiply in the person, animal or plant attacked. Various living organisms (for example, rickettsiae, viruses and fungi), as well as bacteria, can be used as weapons. (Source: WPR)

A division of the natural sciences concerned with the study of life and living organisms. (Source: MGH)

The production of light of various colors by living organisms (e.g. some bacteria and fungi, glow-worms and many marine animals). Luminescence is produced by a biochemical reaction, which is catalyzed by an enzyme. In some animals the light is used as a mating signal; in others it may be a protective device. In deep-sea forms luminous organs may serve as lanterns. (Source: MGH)

A normal metabolite that, when present in abnormal concentrations in certain body fluids, can indicate the presence of a particular disease or toxicological condition. (Source: DICCHE)

Biomass refers strictly speaking to the total weight of all the living things in an ecosystem. However, it has come to refer to the amount of plant and crop material that could be produced in an ecosystem for making biofuels and other raw materials used in industry, for example. (Source: WRIGHT)

A renewable energy source that makes use of such biofuels as methane (biogas) generated by sewage, farm, industrial, or household organic waste materials. Other biofuels include trees grown in so-called energy forests or other plants such as sugar cane grown for their energy potential. Biomass energy relies on combustion and therefore produces carbon dioxide; its use would not therefore alleviate the greenhouse effect. (Source: UVAROV)

The hybrid science involving the application of physical principles and methods to study and explain the structures of living organisms and the mechanics of life processes. (Source: MGH)

A container, such as a large fermentation chamber, for growing living organisms that are used in the industrial production of substances such as pharmaceuticals, antibodies, or vaccines. (Source: PORT)

A cyclically recurring pattern of physiological states in an organism or organ, such as alpha rhythm or circadian rhythm; believed by some to affect physical and mental states and behaviour. (Source: CED)

The combination of knowledge, techniques and equipment used to manage or contain potentially infectious materials or biohazards in the laboratory environment, to reduce or prevent harm to laboratory workers, other persons and the environment. (Source: BIOSAF / OHS)

That part of the Earth and atmosphere capable of supporting living organisms. (Source: LBC)

Protected land and coastal areas that are approved under the Man and Biosphere programme (MAB) in conjunction with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Each reserve has to have an ecosystem that is recognized for its diversity and usefulness as a conservation unit. The reserves have at least one core area where there can be no interference with the natural ecosystem. A transition zone surrounds this and within it scientific research is allowed. Beyond this is a buffer zone which protects the whole reserve from agricultural, industrial and urban development. Biosphere reserves and buffer zones were regarded as examples of a new generation of conservation techniques. (Source: WRIGHT)

Production, by synthesis or degradation, of a chemical compound by a living organism. (Source: MGH)

A danger to humans, animals or the environment posed by the application of advanced biological techniques in the manufacture of industrial products, such as the risk or harm that results from exposure to infectious bacteria, viruses or fungi. (Source: APD / FFD)

A combination of biology and technology. It is used to describe developments in the application of biological organisms for commercial and scientific purposes. So bio stands for biology and the science of life and tech stands for technology or the tools and techniques that the biotechnologists have in their workbox. Those tools and techniques include microorganisms and a range of methods for manipulating them such as genetic engineering. (Source: WRIGHT)